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If you're applying for adjustment of status in order to get a green card in the United States, you'll most likely need to appear for an interview at an office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This will be scheduled several weeks or months after you've submitted the adjustment of status application (Form I-485). And if you submitted a family-based petition (Form I-130 or I-360) and the application for adjustment of status concurrently, USCIS will decide both applications at once (but with the same wait for an interview date, which can be a year or more).

Although receiving the USCIS interview notice is exciting, attending the interview itself can be stressful. More alarmingly, under the Trump Administration, ICE has been arresting people at interviews, over issues like unlawful entry or a past visa overstay. Because so much is at stake, it's important to avoid basic missteps, in particular:

  • mistakes regarding what you bring along to the interview
  • over-optimism about your ability to speak English without an interpreter, and
  • mistakes regarding what you say and do during the interview.

Fortunately, most mistakes can be remedied; but not all. This article will discuss how to avoid common mistakes and successfully take this final step toward approval for U.S. lawful permanent or conditional residence (a green card).

In This Article

Failing to Bring the Right Things to the USCIS Interview

If you do not bring all the documents or other items necessary (as detailed below), the USCIS officer who interviews you might not be able to make a decision on your case that day. This can cause a delay of weeks or even months, as you will probably be asked to submit follow-up materials by mail. After that, the USCIS officer must take the time to reopen and get reacquainted with your file, decide whether to ask for even more materials, and so on.

Forgetting to Bring Identity Documents

As a fundamental matter, you need to prove to USCIS that you are who you say you are. Bring your passport or other identity and travel documents from your home country and USCIS.

Forgetting to Bring Original Documents to Support the Application

When you filed your adjustment application, you should have submitted lots of documentation to USCIS—in the form of scans or photocopies. Applicants often forget that these are not solid proof of anything, because they can be forged or tampered with.

USCIS wants the chance to inspect your original documents, such as your birth certificate, marriage certificate, and employer letter, at your interview. Unless you remember to bring the originals, and any criminal records, the USCIS officer will probably not be able to approve your case that day.

Forgetting to Bring Documents Showing Changes in Life Situation

If anything in your personal, family, or employment-related life has changed in recent months that is relevant to your adjustment of status application—whether it helps or hurts it—you will need to bring documents showing that fact (both originals and copies for the USCIS file).

Of course, if the change is something that hurts your application, such as a recent arrest, you will also want to consult a lawyer and bring both the arrest records and additional documents overcoming the damage, such as a certificate from having completed an anger management program, if possible. Some applicants conveniently “forget” to bring evidence of arrests, hoping USCIS won’t ask about them—but you could risk your green card being later revoked if you hide a material fact. Or, you might never be able to safely apply for naturalized U.S. citizenship, knowing that the review of your file conducted then could lead to discovery of the earlier lie, and to your deportation.

If you have recently started a new job or changed your job, bring pay stubs or W-2 forms to prove that you are employed. You can also obtain a letter from your employer describing your position and stating that the employer does not plan on terminating you or your position in the near future. If you have recently filed a new U.S. tax return, bring a copy of that as well. These are all relevant to showing your current financial situation and that you are unlikely to become a public charge (receive government assistance) in the United States.

If a child was born to you after you submitted your adjustment application, bring the child’s birth certificate. If your immigration application is based on marriage, this will be a highly convincing form of proof that you are not committing marriage fraud.

In addition, if any of the information you filled in on your I-485 application has recently changed, for instance, your home address, bring a a new I-485 with that information filled in. While you can make corrections to your application at the time of the interview, the USCIS officer will probably appreciate your making things go smoothly.

Not Bringing a Competent Foreign Language Interpreter

Many people decide not to bring an interpreter with them to the adjustment interview, perhaps owing to cost, or to a hope that speaking English will impress the officer. Unfortunately, if you do not speak English reasonably well, there's a chance you will misunderstand questions the USCIS officer asks, or that the officer will misunderstand your answers. In the worst case, the officer might think you are being dishonest or trying to hide something, which could ultimately lead them to deny your case.

If you cannot speak English reasonably well, you'd be wise to bring an interpreter. USCIS does not expect all green card applicants to be able to speak English. In fact, the officer will probably appreciate the fact that you brought an interpreter in order to make things run more smoothly. Make sure your interpreter is competent and comfortable translating between both English and your native language.

Not Bringing Proper Translations for Foreign-Language Documents

Any foreign language documents that you provide to USCIS, such as birth certificates from other countries, must not only be fully translated into English, but be accompanied by a statement from the interpreter that says something like:

I swear under penalty of perjury that I am competent to translate from ___[your language]___ to English, and that this translation is a true and complete translation of the attached document.

The name of the translator and the date and place of translation should also be written into the statement.

Failing to submit this can result in the USCIS officer asking you to submit it at a later date and will delay your case. If you did not already submit such a certificate of translation with a document previously submitted, bring it with you to the interview.

Saying Inappropriate Things at Adjustment Interview

Failing to listen carefully to the questions asked by the USCIS officer, volunteering information that harms your case, and lying outright are all common ways that applicants create problems for themselves during adjustment of status interviews, as further described below.

Saying Too Much to the USCIS Officer

Getting chatty and offering up information that wasn’t asked for is not only unnecessary, but risky. It could lead to a misunderstanding or cause the USCIS officer to open a line of questions that gets you into trouble. Fully answer the questions asked, but no more.

Creating the Impression That You Actually Intended to Live in the U.S. When You Entered on a Visa

You might be asked about the type of temporary, nonimmigrant visa you applied for in order to come to the United States and why you wanted to come here. While it could appear that the USCIS officer is just making polite conversation, the officer might be trying to judge whether or not you had “immigrant intent” at the time you got your nonimmigrant visa—that is, whether you actually intended to come to the United States permanently at the time you got your temporary visa (such as a student or tourist visa), despite having claimed at the time that your intention was to return home at the end of your stay.

Obtaining a visa on false pretenses can be a form of fraud. You’ll need to be clear about the fact that your decision to stay in the U.S. came later, after obtaining the nonimmigrant visa. In particular, avoid saying things like, "I came because there were better opportunities in the U.S.,” or “I wanted to live here,” if you arrived as a short-term visitor. If the officer seems suspicious, explain how your intentions changed after arriving here, for instance because you made business contacts that changed your hopes for the future or you met the U.S. citizen who became your spouse.

This issue has become even more important since USCIS issued a Policy Memo in May of 2026 that cast doubt on the intentions of almost anyone applying for adjustment of status. It asks applicants to explain why they deserve this "extraordinary" discretionary remedy. (However, details on this policy change are still emerging, and lawsuits pushing back are likely.)

Pretending You Told the Truth on Your Visa Application When It Contained False Information

The USCIS officer may also ask you about information you provided in the application for whatever visa you used to enter the United States. Again, be careful with what you say. In all likelihood, the USCIS officer already has a copy of your application and knows exactly what's on it. If you tell the officer that you provided only truthful information at the time you applied for a visa, but you actually lied on some parts, the officer might figure it out.

For instance, when applying for a visitor visa, some people falsely state that they are married to someone who will be staying behind in their home country, or that they have a better job or more money than they actually do, thinking that it will increase their chances of getting the visa. If you do not tell the officer that you lied in the past and the officer discovers it during the interview, then the officer will likely be upset and wonder whether the other information you have provided is truthful.

Now is not the time to stubbornly stick to a mistake and dig yourself into a deeper hole. Be truthful at the interview—you might be able to convince the officer that there was a good reason for mistakes entered on your application forms.

Failing to Tell USCIS About Arrests or Other Criminal Matters

If you have previously had any arrests, convictions, or similar criminal problems, you will need to be honest about them in your adjustment of status interview. If you neglected to disclose them on the I-485 application, you will likely need to explain this lie, as well. By the time of your interview, USCIS will have already run a criminal background check on you and knows whether you have been arrested.

Talk to a lawyer if you are worried that a criminal record, or your previous attempts to hide that record, will be a topic of discussion during your USCIS interview.

Giving Information That's Doesn't Match What's on Your Form I-485

In the past, USCIS officers might have asked only a few questions from Form I-485 (the main application for adjustment of status). But under the Trump Administration, they're being told to ask every single question. That raises the possibility that you'll forget the right answer to something, such as a family member's date of birth. (Sure, you should know it, but under pressure, you might blank.) The lesson here is to review your entire Form I-485 before the interview, to remind yourself what's on there.

Arguing With the USCIS Officer

Finally, never get into an argument with a USCIS officer. If you think you are being treated unfairly, ask to speak with a supervisor. Remember to stay calm and not yell at the officer.

Where to Go for More Help

More information about the adjustment of status process can be found at www.uscis.gov. For detailed information to help you understand all the requirements for getting U.S. lawful permanent resident, see How to Get a Green Card, by Ilona Bray (Nolo).

You might also be interested in How to Find a Good Immigration Lawyer For Your Case, particularly if your last entry to the United States was an unlawful one, you've overstayed a visa, or you're asserting that your right to adjust status is based on a lawful entry where U.S. border agents waved you through rather than giving you an actual I-94 card. All of those are situations in which there is a very real chance of arrest.