Suppose you came to the United States with a visa, and after 90 days, you got married to a U.S. citizen. In this case, you are probably eligible to apply to adjust your status to a lawful permanent resident, and you do not have to leave the United States.
About one year after you submit your application, the USCIS will schedule a marriage green card interview inviting you and your spouse.
If you already received the notice from USCIS regarding the exact time and date of your interview, you probably searched for more information and realized that there are so many things that can go wrong with your interview.
However, if you and your spouse take some time to prepare for your interview and follow the guidelines, you can avoid most of these negative outcomes.
10 Tips that will help you Get Prepared for your Marriage Green Card Interview
1. Refresh your memories
The first thing to do is talk to your spouse about your relationship and remember all the essential details such as events and dates and your wedding.
2. Collect your documents
Prepare all the original documents of all the copies you submitted to the government in your green card application package. Some of those documents prove U.S. Citizenship of the Petitioning Spouse, Certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate or naturalization, Your Marriage Certificate, your passport, driver’s licenses, etc.
3. Prepare new evidence
Prepare documents of any other evidence that you realized can help you prove the authenticity of your marriage, and for some reason, you missed to submit it with your green card package. For example, you can include photos where you are together, joint income tax returns and property documents, or similar.
4. Get organized
Put your documents in a folder, and make a chronological order of your photos. The offices will appreciate the neatness of your new package of evidence.+.
5. Wear formal clothes
Yes, it means that you should put on conventional business attire. If you do not fancy it, make sure to avoid jeans, tee shirts, and revealing clothing since you are entering the government’s building.
6. Be honest
The interview is an opportunity to give the officer more information about your life as a couple. So, there is no need to avoid talking about specific difficulties you experienced as a couple.
7. Be on time
Furthermore, we advise you to get to the venue earlier. Since your green card marriage interview will take place in government buildings, you will have to pass specific procedures such as going through metal detectors. Sometimes, there is a line, so calculate that you might wait for 30 minutes to enter the building.
8. Speak your mind
Interviewing officers can ask very personal questions, sometimes so do not get surprised. You have a right to let the officer know if you find some of the questions too offensive. Moreover, you can decline to answer. Know the interview questions that you can face.
9. Practice
Don’t skip this step because it is vital to simulate your interview. This is especially important if you deem that one of you will be forgetful, so you will need to make sure that it won’t create discrepancies in your answers. Also, stress can play a significant role and make even people in long-term marriages forget some usual facts. So, practice, practice, practice!
10. Don’t forget to enjoy the process
While for many, this will be a very stressful experience, actually, it shouldn’t be. If you get to relax and open up to the interviewing officer, this whole process can turn up into an enjoyable experience. What’s more, as more relaxed as the two of you are, the more the interviewing officer will trust your answers.
