Preparing for the Green Card Interview

What Should You Bring to a Marriage-Based Green Card Interview?

The documentation required for the interview of your marriage-based green card application will be about the identity of you and your spouse, financial documents showing that you won’t become a public charge (unless previously provided), and other proof that your relationship with your spouse is real.

Proof of Identity

The interview notice and identity documents such as any passports, travel documents, and photo IDs including a valid driver’s license or Employment Authorization Card for you and your spouse are required. You should also bring the original of any other identity documents that you previously mailed to the USCIS such as marriage certificates, divorce decrees/ death certificates and birth certificates for you, your spouse, and your children. Your U.S. citizen spouse must bring documentation to prove their U.S. citizenship status (birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or passport). Although USCIS may not ask for all of these documents during the interview, you are required to have them with you.

Supporting Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage

The list of what you can provide as evidence of your marriage is quite extensive and not set in stone. Some sample documentation that you can provide during the interview include:

• Rental agreements, leases, or mortgages showing that you live together and/or have leased or bought property in both spouses’ names
• Your mutual child’s birth certificate or a doctor’s report saying that one of you is pregnant
• Utility bills in both your names
• Joint bank statements
• Joint credit card statements
• Evidence that one spouse has made the other a beneficiary on his/her life or health insurance or retirement account
• Joint club memberships
• Receipts from gifts you purchased for one another
• Emails, texts, or letters between you and your spouse, and letters from friends and family to each or both of you mailed to your joint address
• Signed, sworn affidavits from friends or family who have observed the progress of your relationship and your wedding, and then share their knowledge in detail
• Photos of you and your spouse taken before and during your marriage, including photos from the wedding. (USCIS knows wedding pictures can be faked, but many officers enjoy seeing them anyway.) The photos should, if possible, include parents and other relatives from both families.

Documentation of Updates

Any updates to your life since you submitted your green card application can be provided during the interview. For example, you can provide documentation of a new job offer or provide new tax returns or recent paystubs of you, your spouse, or your sponsor.

This is not an all-inclusive list of items; it is only to give you an idea of what to expect. You should also follow the checklist provided on the marriage-based green card interview notice. We also recommend that you work with an Attorney experienced in immigration law to make sure your case is handled properly.