A USCIS interview is a formal, recorded examination. The officer reviewing your file asks questions to verify the information in your application and assess whether you meet the legal requirements for the benefit you applied for. Interviews happen for adjustment of status (green card), naturalization, and some family-based petition cases. Knowing what to expect — and what to bring — makes a significant difference in how the appointment goes.
What the Officer Is Checking
The officer’s job is to confirm that your application is truthful and that you meet eligibility requirements. They review your file before you arrive. During the interview, they compare your answers to what you filed, check for inconsistencies, and ask follow-up questions on anything that needs clarification.
Credibility matters. Officers are trained to evaluate whether your answers are consistent with each other, consistent with what you filed, and consistent with supporting documents. Answers that contradict the record — even on minor details — create problems. If you do not know the answer to something, say so. Guessing and getting it wrong looks worse than admitting you do not remember.
What to Bring to Any USCIS Interview
Bring the original versions of every document you submitted as a copy with your application. Officers often want to see original passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, police clearances, and medical exam documentation. Bring your photo ID and any immigration documents you have — green card, employment authorization, prior visas.
Bring the interview appointment notice. The USCIS letter that scheduled your interview will specify the location, time, and what documents to bring. Follow that list exactly. If the notice says to bring originals of tax returns for the last three years, bring those originals.
Adjustment of Status Interview: What to Expect
Adjustment of status interviews happen at a local USCIS field office. The Houston USCIS office is located at 126 Northpoint Drive. The officer will review your I-485 application, question you about your immigration history, and review the petition it is based on.
If you are adjusting through a family petition, your U.S. citizen or permanent resident sponsor may be called to interview separately or together with you. Officers ask about the relationship and how you met to confirm it is bona fide. Bring documentation of your relationship — photos, communication records, joint financial accounts, lease agreements, utility bills, any records that show you have built a life together.
The officer will also ask about your criminal history, prior immigration violations, and whether you have ever been removed from or voluntarily departed the United States. Answer these questions fully and accurately. Omissions are treated as fraud, not negligence.
Naturalization Interview: What to Expect
The naturalization interview includes the English reading and writing test and the civics test. For the English portion, you read one sentence and write one sentence the officer dictates. For civics, the officer asks up to 10 questions from the official USCIS list of 100 — you need 6 correct to pass.
Study the USCIS civics study materials before your appointment. The full list of 100 questions is published on the USCIS website. Bring your green card, passport, and any travel documentation the officer requested in your appointment notice.
If the Officer Issues a Request for Evidence
During or after the interview, the officer may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking for additional documentation. You will receive a written RFE with a deadline — typically 87 days. Respond to RFEs carefully and completely. An incomplete response, or a response that misses the deadline, results in denial.
If you receive an RFE after an interview on a complicated case, consult an attorney before responding. The RFE tells you exactly what the officer is concerned about. Addressing the right issue with the right documentation matters more than submitting a large volume of irrelevant material.
Bringing an Attorney to Your Interview
You may bring an attorney or accredited representative to a USCIS interview. The attorney does not answer questions for you but can object to questions outside the scope of the interview and advise you on how to handle unexpected developments. For straightforward cases in strong posture, this is optional. For cases with any complication — criminal history, prior denials, RFEs, complex relationship issues — having your attorney present is worth considering.
Adan G. Vega & Associates prepares clients for USCIS interviews and attends interviews in complicated cases. Call (713) 527-9606 for a consultation about your upcoming interview, or learn more about our adjustment of status services and naturalization representation.
Resources
The USCIS Houston field office page has the current address, hours, and contact information. The USCIS processing times tool shows current timelines by form type and office.
Reviewed by Adan Vega, Board-Certified Immigration Attorney, Founding Partner · Updated
About the author
Board-Certified Immigration Attorney, Founding Partner · Texas Board-Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1985); Admitted, U.S. Supreme Court (2004); Admitted, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1980); J.D., The University of Texas at Austin School of Law (1979); B.A., Rice University (1976); Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) (1982); Texas Super Lawyers — Thomson Reuters (2004); Special Service Award — Migration and Refugee Services, United States Catholic Conference
Adan G. Vega is a Board-Certified Immigration Attorney and the founding partner of Vega & Associates, PLLC in Houston, Texas. He has practiced immigration and nationality law exclusively for more than 45 years, making him one of the longest-serving immigration attorneys in Houston. He earned a B.A. from Rice University in 1976 and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1979. In 1985 the Texas Board of Legal Specialization awarded him a Certificate of Special Competence in Immigration and Nationality Law, authorizing the title Board Certified Specialist. He is admitted to practice before the Texas state courts, the EOIR Immigration Courts, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has presented oral argument in the Fifth Circuit on three occasions, including one published opinion.
On August 23, 1988, Vega testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and International Law, on the effects of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. He has served as immigration legal counsel to foreign governments in the United States, including the governments of Mexico and El Salvador, and to multinational companies on employment-based immigration.
A member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association since 1982, he co-chaired the AILA Texas Chapter Conference in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2004, and has lectured on immigration law at AILA conferences and at the University of Texas. He authored the Guide of United States History and Government in 1989. The Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Catholic Conference presented him with a special service award for outstanding commitment and dedicated service to newcomers.
Vega was a founder and initial director of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 1984, served as President of Consejo Hispano from 1987 to 1988, and has served as special immigration legal counsel, board director, vice president and president of the Cámara de Empresarios Latinos de Houston. He has provided pro bono immigration services to Texas's indigent community throughout his career. He has been recognized as a Top Texas Lawyer by Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) since 2004. He represents individuals, families and businesses before USCIS, the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and is bilingual in English and Spanish.
