Should I Cancel or Go to My USCIS Interview If I Overstayed / Worked Without Authorization / Have an Old Order?

Quick Answer

• Yes, people are being detained at USCIS interviews — including clean, marriage-based applicants — as reported by outlets like NBC 7 San Diego.

• If you simply don’t show up, USCIS can treat your case as “abandoned” and deny it under the rules outlined in the USCIS Policy Manual and the Form I-485 instructions.

• The real choice for many families is now:
  (A) show up and risk arrest, or
  (B) don’t show and risk denial/abandonment.

• That decision should never be made in a vacuum. It should be based on a risk assessment, local trends, and current policies — not old assumptions from 2010–2018.

• This guide pulls together USCIS rules, media investigations, ICE data, and Herman Legal Group analysis to help journalists, researchers, and Reddit communities understand what is happening and why it matters. Most importantly, this guide attempts to answer the question “should I go to my USCIS interview?”

1. Why This Question Exploded in Late 2025

Over the last weeks, immigration news and social feeds have been filled with stories like:

• Spouses arrested at their marriage interviews at the San Diego USCIS office, reported by NBC 7 San Diego and followed up in a deeper NBC piece.

• A British woman detained while holding her infant at a green-card appointment in San Diego, later profiled in the New York Post.

• A surge in arrests of non-criminal immigrants in the San Diego ICE region, documented by Axios.

Herman Legal Group has been tracking this trend in a cluster of articles, including:

• Can ICE Arrest You for Short Overstay at Your Marriage Green Card Interview?

• USCIS Marriage Interview Overstay Arrests (2026)

• Why ICE Is Now Waiting at USCIS Interviews (Marriage Overstay Arrests Explained)

• Married to a U.S. Citizen — Still Handcuffed (San Diego ICE Interview Arrests)

At the same time, Reddit is full of threads on r/immigration where people ask:

• “Should I go to green card interview if out of status 2025?”

• “Risk of ICE at USCIS interview overstay?”

• “Marriage green card interview cancel after San Diego arrests?”

This article is designed to be the piece everyone can link to when those questions come up.

2. What USCIS Actually Says About Missing or Rescheduling an Interview

First, the “abandonment” issue.

USCIS explains in the Policy Manual, Volume 7 (Adjustment of Status) and related chapters that:

• Most adjustment applicants are required to attend an interview under Chapter 5 – Interview Guidelines.

• If an applicant fails to appear and does not request rescheduling or show good cause, the case can be denied for abandonment (similar logic appears in other benefits contexts, such as failure to appear for an I-751 interview).

The Form I-485 page on USCIS and the official I-485 instructions make it clear that:

• USCIS expects you to comply with interview notices,

• You must follow the instructions on rescheduling, and

• Ignoring the notice can get your application denied.

A helpful plain-English summary used by many practitioners comes from private guides like this one on failing to attend a USCIS interview, which underscores that no-show plus no reschedule request = abandonment in most cases.

Bottom line: skipping the interview without a strategy is usually not safe.

3. What’s New: Interviews Becoming Enforcement Traps

The second half of the equation is enforcement.

In November 2025, multiple families in San Diego reported that their spouses were arrested during or immediately after green-card interviews at the local USCIS office. Those accounts were investigated and reported by NBC 7 San Diego.

Key features of those San Diego cases:

• People were married to U.S. citizens.

• Some had only status violations (overstay, work without authorization).

• They were arrested inside or just outside a USCIS building while trying to regularize their status.

This trend fits into a wider pattern of enforcement:

• Axios reports a sharp increase in ICE arrests of non-criminals in the San Diego region.

• A broader enforcement posture targeting non-citizens after dramatic incidents (like shootings) is being covered by outlets such as AP News and The Guardian.

Herman Legal Group has argued in Why ICE Is Now Waiting at USCIS Interviews that interviews are increasingly treated as high-yield enforcement points — especially where ICE believes a prior order, visa fraud, or public-safety flag exists.

4. Overlay: Trump’s “Permanent Pause” and Why Adjustment Interviews Feel Riskier

When President Trump used his Thanksgiving message to announce a “permanent pause” on migration from all Third World countries, the story was covered by national and international media, including TIME, PBS NewsHour, and Al Jazeera.

A detailed analysis of what that “permanent pause” could mean for family petitions and green-card processing appears in Herman Legal Group’s guide, What Trump’s “Permanent Pause on Migration From Third World Countries” Means for Family Petitions, Pending I-130s, and Green Card Processing.

Key implications for adjustment in the U.S.:

• If consular processing abroad becomes impossible or extremely delayed, Adjustment of Status interviews inside the U.S. become even more critical – and more politically sensitive.

• That can increase the government’s incentive to scrutinize and enforce at the adjustment stage.

So your single interview in 2025–2026 is happening in a different legal and political environment than your cousin’s interview in 2012.

5. Risk Factors: When Attending the Interview Is Especially Dangerous

High-risk factors

• Old removal or deportation order: The USCIS Policy Manual on adjustment eligibility confirms that prior immigration violations can make people inadmissible; ICE also has active enforcement against those with final orders.

• Entry without inspection (EWI): Unless you fit into an exception (immediate relative, 245(i), etc.), the same Policy Manual section explains that EWI is a major barrier to adjustment.

• Criminal record: Even a “minor” offense can trigger inadmissibility or enforcement interest; see general inadmissibility discussions in Volume 7 of the USCIS Policy Manual.

• Negative security flags or prior ICE encounters.

Medium-risk factors

• Unauthorized work, especially long-term or with false documents.

• Serious status violations on F-1, J-1, or other nonimmigrant visas.

• Inconsistent prior statements in asylum, tourist, or visa applications.

Lower-risk (but not risk-free) factors

• Single overstay where you are an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen.

• No criminal, ICE, or court history.

• Clean, well-documented bona fide marriage.

Herman Legal Group’s piece Can ICE Arrest You for Short Overstay at Your Marriage Green Card Interview? emphasizes that even “short overstay only” cases are no longer guaranteed safe in certain jurisdictions.

6. The “Go or Cancel?” Decision Framework (List-Style)

Think of this as three questions:

Question 1: What is my legal risk profile?

• Any old removal orders?

• Any EWI that is not clearly covered by an exception?

• Any arrests or convictions (even expunged)?

• Any prior asylum denials or misrepresentations?

If yes to any of these, your risk is notoretical — it is real.

Question 2: What is my local enforcement pattern?

• Is my interview at a field office that has seen ICE presence, like San Diego, as in the NBC 7 investigations?

• Are there systemic reports in local media or advocacy groups about arrests at USCIS?

• Are non-criminal arrests surging in my ICE region, like in the Axios San Diego data?

Question 3: What is my procedural backup plan?

• Have I consulted an attorney who has experience with that exact field office?

• Do I have a strategy if I’m detained (bond funds, family plan, power of attorney)?

• Have we explored rescheduling or motions to reopen before appearing?

If you can’t confidently answer those, you are not ready to decide.

7. What Happens If You Don’t Go (Abandonment, in Practice)

Leaving aside enforcement, the USCIS side is relatively clear:

• Under the general abandonment principles described in the USCIS Policy Manual and mirrored in adjustment decisions such as Volume 7, Part M, Chapter 5, if you fail to appear and do not properly reschedule, your case can be denied for abandonment.

• The I-485 instructions and USCIS initial evidence checklist stress compliance with notices and appointments.

Practical consequences:

• You lose that pending application and its priority date.

• You may have to refile (if still eligible) under harsher policies or higher fees.

• In some cases, USCIS may refer the case to ICE after denial — especially where there is a prior order or security flag.

8. Safer Alternatives and Mitigation Strategies (Before You Decide)

These are the moves Herman Legal Group typically analyzes with clients before an interview:

• Reschedule with “good cause”: A properly documented written request citing specific reasons (health, new legal developments, counsel needing more time, etc.). USCIS has discretion to reschedule under the standards in the Policy Manual interview chapter.

• Motion to reopen an old removal order in immigration court before walking into USCIS.

• Waiver prep: For clients with criminal or fraud issues, building a 212(h) or 212(i) package before the interview.

• Prosecutorial discretion requests to ICE, particularly for long-term residents with U.S. citizen spouses and children.

• Bond and family plan in case detention occurs: who will call the lawyer, post bond, and care for children?

These kinds of steps are discussed and illustrated in USCIS Marriage Interview Overstay Arrests (2026) and Married to a U.S. Citizen — Still Handcuffed.

9. Simple Risk Table

This table is meant as general information, not as individual legal advice.

10. FAQ: The Questions People Are Actually Asking

Q: Can ICE legally detain me at a USCIS interview?
Yes. ICE has authority to detain people with immigration violations, and local reporting from NBC 7 San Diego shows it is already happening at USCIS sites.

Q: Will USCIS automatically deny my case if I don’t show up once?
Not always “automatic,” but under the framework discussed in the USCIS Policy Manual, failing to appear without rescheduling or good cause is treated as abandonment in many contexts.

Q: I overstayed but have no crimes. Am I safe?
Safer than someone with crimes or an old order — but not “safe.” Can ICE Arrest You for Short Overstay at Your Marriage Green Card Interview? documents why even “short overstay only” cases should not assume zero risk.

Q: Does being married to a U.S. citizen protect me?
No. Several of the San Diego arrests involved spouses of U.S. citizens, including military families, as highlighted in both NBC 7’s coverage and Herman Legal Group’s analysis in Married to a U.S. Citizen — Still Handcuffed.

Q: Can I just wait for consular processing abroad instead?
Maybe — but Trump’s “permanent pause” proposal, analyzed by Al Jazeera, TIME, and Herman Legal Group’s permanent pause guide, suggests consular processing for many “Third World” nationals could be frozen or dramatically delayed.

Q: Is it better to cancel and refile later?
Sometimes re-strategizing makes sense — but you risk losing your place in line and may face a harsher environment later. That’s why a case-specific risk consult is crucial.

Q: Should I bring a lawyer into the room?
If you are anywhere above “low risk”, yes. Having counsel present is standard in the kinds of cases showing up in Herman Legal Group’s interview arrest articles.

11. How Immigrants, Journalists, Researchers Can Use This Guide

This piece is designed as a curated hub that others can link to when the “should I go to my interview?” panic breaks out again.

You can:

• Link this guide in explainers about Trump’s “permanent pause” and its impact on interview risk.

• Use the primary sources collected here — USCIS Policy Manual, I-485 instructions, NBC 7 San Diego reporting, Axios San Diego ICE trends, and Herman Legal Group’s permanent pause analysis — as a quick source pack.

• Embed the risk table or FAQ (with attribution) into local journalism, think-tank reports, or Reddit megathreads.

The goal is to give you a single, deeply linked resource instead of scattered anecdotes.

12. What You Should Do If Your Interview Is Coming Up

If your USCIS interview is scheduled and you:

• overstayed,

• worked without authorization,

• have any arrest history,

• or suspect an old order might exist,

you should not just “show up and hope.”

You need:

• A field-office-specific risk assessment,

• A strategy (go, reschedule, or file motions first), and

• A plan for what happens if ICE shows up.

You can start that process by booking a consultation with Herman Legal Group to review your risk and options before you step into the building.