The court’s ruling comes from the matter of Colmenares Carpio v. Holder which concluded that the applicant “must be under twenty-one when he or she seeks to enter the United States, not when his or her subsequent application adjustment of status is finally adjudicated.”

This result contravenes several decisions of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service or USCIS denying applications for adjustment of status based on a K-2 visa because the applicant was twenty-one years of age or older at the time of adjudication of the adjustment of status.

To recap, the K-2 visa holder must be under twenty-one at the time he or she “seeks to enter” the US when applying for adjustment of status.

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• U.S. Immigration Law Presentation (slideshare.net)

• The first is through the annual “green card diversity lottery,” held each year by the Department of Homeland Security, for citizens of countries that have “low rates of immigration” to the United States. Millions of people from specified countries around the world apply to take part in the lottery, but only 50,000 green cards are made available through the process. Each participant in the lottery is issued a number, the government draws about 150,000 numbers, and the people with those numbers then are allowed to apply for one of the 50,000 slots.

• The second way to gain legal entry is to be a spouse, sibling, child or parent of an American citizen or the spouse or minor child of someone who holds a green card and is willing to sponsor your entrance into the United States.

• The third is through an employer, who must complete a lengthy application process that requires proof that the has a unique skill necessary to the business.

THERE ARE other provisions of immigration law that allow people who are seeking asylum to gain legal entry into the country, but being granted asylum is an extraordinarily difficult process.

An additional number of other immigrants are admitted each year under temporary work permits and student visas, however those visas generally do not permit conversion to immigrant status, and they require the holder to leave after a specified length of stay.

And then there is the “S” visa. Essentially a free pass, the visa is awarded only to those who work for law enforcement and must be applied for by law-enforcement officials. The Mayas say immigration officials promised them the “S” visa, but then reneged.

According to immigration officials, only 250 “S” visas are available each year, and fewer than 60 were awarded in 2009.

CONGRESS last year set immigration visa limits at 700,000 for employment and family preferences, excluding refugees and those entering the country on temporary work or student visas.

In 2008, the total number of immigrants admitted to the country (excluding refugees and those on temporary non-tourist visas) tallied just under 750,000.

Source: Daily Free Man

On the date of the interview, the couple has to demonstrate to the USCIS officer that they intent to establish their life together. To put it in another way, the couple has to convince the USCIS Officer that the intent of the marriage is not to circumvent the immigration laws of the United States. At the interview, the USCIS Officer makes a determination regarding the validity of the marriage as well as other issues pertaining to the good moral character of the beneficiary of the greencard. If the Immigration Officer is not convinced with the statements made by the couple at the interview, the Immigration Officer has the authority to schedule the couple for a second interview which is commonly known as the Stokes interview.

A stokes interview is a very difficult interview and it is a good idea for an individual to seek legal help in such situations. This is because if the couple fails the Stokes interview and if the immigration officer makes a determination that the intent of the couple was to circumvent the immigration laws in order to obtain a greencard, the beneficiary of the petition can be permanently barred from obtaining the greencard.

During the stokes interview, the couples are separated by the immigration officer and are separately questioned in detail about their relationship, relatives, employments, travels etc. If the answers of the couple properly match perfectly, then the officer will approve the I-130 petition. However, if the answers do not match and if the officer makes a determination that the marriage between the parties is fraudulent, the Immigration Officer has the power to arrest the parties and commence deportation proceedings against the beneficiary.

Very often, couples think that they are happily married and they have nothing to worry about their immigration interview. This statement may not hold true on all occasions. This is because the burden of proof in on the married couple to show by means of preponderance of evidence that they intend to establish their life together.

In essence, if you are confronted with a second interview (stokes interview) by immigration, it would be a good idea for you to be extremely well prepared in order to avoid serious consequences such as deportation.

About Author
The author of this article, N.M. Gehi, Esq. is a practicing immigration attorney in the state of New York and Connecticut. This article is based upon his practical experiences in handling stokes interviews since many years.