Articles Posted in Interviews

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Imagine waiting more than ten years as a lawful permanent resident for the day you can finally become a U.S. citizen.

One of our clients did exactly that. He received his N-400 citizenship interview notice, prepared for the appointment, and arrived at the USCIS office in Los Angeles excited about taking the next step toward naturalization. He believed he was eligible for citizenship, and his attorney had advised him that he qualified.

But he never walked out of that USCIS office as a new U.S. citizen.

Instead, ICE agents placed him in handcuffs and escorted him out of the building.

This is not a scene from a movie. It is a reality that some green card holders have faced when appearing for their naturalization interviews.

And he is not the only one.

Lessons From Real Client Cases

In this blog post, we share real client stories involving lawful permanent residents who appeared for their U.S. citizenship interviews only to be detained by ICE agents. These cases involve old removal orders, unpaid tickets that were forgotten and later turned into warrants, political activism that attracted government scrutiny, and other problems applicants may not realize could surface during the naturalization process.

Most importantly, we explain what these cases can teach other green card holders, and the steps you should take before filing your application.

What Happens at the N-400 Citizenship Interview

When you apply for U.S. citizenship, you file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. At the interview, a USCIS officer will review your application with you and ask questions to confirm that the information you provided is accurate.

The officer may also review important parts of your immigration history, including your travel outside the United States, tax history, child support obligations, and any arrests, citations, charges, or other criminal issues. You will also be required to complete the English and civics portions of the naturalization test, unless you qualify for an exception.

At the end of the interview, USCIS may approve your application, continue the case because additional information or evidence is needed, or deny the application. An immediate denial at the interview itself is less common.

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USCIS recently introduced an important change affecting green card applicants who rely on a sponsor to meet the financial requirements for the I-864 Affidavit of Support.

Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, is a legally binding form used to show that a green card applicant has sufficient financial support and is unlikely to become a public charge. The sponsor of the I-864 is generally the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who filed the immigrant petition. If the petitioner does not meet the income requirement for their household size, a joint sponsor may be needed.

Under new USCIS policies, sponsors and joint sponsors are now required to provide additional financial information, including their credit score and credit report.

USCIS has also released a new edition of Form I-864 reflecting these changes, which will be required beginning October 1.

Why does this matter?

A sponsor or joint sponsor with poor credit, high debt, late payments, collections, or bankruptcy could face greater scrutiny because USCIS may question whether they are financially capable of supporting the intending immigrant. This could result in requests for additional evidence, processing delays, or a determination that the sponsor or joint sponsor does not qualify.

If a sponsor has a credit or security freeze in place, USCIS may be unable to access the information needed to evaluate Form I-864.

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We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the September 2026 Visa Bulletin.

In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.

Adjustment of Status Chart

For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of September, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.

For employment-based categories, USCIS will also continue using the Final Action Dates Chart.

Highlights of the September 2026 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of September?

Employment-Based Categories

Final Action Advancements

  • No changes except for EB-4 which will advance 2 months to December 15, 2022
  • EB-2 India and EB-5 India remain unavailable
  • The State Department warns that the EB-2, EB-1 India, and EB-5 unreserved categories may become unavailable before the end of September, with availability resuming when the new fiscal year starts in October.

Dates for Filing Advancements

  • No changes from August Visa Bulletin

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October 1 can change everything for green card applicants stuck in the immigrant visa backlog. With the start of the new fiscal year, a fresh supply of immigrant visa numbers becomes available—and applicants who are ready can move fast when their priority dates become current. If your case is close, the time to prepare is before October 1, not after.

If you are from India, China, the Philippines, or Mexico, you may already be familiar with the effects of high demand and limited immigrant visa availability. For example, the EB-2 category for India has been unavailable for final action since July 2026 because of heavy demand. On the family-sponsored side, countries such as India and Mexico have also faced significant backlogs as visa demand has outpaced the number of available visas.

While demand from these countries is expected to remain high, the October 1 fiscal-year reset brings a new annual supply of immigrant visa numbers, which can allow more applicants to move forward with interviews and final visa issuance.

In this video, we break down what you need to know—and what you should do now—to put yourself in the strongest position before October 1.

What Is the End-of-Year Fiscal Reset?

The U.S. government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30, and many employment- and family-based immigrant visa categories are subject to annual numerical limits set by Congress.

Except for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, applicants generally must wait until an immigrant visa number becomes available based on their priority date and country of nationality before they can be scheduled for an interview and ultimately receive an immigrant visa.

When the new fiscal year begins on October 1, those annual visa limits reset, allowing the government to begin using a new supply of immigrant visa numbers.

For applicants stuck in backlogged categories like EB-2 India and F2A Mexico, this reset is especially important because the allocation of new visa numbers creates new opportunities for eligible applicants to move forward in the green card process.

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We are pleased to report that the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has published the August 2026 Visa Bulletin.

In this blog post, we breakdown the movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories in the coming month.

Adjustment of Status Chart

For adjustment of status filings to permanent residence in the month of August, USCIS will continue using the Dates for Filing Chart for family-sponsored categories only.

For employment-based categories, USCIS will also continue using the Final Action Dates Chart.

Highlights of the August 2026 Visa Bulletin

At a Glance

What can we expect to see in the month of August?

Employment-Based Categories

Final Action Advancements

EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives

  • EB-1 China will advance 1 month to July 1, 2023
  • Except for India, all other countries will remain current

EB-1 India Visa Bulletin Note: High demand and number use by those chargeable to India in the EB-1 visa category may require making the category unavailable in the coming weeks

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India remains unavailable
  • Except for China, all other countries will remain current

EB-2 Visa Bulletin Note: Sufficient demand and increased number use in the EB-2 visa category may make it necessary to retrogress the final action date or make the category unavailable in the coming months

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

  • EB-3 China will advance 10 days to January 1, 2022
  • Worldwide and Mexico will advance 1 month to September 1, 2024

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Is your case stuck at the National Visa Center with no interview in sight? You are not alone. Thousands of applicants are waiting months—or even years—for their visa interviews to be scheduled. The good news is that you may have options. In this video, we discuss three proven strategies that could help push your NVC case forward.

Why are so many cases stuck at the National Visa Center for months—or even years?

The problem is a perfect storm of overwhelming case volume, limited availability of interview appointments, staffing shortages, and delays at U.S. consulates worldwide.

Even after a case is documentarily complete and ready to move forward, it can remain at the NVC for months—or longer—until the appropriate embassy has an available interview slot.

Sweeping visa restrictions have made the backlogs even worse. The Trump administration has fully or partially restricted entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries, while immigrant visa issuance has been separately paused for nationals of 75 countries.

Although U.S. embassies may remain open and continue scheduling some interviews, affected visas generally cannot be issued while these restrictions remain in place.

The result is thousands of applicants left in limbo, with no clear timeline and little information about when their cases will finally move forward.

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The new USCIS memo is finally showing its true colors.

Imagine coming to the U.S. legally, spending years doing everything right, and finally applying for your green card—only to be denied at the interview. Not because you are ineligible, but because a USCIS officer used the new USCIS memo to deny your case as a matter of discretion.

That’s exactly what happened in Michael’s case.

Real-Life Example: Green Card Denied Under the New USCIS Memo

Michael came to the United States legally 15 years ago on an F-1 student visa. Like many international students, he had plans to study, build a future, and follow the rules.

But life got difficult. Due to financial hardship and mental health struggles, Michael was unable to finish school. As a result, he fell out of F-1 status. To survive, he worked for a short period without authorization.

Years later, Michael married a U.S. citizen and applied for his green card through marriage.

At his green card interview, USCIS did not question whether their marriage was real. The problem was something else.

The officer told Michael that his green card would be denied under the new USCIS memo—not because he lacked eligibility through marriage, but because of the officer’s discretionary review of his past immigration violations. Continue reading

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The Republican-backed Senate has just introduced a $72 billion immigration enforcement bill— a massive federal spending package focused on expanding immigration enforcement across the United States.

Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process, allowing the bill to pass with a simple majority vote and avoid a Democratic filibuster. However, the legislation has encountered procedural obstacles after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that parts of the proposal violated Senate reconciliation rules.

The key provisions of the spending proposal include:

  • Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE): Over $38 billion for ICE operations, expanded detention capacity, deportation flights, and artificial intelligence capabilities.
  • Customs & Border Protection (CBP): $26 billion for border security and patrol operations.
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS): $5 billion designated to remove individuals who do not qualify for benefits.
  • Department of Justice (DOJ): $1.5 billion to hire more judges and increase prosecutions.
  • White House Upgrades: An additional $1 billion set aside for the Secret Service to make security upgrades for the President and his cabinet

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USCIS may not be denying your green card case — but it may be quietly putting it on hold.

As of December 2, 2025, USCIS and the State Department began a new “hold and review” process for certain immigration applications filed by individuals from 39 countries – suspending the issuance of visas and green cards for all applicants for an uncertain period of time. Under this policy, officers are expected to pause final decisions while enhanced security vetting processes are established by the government.

For applicants, that means one thing: more delays and uncertainty.

If your case was moving forward, your fingerprints were already taken, or you were expecting an interview soon, this sudden pause could explain why everything has gone silent.

In this update, we break down what USCIS’s “hold and review” policy means, who may be affected, whether you need to take action, and what applicants should watch for next.

Why is there a “hold and review” policy?

In June and December 2025, the President issued various executive orders, imposing immigration restrictions affecting individuals from 39 countries. The ban affects their ability to enter the United States, receive U.S. visas, and obtain immigration benefits through agencies like USCIS and the Department of State via Consular processing.

The affected countries include Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents.

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If you are an EB-2 or EB-3 visa holder waiting for your priority date to become current, you have already heard that in April the final action dates will become current for all countries except India and China.

This means that starting April 1st most individuals residing in the United States will be eligible to file their adjustment of status applications for permanent residence. As part of this process, applicants may file an application for temporary work authorization (Form I-765) or travel authorization (Form I-131). Once your green card application is filed with USCIS, you will not be able to travel abroad unless you have a valid, approved travel permit issued by USCIS.

Gathering Important Documents

Before filing, gather these six documents to avoid delays, minimize RFEs, and be ready to submit your green card application in April before your window of opportunity closes.

#1 Birth Documentation

Green card applicants must submit a birth certificate to USCIS or the National Visa Center that includes their full name, date and place of birth, parents’ names, and an official seal. If the document is not in English, a certified translation is required. You must also bring the original or a certified copy to your interview, if scheduled.

If you do not already have your birth certificate, it is important to obtain it as soon as possible.

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