Interview preparation: documents and conduct

Passports for everyone travelling, valid at least six months beyond the planned entry; the interview appointment letter; photographs to the consulate’s specification; the printed DS-260 confirmation (immigrant visas) or DS-160 (O-1 and other nonimmigrant visas).

Birth certificates for every family member, the marriage certificate, police certificates from every country where you lived over six months after age 16 - with translations to the consulate’s requirements.

The sealed envelope with the panel physician’s medical results, unless the consulate receives them directly. Do not open it - an opened result is not accepted.

A copy of the filed petition - at minimum the cover letter with the evidence list - and a copy of the RFE response if there was one. The consulate sees the file in the system, but the officer may not have read the detail, and pointing to the right section saves both of you time.

The original I-797 approval notice, diplomas and certificates, awards, printouts of publications and proof of judging. Usually not requested - but in several community reports the officer asked for exactly the diploma with translation and the CV, neither of which was on the official list.

Put the documents in one clear folder in the order of the list. Check the originals against the copies and re-read your own petition: people fail less on hard questions than on "describe in your own words what you do".

Decide on the interview language and do not change your mind on the spot. Agree in advance which spouse answers most questions: usually the principal applicant, but the other spouse should be able to describe themselves briefly.

Arrange passport delivery in advance and mentally allow for administrative processing: in community experience it happens to entirely clean cases too.

Any electronics - phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, recorders, smartwatches, flash drives. Some consulates have no lockers at all and will simply turn you away at the entrance.

Large bags and backpacks, sharp objects (including nail scissors), liquids and aerosols, weapons of any kind, food and drink, gifts for staff. Travel light: what you did not bring cannot be lost at the entrance.

The officer’s job is to confirm identity, rule out grounds of inadmissibility and check that you are the person whose case was approved. They will not re-adjudicate an approved petition, but on a serious contradiction they may suspend issuance and return the case to USCIS.

Repeating a question several times is a technique, not a sign of failure: they are testing whether your answer holds. Stick to one formulation and do not try to guess where the officer is heading.

At the end it is fine to ask calmly whether anything else is needed. It removes uncertainty and sometimes surfaces a missing document before it becomes an emailed request.