Green card interview glossary

This green card interview glossary explains words you may see while preparing for a marriage-based adjustment of status interview at a USCIS field office. It also defines the terms Ready for My Interview uses for practice. Start with the word you need, then check your notice, the current USCIS instructions, or your lawyer for information about your own case.

Immigration terms can have legal meanings that depend on your situation. These definitions are for general understanding and practice. Ready for My Interview provides no legal advice, does not fill or file forms, and cannot predict an approval. Nothing you add to the practice tool is sent to USCIS by us.

Immigration and interview terms

Adjustment of status

Adjustment of status is the process of applying for lawful permanent resident status from inside the United States. People often shorten it to AOS. Marriage-based adjustment of status means a marriage is the basis for the application. Eligibility and the steps you must follow depend on your circumstances.

This site's practice is for a marriage-based adjustment of status interview at a USCIS field office. Other paths to a green card have different steps. The USCIS page for Form I-485 has current form information and instructions. Ask your lawyer which rules apply to you before relying on a general definition.

Applicant

The applicant is the person applying for the benefit. In a marriage-based adjustment of status case, this usually means the person seeking permanent resident status through Form I-485. Your spouse may be the petitioner on Form I-130. Those roles describe different parts of the process, even when you prepare together.

During practice, select the person who will answer: you or your spouse. Answer from that person's knowledge. If a question asks what your spouse did, explain what you know without pretending you were present for an event you did not attend.

Bona fide marriage

A bona fide marriage generally means a genuine marriage. In this context, the question is whether the marriage is real and was entered into in good faith, rather than for an immigration benefit. The legal review involves your circumstances and evidence. This glossary cannot tell you how USCIS will assess your marriage.

For practice, describe the life you actually share. Couples have different homes, routines, financial arrangements, and family relationships. Ask your lawyer how to present your evidence and explain your situation. Avoid changing a true answer because you think a different arrangement would sound more familiar.

Evidence

Evidence is information or records used to support facts in a case. In a marriage-based case, documents may relate to your marriage or shared life. A record can help you check a date during preparation, though choosing what to submit or bring is a separate question.

Your interview notice and current USCIS instructions may name documents you need. Ask a lawyer about case-specific evidence questions. A list of practice questions cannot establish what your case requires, and the practice tool does not decide whether your evidence is enough.

Field office

A field office is a USCIS office in the United States where USCIS conducts certain in-person appointments, including many adjustment of status interviews. Check your interview notice for the office address and appointment details. Do not assume that an office you visited for another purpose is your interview location.

Ready for My Interview covers marriage-based adjustment of status field-office interviews. It does not cover embassy or consular interviews, K-1 visa interviews, naturalization, or court. Read which interviews this practice does not cover if you are unsure whether your appointment fits.

Follow-up question

A follow-up question asks for more detail about an answer. If you say a friend introduced you, the next question might ask the friend's name or where you met. A follow-up can also clarify which event or date you mean.

Listen to the new question before answering. You do not need to repeat the whole story if the question asks for one detail. Our guide to green card interview follow-up questions explains how to practice these shorter exchanges without memorizing a speech.

I-130, Petition for Alien Relative

Form I-130 is the Petition for Alien Relative. In a marriage-based case, a spouse generally files it to establish the qualifying family relationship. People may refer to the form, the petition, or an I-130 receipt when discussing this part of their case.

An I-130 and an I-485 have different purposes. Filing or approval of a petition does not by itself explain every later step or settle every eligibility question. Read the USCIS Form I-130 page and ask your lawyer about the status of your own petition.

I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

Form I-485 is the application used to seek adjustment of status. Its full name is Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. In a marriage-based case, the person seeking permanent resident status is generally the I-485 applicant.

Review your own submitted form before practice so you understand what you said and what may have changed. Questions about a correction, an eligibility answer, or a change after filing should go to your lawyer. Ready for My Interview does not complete the form or tell you how to answer legal questions on it.

Interview notice

An interview notice is the USCIS notice that gives information about your scheduled appointment. It usually includes the time, place, and instructions about attendance and documents. Read all of it, including any pages that list what to bring.

Use the notice for your appointment details instead of a general checklist from the internet. If an instruction is unclear, check with USCIS or your lawyer. The interview day practice guide helps you review questions, while your notice provides instructions for the actual appointment.

Interpreter

An interpreter helps people communicate by translating spoken language. Interpretation is different from translating a written document. If you need language help for an interview, check the rules that apply to your appointment, including who may interpret and what arrangements or paperwork are required.

Ask your lawyer or USCIS about those requirements before interview day. Practicing in English can help you explain familiar facts, but it cannot establish whether you need an interpreter or whether a particular person may serve as one. You can ask for a practice question to be repeated when you do not understand it.

Original document

An original document is the actual document, as distinct from a photocopy or a picture of it. Interview instructions often ask you to bring originals of certain records. Read your notice and the relevant USCIS instructions for the records that apply to your appointment.

Adding a scan to your practice Packet does not send it to USCIS and does not replace bringing a required original. Keep your real appointment preparation separate from the files you choose to use for practice. Ask your lawyer if you cannot obtain a document named in your instructions.

Petitioner

A petitioner is the person who files a petition. In a marriage-based I-130 case, that is generally the spouse petitioning for the qualifying relationship. The person seeking adjustment of status is generally called the applicant on the I-485.

Check the form name when you see either term in a notice. You and your spouse may discuss the case as one shared process, but a question can be directed to one particular person. During practice, make sure you know whose history or knowledge the question asks about.

RFE, request for evidence

An RFE is a request for evidence from USCIS. It asks for information or documents related to the case. The request should explain what USCIS wants and give instructions for responding. Read the whole notice and pay attention to its deadline.

An RFE needs a response based on the actual request. A practice session cannot prepare or submit that response, and its feedback cannot tell you the legal effect of an RFE. Ask your lawyer how to respond and how any concerns in the request affect your interview preparation.

Separate interview

A separate interview means spouses are questioned apart rather than answering together in the same room. USCIS may question spouses together or separately. The way an appointment is conducted can vary, so a practice guide cannot promise which format you will encounter.

Practice answering without prompts from your spouse. Then compare factual differences after both of you have finished. Different wording is common; different dates may need checking. See how to review mismatched interview answers for a method that keeps each person's memory separate.

Ready for My Interview practice terms

Case

In Ready for My Interview, a Case is the place for one couple's preparation. It holds the optional Packet, the Dossier, and practice sessions. This product term does not mean that we manage your USCIS case or communicate with the government for you.

You and your spouse can share the same Case while answering in separate sessions. Earlier answers on that Case can be used in later practice. Keep track of who is answering so your own memory and your spouse's memory are represented by the right person.

Dossier

The Dossier is the summary built from documents in your Packet. It gives the practice officer facts from the file to ask about. Building it needs a purchase. You can practice without documents if you prefer.

The officer uses the last Dossier you built. If you change the Packet, update the Dossier before expecting questions about the new files. A summary can miss a detail in a difficult scan. If a fact does not appear, check the source document; that alone does not mean the fact or evidence is absent.

Feedback

Feedback is the review you receive after a practice session. You do not receive a score while answering questions. Set aside time after practice to read the review and check any factual difference it identifies.

The review is about practice answers. It cannot decide whether USCIS will approve your application or replace a lawyer's case review. For the division between those kinds of preparation, read how practice fits alongside lawyer preparation.

Officer manner

Officer manner is the setting for how the practice officer acts. The choices are standard, friendly, skeptical, bad day, and looking to deny. You choose a manner for practice so you can try answering with different levels of pressure.

These are practice settings, not descriptions of the officer assigned to your real appointment. A friendly session cannot promise a friendly interview. A harder manner cannot predict a denial. Start with a setting that lets you finish an answer, then try another when you want to practice a different pace.

Packet

The Packet is the set of documents you choose to add to your Case. It is optional, and adding files is free. The files are read for practice when you build the Dossier, which requires a purchase. Later sessions can ask about facts in those files.

Your practice Packet is separate from anything you submit to USCIS. Adding a document here does not file it with the government. You can read how to practice before your documents are ready if you want to start answering first.

Practice round

A Practice Round is the paid unit in your balance. Packs are one round for $20, three for $50, or ten for $100. These are one-time purchases with no subscription. Buying again adds rounds to the balance.

A session uses a round when you submit the fifth answer. If you stop before submitting that answer, you keep the round. Spouses on the same Case share the pool of rounds, even though they answer in separate sessions. Check the practice pack prices when choosing how much practice to buy.

Practice session

A Practice Session is one run of officer questions and your answers. Choose who answers and the officer manner. You can answer aloud by recording, stopping, and sending, or you can type. Feedback comes after the session.

A session and a round are different terms: the session describes the conversation, and the round describes what is used from your paid balance. Later sessions can ask about earlier answers on the same Case, so review what you need to check before starting again.

Prior answers

Prior answers are answers from earlier practice sessions on the same Case. They show what you or your spouse previously said. They are claims made during practice, and an answer can contain a mistake.

The officer can ask later questions that relate to those answers. If you discover that you gave the wrong month or confused two events, check the underlying fact before practicing again. Repeating the earlier answer does not make it accurate. Use your memory and relevant records to work out the correction.