What to Expect at Your Adjustment of Status Interview

If you have applied for lawful permanent residence (a green card) within the United States through the procedure known as "adjustment of status," you are likely, as the last step in your application process, to be called in for an interview by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). With proper preparation, this is not something to fear; though it's not without risk, so keep reading for tips and warnings.

Who Gets Called in to the USCIS Adjustment of Status Interview

Do not worry that being called in for an adjustment of status interview means that your application for adjustment has been singled out for extra scrutiny. Interviews are a normal part of the process (waived only rarely, in especially clear-cut cases). The interview allows USCIS to personally confirm the information you and your U.S. petitioner (probably a family member or employer) have provided and review all the facts with you.

The petitioning employer in a work-based application will not be required to attend the interview; only the immigrant (though employment-based applicants' interviews are the most frequently waived).

If you applied to adjust status based on marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you can count on both you and your U.S. spouse both being called in for the USCIS interview. This is to ensure that the marriage is genuine and not merely entered into for the purpose of obtaining a green card.

How Long the Adjustment Interview Will Last

The typical adjustment of status interview lasts about 20 minutes. However, you might (depending on the latest health and safety protocols) wait in the waiting room much longer than that before the USCIS officer calls you in.

Be sure to have a full meal beforehand, as you are not allowed to bring food into the building. Also, if you're a smoker, be warned that USCIS facilities are “smoke free.”

What the USCIS Adjustment Interview Will Cover

The USCIS officer who calls you in to their desk will begin by swearing you in (asking you to stand and raise your right hand and promise to tell the truth) and checking your photo identification. Then the officer will look at your file, asking you many or all of the same questions as appeared on your forms (such as your present and past addresses, employers, and place of birth), simply to confirm that you are the person in the application and that your personal information hasn't changed.

The officer will also ask to see the documents that you brought along, to verify their validity and make sure you are still eligible for the green card. Presumably you submitted copies of official documents, so this is where the agency can check that the original are the real thing.

Changes in your situation can be problematic. If, for example, you were applying to immigrate as the unmarried son or daughter or a U.S. green card holder, and you state that you recently got married, the officer would find you ineligible, and deny your application. A similar result might occur if you had recently been convicted of a crime.

If your green card application is employment-based, you can expect to be questioned about your job, your qualifications, and your employer. Issues could arise here, too, for instance if you recently lost your certification or license to work in a particular profession.

Family-based green card applicants will typically be questioned about their U.S. petitioner/sponsor and relationship with the sponsor. The officer will want to confirm that the immigrant and sponsor have a genuine relationship and that the sponsor has not sponsored someone merely to enable them to get a green card. If you are applying to adjust status based on marriage, the officer will also ask probing questions about your how you met, your relationship, and your marriage. For details, see What Happens at the Green Card Marriage Interview?

What to Bring to the USCIS Adjustment Interview

Review the USCIS interview notice for a list of what it expects you to have with you. In addition to assembling everything on that list, make sure to bring along:

• A complete copy of your I-130 or other petition and adjustment of status application. The officer will be looking at these documents, and you will have an easier time following along if you have them as well. Plus, if something is missing from your file, your copies could become an important piece of the total picture.
• Any other travel documents, for example your advance parole document (I-512) if you took an overseas trip while awaiting your adjustment interview.
• Your passport from your home country, which will most likely contain the nonimmigrant visa with which you most recently entered the United States (unless you entered without inspection, but if so, it's unlikely you are eligible to adjust status).
• Originals of any documents you submitted copies of to USCIS, such as birth and marriage certificates, so that the officer can examine whether they are the real thing.
• Doctor's report from your required medical examination on Form I-693 (if, that is, you did not submit this report with the original adjustment application).
• If applying based on employment, an up-to-date letter from your employer documenting continued employment at the specified salary (or a higher amount).
• If applying based on marriage, copies plus originals of documents showing your shared life and bona fide marriage, such as a joint lease or mortgage, joint bank account or credit card statements, children's birth certificates, and so on. Don't repeat any such documents that you've already submitted to USCIS; they're going to want more recent ones.

The USCIS officer will also want to know if any changes have occurred in your life since filing the application for adjustment of status that could affect your status, so bring any documentation to back up these changes (original and copy for the file). Examples include the birth certificate of any recently born children, evidence of the family petitioner's new employer, a legal name change, and so forth.

You can have your attorney accompany you. (The attorney will file Form G-28 Notice of Appearance).

What Happens at the End of the USCIS Interview

If all goes well at the interview, USCIS will approve you for permanent residence, and place an "I-551" stamp in your passport. You do not receive the green card that day; it will come by mail some weeks later.

If the USCIS officer cannot approve your case that day, they will likely ask you to send additional documents to deal with whatever the problem is. You will have a deadline by which to submit these. After you do so, the USCIS officer will send you a decision on your application by mail. Or, they might deny your case outright. Normally they would still send you home, though if you lacked any other valid immigration status, you can expect to receive a Notice to Appear (NTA) summoning you to removal proceedings in U.S. immigration court.

Should You Worry About Being Arrested at an Adjustment Interview?

It's rare, but it sometimes happens that ICE will show up and arrest the applicant at their adjustment interview. This is most likely in cases where the applicant has a prior order of removal on record, or a history of serious crimes or posing a threat to public safety. An attorney can help you get your fingerprints run in advance of the interview, to see whether any such issues turn up.

There's also an increasing issue with ICE making arrests for lesser reasons, such as the applicant having entered the United States without inspection (illegally) or them having unconvincingly claimed a legal entry via a "wave-through" (when U.S. border officials simply tell a whole car-full of people, for example, to go ahead, without checking everyone's documents or providing I-94s). This is another good reason to hire an attorney for your case. See How to Find an Excellent Immigration Lawyer Near Me.