How Should You Dress For Your Marriage Green Card Interview?

Q. My marriage green card interview is coming up and I am not sure how I should dress. Should I wear a dress? Should my husband wear a suit?

A. What you wear is definitely something to consider about your marriage green card interview. It is appropriate for you both to wear nice clothes for your interview. It signals to the interviewer that you are taking the matter seriously. That is a good signal to send.

I tell my clients to think “business casual” when it comes to their attire for the marriage green card interview. Overall, I believe this is the best look for your interview. Clothes that are not clean or have tears or rips in them are not your best bet for the marriage green card interview. Also, men should not wear t-shirts or baseball caps.

Age Differences and Clothes

A colleague told me about a case she had a few years ago where the clothes her clients wore did make a difference. She represented a husband and wife in a marriage green card case. The wife, a U.S. Citizen, was probably 45 and her husband was probably 35. USCIS, for whatever reason, will generally give a case greater scrutiny when the wife is older than her husband.

To make the case more difficult, the wife did not wear clothes that would flatter a 45 year old. Instead she wore clothes that made her seem quite a bit older. Unfortunately, her husband, who again was 10 years younger than her, wore very sporty clothes to the interview that made him look even younger. My colleague believed that the interview was more difficult based on the clothes that her clients chose to wear that day.

Clothes can indicate teamwork.

I have been at interviews with couples whose clothes definitely complimented each other. Visually they seemed to be a team. They seemed to be a united front. It is like on the show amazing race where the members on a team (each amazing race team has 2 members) wear the same colors (there is a red team a green team etc.) In every episode the team members wear the same colored shirts. As a result they appear to be united.

I haven’t been surprised when correctly dressed couples have a smooth interview.

They say that clothes make the man (or woman). Take time to pick the clothes that you and your spouse will be wearing to your green card interview. It does make a difference.

Lawrence Gruner is an immigration attorney with over 20 years of experience handling fiance visa, marriage green card, and U.S. Citizenship cases. He may be reached at 888-801-6558 or 916-760-7270. He may also be reached via email at attorneygruner@gmail.com

His office is in downtown Sacramento California. His office handles immigration cases worldwide. He would be happy to consult with you, free of charge, about your immigration case. He can help you come up with an immigration plan before you file any paperwork with USCIS.