Many immigration applications require an immigration interview. The interview allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to speak to applicants personally to verify important information about the applicant and the application to determine if the applicant is eligible and if the document is accurate. Many USCIS visas and benefits require an in-person interview, including a green card, marriage or fiancé visa, an H-1B visa, naturalization and many other family and business-based immigration visas. Naturally, many individuals are very nervous about the immigration interview, and have a lot of anxiety and stress waiting for the interview.
Here are five tips for immigration interviews that apply to just about every type of visa or service.
1. Dress The Part
The immigration interview is a formal legal process. You don’t need to wear a suit, but you should look like you take this meeting seriously. Wear slacks or chinos and a button-down sweater for men, and a skirt or dress pants with a blouse or sweater for women. Jeans are acceptable, but avoid jeans with trendy holes or tears.
2. Don’t Be Late – Arrive Early
USCIS probably won’t let you in the building until 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time, but don’t take chances on traffic or the unknown. Be prepared and arrive early
3. Be Prepared to WAIT
Once you get into the building, you may have to wait several hours before your interview begins. A scheduled appointment time does not guarantee the interview will begin at the scheduled time. But don’t be late – see #2: Arrive Early.
4. Don’t Worry If Your Interview Number Is Skipped
USCIS does not call the numbers in order. Do not worry if you hear a much higher number called before yours – you did not miss your appointment. This is normal at USCIS interviews.
5. Sit Close to the Doors Where USCIS Officers Come Out
If you are sitting close by the doors where the immigration officers enter the waiting room and call out the numbers, you’ll hear the numbers. In a large crowded room with people talking, you don’t want to miss your appointment because you didn’t hear your number.
Learn More
The increasingly complex rules governing immigration in the United States have made the immigration process difficult to understand. With years of experience in many family and business immigration cases, Mario Godoy and the other experienced immigration attorneys at the Godoy Law Office can assess your situation and advise you on your best options. Call today at 630-912-0322.
Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.