Updated July 8, 2025

DV lottery green card interview questions: what USCIS checks and what to bring

If you won the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program while legally living in the United States, your green card interview with USCIS focuses on verifying your Form I-485 answers, confirming your identity, and validating your lawful immigration status. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available each year, and USCIS states that the entire adjustment of status process must be completed by September 30 of the fiscal year your lottery pertains to.

How the DV lottery green card process works inside the US

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) is administered by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available annually, drawn by random selection from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Most winners live outside the United States and immigrate through consular processing and issuance of an immigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate under DOS rules.

A small number of winners each year are already residing inside the United States in a nonimmigrant or other legal status when they are selected. For these winners legally residing in the United States, USCIS processes adjustment of status applications using Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

To adjust status under the DV Program with USCIS, you must establish three things: you have been selected for a diversity visa by the DOS lottery, you have an immigrant visa immediately available at the time you file Form I-485, and you are admissible to the United States.

When you can file Form I-485 using the Visa Bulletin

Before you are scheduled for an adjustment interview, a visa must be available for your lottery rank number. You check availability in the monthly DOS Visa Bulletin.

The Visa Bulletin uses two different charts for the Diversity Immigrant category, and understanding the difference helps you file as early as allowed so USCIS has time to schedule your interview before the end of the fiscal year.

DOS Visa Bulletin charts for DV adjustment of status (USCIS guidance, as of July 2025)

Why Section C matters for your interview timeline

Filing under Section C gives lottery winners the opportunity to submit Form I-485 up to six or seven weeks before a visa number can actually be allocated. According to USCIS, this advance filing window gives the agency additional time to determine your eligibility for adjustment of status before the end of the fiscal year.

What happens during the USCIS adjustment of status interview

According to the USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 5), all adjustment of status applicants must be interviewed by an officer unless USCIS waives the interview on a case-by-case basis. If you have derivative family members (such as a spouse or unmarried children under 21 applying with you), derivatives are also required to appear for the interview regardless of the filing category.

The interview is not a casual chat. The officer walks through four steps to verify your information and decide whether you qualify for adjustment of status:

First, the officer checks that you understood every question on your Form I-485 application.

Second, the officer gives you a chance to fix any answers that were filled in by mistake or that have changed since you filed.

Third, the officer goes through any questions left blank or incomplete on the form.

Finally, if anything is added or updated during the interview, you re-sign and date your Form I-485 at the end of the appointment.

What the officer checks and asks at a DV adjustment interview

Because the officer goes through your Form I-485 and supporting file line by line, the questions you hear at a USCIS DV lottery interview come directly from the eligibility and interview criteria in the USCIS Policy Manual. Below are the core areas the officer checks, the exact questions officers ask for each one, what prompts extra questions, and what facts and documents you should have ready.

• Your identity and biographical facts: The officer confirms your full legal name, date and place of birth, and nationality against your birth certificate and passport. Expect direct questions such as: "What is your full legal name, and have you ever used any other names?", "What is your date and city of birth?", and "What is your country of nationality?" Have your passport and birth certificate ready, and make sure any name changes match your supporting records.
• Your selection in the DV Program and qualifying background: The officer verifies that you are the principal applicant selected by DOS (or a qualifying derivative), that you paid the required DOS lottery processing fee, and that your background matches your lottery entry and Form I-485. Expect questions such as: "When were you selected in the Diversity Visa lottery, and what is your case rank number?", "Have you paid the Department of State diversity visa lottery processing fee?", and "What is your educational background and current occupation listed on your application?" Be ready to point to your DOS selection letter and your DOS fee receipt.
• Your manner of entry into the United States: USCIS specifically requires interviews when there are unresolved issues regarding how an applicant entered the country. Expect questions such as: "When and where did you last enter the United States?", "What visa classification did you use to enter?", and "Were you inspected and admitted or paroled by an immigration officer at the port of entry?" Be ready to state the exact date, port of entry, and visa classification of your admission or parole, matching your U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Form I-94 and passport admission stamp.
• Your current nonimmigrant or legal status: Because USCIS DV adjustment applies only to winners legally residing in the United States in a nonimmigrant or other legal status, the officer validates that you were lawfully admitted, that your status remains valid, and that you have not violated the conditions of your status. Expect questions such as: "What is your current nonimmigrant or legal status in the United States, and when does it expire?", "Have you maintained the conditions of your status since you arrived?", and "Have you ever worked in the United States without authorization from DHS?" Know the expiration date in the lower right-hand corner of your Form I-94 and the rules of your current visa category, such as whether your classification requires a petition or Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) before working.
• Your derivative family members (spouse and children): Because derivative applicants must appear for the adjustment interview regardless of the filing category, the officer interviews your accompanying spouse and unmarried children under 21 to confirm their identity, their qualifying relationship to you, and their admissibility. Expect questions such as: "When and where did you and your spouse get married?", "Have either of you been married before, and how did those marriages end?", and "Who are all of your children, and what are their dates and places of birth?" Have your marriage certificate, any divorce decrees, and each child's birth certificate and Form I-94 ready.
• Every eligibility and admissibility question on Form I-485: The officer reviews the Yes/No admissibility questions on Form I-485 under 8 CFR 245. Expect questions directly from the form such as: "Have you ever violated the terms or conditions of your nonimmigrant status?", "Have you ever been refused a visa, denied admission, or ordered removed from the United States?", and "Do any of the health, security, or inadmissibility grounds on Form I-485 apply to you?" If you answered Yes to any eligibility question, the officer will ask follow-up questions to determine whether you are admissible or require a waiver (Form I-601).
• Arrests, criminal history, or security issues: If you have ever been arrested, cited, or charged, the officer will ask what happened and check the outcome against certified copies of court records. Expect questions such as: "Have you ever been arrested, cited, charged, or detained by any law enforcement officer anywhere in the world?", "What was the specific charge and the date of the incident?", and "What was the final disposition of the court case?"
• Changes since filing Form I-485: Because the officer must give you an opportunity to revise answers that have changed since filing, expect questions such as: "What is your current residential address, and have you moved since filing Form I-485?", "Have you changed employers, schools, or nonimmigrant status since you submitted your application?", and "Have you married, divorced, or had a child since filing, or is there any answer on your Form I-485 that you need to update today before signing?" Tell the officer clearly at the start of the form review so the record can be updated before you re-sign.

Checklist of supporting documents for Form I-485 and interview day

USCIS lists the exact supporting evidence you must submit with Form I-485 for a Diversity Immigrant Visa adjustment application. Organize your file so you can hand the officer any item in seconds during the interview:

• Copy of the principal applicant's selection letter for the diversity visa lottery from the Department of State (DOS)
• Copy of the receipt from DOS for the diversity visa lottery processing fee
• Two passport-style photos
• Copy of your birth certificate
• Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
• Copy of your passport page with your nonimmigrant visa (if applicable)
• Copy of your passport page with your admission (entry) or parole stamp (if applicable)
• Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record showing your authorized status and expiration date
• Certified copies of court records (if you have ever been arrested)
• Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (if applicable)
• Applicable filing fees

When USCIS requires or waives the adjustment interview

Under 8 CFR 245.6 and the USCIS Policy Manual, officers decide on a case-by-case basis whether an adjustment applicant needs an in-person interview after reviewing all the evidence in the file. When an interview is needed, USCIS sends your case from the service center to the local field office that covers where you live.

Before an officer can waive your interview, they check that your file does not have any of the issues below:

• The officer needs to confirm your identity in person
• The officer needs to check and validate your lawful immigration status
• You entered the United States without inspection, or there are unresolved questions about how you entered
• There are criminal inadmissibility or national security issues that a service center cannot clear on paper
• There are fraud concerns and the service center recommends an in-person interview
• Your fingerprints were rejected twice
• You have a Class A medical condition that the service center could not resolve through a Request for Evidence (RFE)
• You answered Yes to any eligibility question on Form I-485, and the service center could not determine whether you qualify through an RFE
• The service center has not been able to get your A-File, T-File, or receipt file (when you have more than one file)

Rules for bringing an interpreter to your USCIS interview

If you are not fluent in English, you may use an interpreter for your USCIS adjustment of status interview. If the interviewing officer is fluent in your preferred language, the officer may choose to conduct the examination in that language without an interpreter.

If you bring an interpreter, the USCIS Policy Manual sets strict rules for who can serve and how they must behave during the interview:

• Valid ID and oath: The interpreter must present a valid government-issued identity document and complete an interpreter's oath and privacy release statement (Form G-1256, Declaration for Interpreted USCIS Interview).
• Word-for-word translation: The interpreter must translate what the officer and the applicant say word-for-word to the best of their ability, without adding their own opinion, commentary, or answer.
• Disinterested party rule: In general, a disinterested party should be used as the interpreter. However, an officer may exercise discretion to allow a friend or relative of the applicant to act as interpreter.
• Disqualification risk: USCIS reserves the right to disqualify an interpreter provided by the applicant if the officer believes the integrity of the examination is compromised by the interpreter's participation, or if the officer determines the interpreter is not competent to translate.

Maintaining your nonimmigrant status and avoiding DV scams

Because DV adjustment of status is only for winners legally residing in the United States in a nonimmigrant or other legal status, protecting your underlying status while you prepare for your interview is critical. USCIS notes on its Change My Nonimmigrant Status guidance that if you fail to maintain your nonimmigrant status, you may be barred from returning to and/or removed (deported) from the United States. Never change your activity in the United States (such as starting school on a tourist visa) without prior authorization from USCIS, and note that visitors admitted under the Visa Waiver Program, crew members (D visa), transit travelers (C visa), fiancés (K visa), and informants (S visa) generally cannot apply to change nonimmigrant status inside the country.

Finally, watch out for Diversity Visa fraud. USCIS warns that fraudsters may send emails or letters claiming you have won the Diversity Visa (Green Card) lottery, so never send money to anyone who sends you a letter or email claiming you have won.

Practice example

How did you last enter the United States, what is your current immigration status, and has anything on your Form I-485 changed since you filed it?

A strong, honest answer covers three concrete facts that match your file. First, state your exact date of last arrival, the port of entry, and the nonimmigrant visa category you used to enter, matching the admission or parole stamp in your passport. Second, state your current nonimmigrant or other legal status and the exact expiration date shown on your Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, confirming that you have maintained the conditions of that status. Third, tell the officer clearly whether any answer on your Form I-485 has changed since you filed, such as a new residential address, a change in your current status or employer, or a new family event. Have your passport, Form I-94, DOS selection letter, and any updated documents in hand so the officer can update the form before you re-sign and date it at the end of the interview.

The USCIS Policy Manual instructs officers to validate your immigration status, resolve your manner of entry, and verify whether any Form I-485 answers have changed since filing. Giving exact dates that match your Form I-94 and stating updates upfront lets the officer verify your eligibility quickly.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.