Stokes interview soon! Please help!

[mamajon54]

Hi, after failing the initial interview we are scheduled for stokes interview next month. I have read the fraud interview questions on this site. It's very helpful, but anyone who had stokes interview please share the questions you've been asked. I don't want to miss any detail. Thanks so much. God Bless!

[aamg37]

Stokes interview

The second interview by definition, they want to fully review your case. Don’t worry if you made mistakes – he just couldn’t make a decision that day. Therefore be prepare for the most difficult scenario… if you get the easy one, then great! But if you don’t at least you will be ready for it. I read several but several blogs here and other pages as well, that definitely helped me to get an idea, but it is impossible to be fully ready and it is impossible not to get nerves even if you are certain that you are doing everything correctly. I did not sleep the night before, my wife in the other hand, slept like a baby. So with that said… here goes my story:

I submitted my papers in November of 2010. Few weeks later I got the letter for the biometrics appointment, set for December 28, 2010. The day when I got my biometrics done, the lady told me, congratulations you will be getting soon your work permit. I remember coming out so excited without imagining the agony I was about to embark. Anyways, 2 months later I got the letter for the first interview, set for April 21 at 7:30am at the same location where I got the biometrics. At that moment I realized that I have not received the work permit that supposedly I was going to get before even thinking in having an interview. Well a week before the interview; I got the work permit via fedex. So, I think someone forgot to send it ;-)

The first interview went great. We shared few laughs with officer, he was very nice… he asked the typical: How we met? Who introduce us? When did we move in together? He when over our entire documentation submitted initially, checked drives licenses, birth certificates, etc… Then he asked, so what do you have for me? Well I was ready so I opened my briefcase and I pulled 2 years of history between photos, documents, bank statement, credit cards, our new lease, etc… he really got distracted with the pictures, I had over 200 pictures with family in different occasions… xmas, NYE, birthdays, and more… Then he started asking who were in those pictures, so we both pointed out several members and he would ask us every few pictures, like when was this – next to a xmas tree, or where was this right next to a sawgrass mall sign… After that he saw that I had many folders with information – so he told me, from that pile give me what you think could be essential for your case… So I gave him copies of all bank statements, credit cards, lease, taxes and insurances. Well he took those files and ½ of our pictures, added to his file. Then he looked at us, smiled, and said well that is it! We shook hands, he walked us out, told us have fan etc… Well I came out so optimistic, kissed my wife, called my parents, called her parents, we felt like this big weight has been leafed it. 4 weeks later got a very small envelop from them. I touch it all over and I didn’t feel a card inside, so I opened it. As you can guess by now… a notification for a second interview set for May 25th, 2011 at 7:30am again.

I felt like the whole world crashed at that moment, I even started hoping for the world to end on May 21st as it was announced, which by the way – happened to be my birth day. Well, that month when by like 0 miles per hours. As I mentioned, I started reading blogs, calling friends that went through this process, everything that you are probably doing at this point. The letter stated that they want to interview us again and they requested a list of things as more evidence (bank statements, cashed checks, insurance, photos, credit cards, leases, taxes) essentially everything that we had already provided in the first interview. So of course I was going crazy looking for more things to present to them but there wasn’t much that I could provide them. On my birthday we didn’t do nothing, I was so down with the freaking interview that i told my wife, I don’t want presents, party, nothing… I just wanted to get this over with.

We studied, we kept asking random questions to each other, things that we couldn’t remember we would set a story the closest that we could remember so that we would answer the same. I ended up learning everyone birthdays from our direct family, I went with her to the supermarket so that I would remember what we had… I honestly never know what we have in the *******, but you could ask me how much we spend and that I will know to the cents… She is bad with directions and to top it all - we recently moved to this location, so she studied streets and the area “very helpful by the way”. I decided not to pay for a lawyer even though I think it could be helpful – but not sure of that. I did hire a friend as interpreter. Same for the first interview… As my wife does NOT speak a word of English. Anyways, I asked my friend, if we get separated, please to write everything down, do not miss even a word (very helpful as well). So for the interview I took a notebook and a pen for him.

May 25th 2011: The day of the interview. As I mentioned I didn’t sleep, I spend the entire night just going over everything, making sure that I had all the papers that they could require. I got up around 5am, took a shower, woke my wife up, and we arrived to center around 7am. There was a large line outside, we got on it, and that line was for people who were getting their citizenship – I though “lucky busters”… Well we got out of the stupid line around 7:20 and went inside. In the sitting room, my friend “the interpreter” kept talking about the basketball games, and bunch of other things that I couldn’t even listen to. My wife and I just were too nerves for anything else. Finally, around 8:20am we were call. To our surprise, it was the same guy of the first interview… So I shook his hand and the entire time I wanted to say “why did you call us again” but well… At that moment he said, “you first”… then he turned to my wife “You can stay outside until we call you”… Well I said in my mind “all the blogs were right, we got separated” and trust me, most likely, you will too. All the people that were there that day, got separated as well. So when you get there look for those signs.

I walked with him into the same office, he asked to raise my right hand… after been sworn he asked me to sit. He turned to his computer and he starting asking questions for the next 2 hours and 1/2. He asked me since the day I got here to US until the last day before the interview. He asked about my visas, status, about my family, their status, companies that I worked for, salaries, name of my bosses, all the locations where I lived with dates. Of course most of them I couldn’t even remember I have been here for almost 13 years, so it is really impossible to remembered all. Then after a hour going added about my entire life in the US, we finally got to the part – how did you guys meet? For how long did you date it? How did you propose? Where were you when you proposed to her? How were you dress? Did you get down on one knee? How much did the ring cost? Where did you buy it? Did she know that you were going to propose that day? Was the ring inside a box? Where you sitting next to her? Left or Right? What did you say? Then who planned the wedding? Did you buy the wedding bands together? Where? When? How much? When you got married, who was there? Who drove with you? Was she there before you? When did you guys move together? When you were dating, did she stay over your place? Did you? Where? What kind of car did she have? Does she still have that car? Where did she live? When you moved in together, how was it? Did you rent a truck? Furniture? How long did it took? When you rented the new place, how long did it took find it? When did you rent it? When did you move? How many places did check before selecting that one? Was it the last place that you saw? How much is the rent? Bills? How long does it take you to go to work? And for her? Which way does she take to go to work? What routes do you take to go to work? When was the last time you talked to her parents? What did you do on your birthday? (this was 4 days before the interview) Who woke up first? Who showered first that day? What did you do? What did you eat? Presents? – on mother’s day – what did you do? Presents? What did you eat? Who was there? What did you eat last night? When was the last time you went out? What did you do? What do you watch on TV? At what time do you normally go to bed? Time that you normally would wake up week days? Time that you get from work? Time she gets from work? Time she goes to bed? Who does the dishes? Do you use the dishwasher? Which color is your fridge? Describe your home? How many keys do you need to open the front door? How many TVs? Location? Describe the door of the bathroom? If you are sitting on the toilet – where is the toilet paper? Where do you hang your towel? Where is hers? How many drawers do you have in the bedroom? How many she has? Is it walk-in closets? When was the last time you had friends come over the place? Who takes the trash out? To where? Where is the mail box? Describe how to get there from your home? Do you have set parking? Is it a gated community? When they showed to you the apartment was a male or female? And that continued for awhile… by the way, he was typing all of it the entire interview…

After it… he said well let me print this out and I will be right back… well he left me there for at least ½ hour. I’m sure they were watching me, if I would make a call or do something, not sure but it is impossible that it would take that long to print or make copies… He did not ask for one single paper or any extra proof in the entire time. Then he came back with a form that he asked me to read and sign. Essentially the form was a letter saying that everything I declared was true, penalty and the implications… which after a 2 hours and ½ interview and 30 minutes sitting in that office it will make you nerves that they would come back with that. Like implying that you did something wrong. But Well – I told him, I’m assuming this is routine as I don’t have a lawyer with me… so I signed it. Then he walked me out and called my wife in. He was watching us the entire time, I told her don’t be nerves, and just answer everything that you can… well she was asked the same questions but her interview was a lot shorter. Like a hour and she was asked to sign the same form. He told her - we will keep you post it. So when we walked out – at this point my confident level was not the same as the first interview, specially as I read in many blogs if everything goes well that they would stamp my passport. After the interview at home, I asked my friend for all his notes, I reviewed what my wife answered, and she missed a few questions, and that made me so mad… we even got into a fight for that but well, at that point there was nothing else to do than wait again… on memorial weekend we didn’t do anything… We just couldn’t stop thinking about it. The entire week, I was debating, should I check the website? And kept saying, it has been only a week, there is no way they could have updated the status… Well on Thursday just a week and a day after it – they had posted on may 27 that they had requested to have the card printed. I got the green card last week. we couldn’t believe it! And today I just decided to help anyone who is going through this.

The reality is that it will be difficult as most things that you want from life but if they don’t have substantial evidence to deny a case – most likely they won’t… don’t give them any motive and if you really have history together long or short that must do it… don’t try to guess what the other person would answer, just answer them as you remember them… most of the time you will be right. Just use some of the samples that I posted here as reference and good luck. Another thing, if they really think that you are lying… they will pressure you to get it out – only you 2 can get you in trouble, no one else.

[mamajon54]

Thanks so much for sharing, it will be very helpful! God bless you!