Updated April 8, 2024

Immigrant visa interview for minors: attendance rules, waivers, and how to prepare

Whether your child must attend an immigrant visa interview depends on where you apply. If you apply abroad through consular processing, the embassy or consulate schedules an interview for your child once an immigrant visa is available. Inside the United States, USCIS can waive the adjustment of status interview on a case-by-case basis for unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens and unmarried children under 14 of permanent residents.

Who counts as a child, and which interview path applies?

For immigration purposes, USCIS defines your child as an unmarried person under 21 years of age. Once your child turns 21 or marries, immigration law classifies them as a son or daughter rather than a child.

Your minor child seeking a Green Card follows one of two paths after you file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. When completing Form I-130, you must select only one option in Part 4 (Question 61 or 62) to indicate which path your child will use.

If your child lives outside the United States, your case goes through consular processing abroad. After USCIS approves Form I-130, it sends the petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC), and the U.S. embassy or consulate schedules an immigrant visa interview once a visa is available.

If your child is already in the United States after being inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled, they may apply inside the country through adjustment of status using Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. If you are a U.S. citizen petitioning for an unmarried child under 21, a visa is always available, so your child can file Form I-485 concurrently with Form I-130. If you are a lawful permanent resident petitioning for an unmarried child under 21 (Second Preference 2A), your child waits until a visa number becomes available according to the priority date on the monthly Visa Bulletin.

Child Green Card categories and interview pathways

Do minors have to attend the Green Card or immigrant visa interview?

Under the USCIS Policy Manual, all adjustment of status applicants must be interviewed by an officer unless USCIS waives the interview. For family-based applications, USCIS generally requires the Form I-130 petitioner to appear with the principal adjustment applicant, and derivatives are also required to appear regardless of the filing category.

However, USCIS officers may decide on a case-by-case basis that it is unnecessary to interview certain minor applicants who file Form I-485 in the United States. The age cutoff depends on whether the petitioning parent is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.

Even when a minor fits a waiver category, USCIS is not required to waive the interview. Before waiving an interview, an officer checks that the record does not trigger any reason to relocate the case to a field office for an in-person interview.

• Unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens: eligible for a case-by-case USCIS interview waiver if they filed Form I-485 on their own, or filed together with their family's adjustment applications and every applicant in that family is eligible for an interview waiver.
• Unmarried children under 14 of lawful permanent residents: eligible for a case-by-case USCIS interview waiver if they filed Form I-485 on their own, or filed together with their family's adjustment applications and every applicant in that family is eligible for an interview waiver.
• Illness or incapacitation: a USCIS officer may waive the personal appearance of an applicant or petitioner due to illness or incapacitation, with supervisory approval.
• Military or incarcerated petitioners: USCIS may waive the personal appearance of a military spouse petitioner or an incarcerated U.S. citizen spouse petitioner, though the adjustment applicant must still appear.
• Consular processing abroad: once a visa is available or the priority date is current, the consular office schedules the applicant for an interview and provides notification and processing instructions.

When does USCIS require an in-person interview for a minor?

If USCIS does not waive the interview, it relocates the case to the field office with jurisdiction over the child's place of residence once the file is ready. According to the USCIS Policy Manual, reasons for requiring an interview include specific questions about identity, entry, or admissibility that a service center cannot resolve on paper.

• A need to confirm the identity of the applicant.
• A need to validate the applicant's immigration status.
• The applicant entered the United States without inspection, or there are unresolved issues about the manner of entry.
• Known criminal inadmissibility or national security concerns that cannot be resolved at a service center.
• Fraud concerns where the service center recommends an interview.
• The applicant's fingerprints have been rejected twice.
• A Class A medical condition that the service center cannot resolve through a Request for Evidence (RFE).
• The applicant answered Yes to any eligibility question on the adjustment application, and the service center cannot determine eligibility through an RFE.
• The service center has not been able to obtain the applicant's A-File, T-File, or receipt file when the applicant has multiple files.

How the National Visa Center schedules a child's consular interview

When a minor applies from outside the United States, the interview happens at a U.S. Department of State embassy or consulate. After USCIS approves Form I-130, it sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC), where it stays until an immigrant visa number is available.

The NVC notifies both the petitioning parent and the child (the beneficiary) when it receives the petition and again when an immigrant visa number is about to become available. The NVC also sends notice of when to submit immigrant visa processing fees (commonly called fee bills) and supporting documentation.

Once a visa is immediately available or the child's priority date is earlier than the cut-off date in the monthly Visa Bulletin, the consular office schedules the child for an interview and decides eligibility.

While waiting for the appointment, you do not need to contact the NVC unless key facts change. You must contact the NVC if the child changes their address, if the child was under 21 and has now reached age 21, or if the child changes their marital status, because these changes can affect eligibility or visa availability.

If a permanent resident parent naturalizes and becomes a U.S. citizen while the child is waiting, the parent can upgrade the child's visa classification so an immigrant visa becomes immediately available. If Form I-130 is still pending, send a letter with copies of the naturalization certificate and Form I-130 receipt notice to the USCIS office on the receipt notice with I-130 Update on the envelope. If Form I-130 is already approved, send a scanned PDF or JPG of the U.S. passport biodata page or naturalization certificate to the NVC through its Public Inquiry Form with I-130 Update in the description.

Immigrant visa interview questions for minors and what officers check

Whether you attend a consular interview abroad or an adjustment interview at a USCIS office, the officer's goal is to verify your child's identity, immigration history, and qualifying parent-child relationship. Consular officers and USCIS officers tailor their questions to the child's age and the petition category.

During a USCIS adjustment interview, the officer verifies that the applicant understood the questions on the application and provides an opportunity to revise any answers that were completed incorrectly or that have changed since filing. Any unanswered questions or incomplete answers on the application are resolved at the window or desk. If information is added or revised during the interview, the applicant re-signs and dates the application at the conclusion of the interview.

Common immigrant visa interview questions for minors and accompanying parents focus on these core verifications:

• "Has any information on your child's application changed since filing, or do any answers need correction?" The officer verifies that you and your child understood every question, confirms your current residential address, and updates any travel or biographical changes before you re-sign the form.
• "What is the legal basis of your parent-child relationship?" The officer checks whether your child is a genetic child born in wedlock, a genetic child born out of wedlock, a child born through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to a legal gestational mother, a step-child, or an adopted child.
• "When did the step-parent marry the child's genetic or legal parent?" If a step-parent is petitioning, the officer checks that the civil marriage took place before your child turned 18 and verifies proof of termination for all prior marriages.
• "If the genetic father was not married to the mother before age 18, is the child legitimated?" The officer checks local legitimation laws. If not legitimated under those laws, the father must present evidence of a bona fide relationship showing emotional or financial involvement before the child turned 21 while unmarried.
• "When was the adoption finalized, and did you meet custody requirements?" For a family-based Form I-130 adoption, the officer confirms the adoption was finalized before age 16 (or 18 under the sibling exception) and verifies cumulative records for 2 years of legal custody and 2 years of joint physical custody.

Documents to prepare for a minor's Green Card case

Your document folder must prove two things: the parent's U.S. status and the legal relationship to the child, plus the child's own admissibility and identity records. If any document is in a foreign language, USCIS requires a full English translation along with a translator's certification stating that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.

Never include items with electronic chips or batteries, CD-ROMs, DVDs, toys, action figures, thumb drives, biological or genetic DNA samples, or graphic photos of childbirth in a USCIS filing. Use this checklist to organize your child's records:

• Proof of the parent's status: for a U.S. citizen parent, a copy of a U.S. birth certificate, unexpired U.S. passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240), naturalization certificate, or certificate of citizenship. For a permanent resident parent, a copy (front and back) of Form I-551 (Green Card) or a foreign passport with a stamp showing temporary evidence of permanent residence.
• Proof of the parent-child relationship: the child's birth certificate issued by civil authorities. Genetic fathers and step-parents also add the civil marriage certificate to the genetic or legal gestational mother and proof of termination of any prior marriages (divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment decree). Adoptive parents add the final adoption decree and evidence of 2 years of legal custody and 2 years of physical custody.
• Proof of any legal name change for the parent or the child: marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption decree, or court judgment of name change.
• For immediate relative adjustment of status (Form I-485) in the U.S.: the Form I-797 approval or receipt notice for Form I-130 (unless filing concurrently), two passport-style photographs, a government-issued identity document with photograph, the child's birth certificate, passport pages with nonimmigrant visa and admission or parole stamps (if applicable), Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ Affidavit of Support, and Form I-693 Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (submitted with Form I-485 when required, or USCIS may reject Form I-485).

Relationship evidence required by parent type

Using an interpreter at the interview

If the minor or the accompanying parent is not fluent in English, USCIS allows an interpreter at the adjustment of status interview. If the interviewing officer is fluent in the applicant's preferred language, the officer may conduct the interview in that language without an interpreter.

When you bring an interpreter to a USCIS interview, the USCIS Policy Manual sets specific conduct and identification rules:

• 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).
• 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.
• In general, a disinterested party should serve as the interpreter, though an officer may use discretion to allow a friend or relative to interpret.
• USCIS reserves the right to disqualify an interpreter if the officer believes the integrity of the examination is compromised or determines the interpreter is not competent to translate.

What happens after the immigrant visa is approved abroad

When a consular officer grants a minor's immigrant visa abroad, the embassy or consulate gives you a sealed Visa Packet along with the child's Alien Number (A-Number, starting with the letter A followed by 8 or 9 digits), Department of State (DOS) Case ID (3 letters followed by 9 or 10 numbers, or for Diversity Visa immigrants, 4 numbers followed by 2 letters and 5 numbers), an Immigrant Data Summary, and payment instructions. Do not open the sealed Visa Packet.

Before the child travels to the United States, USCIS strongly encourages paying the USCIS Immigrant Fee online. USCIS uses this fee to process the immigrant visa packet and produce the physical Green Card. Children who enter under the orphan or Hague adoption programs, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, returning lawful permanent residents (SB-1s), and K nonimmigrants are exempt from the USCIS Immigrant Fee. A parent, family member, friend, employer, attorney, or accredited representative can pay the fee online using a credit card, debit card, single pre-paid debit card with enough balance for all family members in one transaction, or a U.S. bank checking and routing number (ACH).

At the U.S. port of entry, the child hands the unopened Visa Packet to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. Once the CBP officer inspects and admits the child, the child has lawful permanent resident status. If you do not pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee, it does not affect the child's lawful permanent resident status, but the child will only have evidence of status for 1 year from the date of admission (the temporary I-551 stamp CBP places in the passport) and will not receive the physical Green Card until the fee is paid.

If the child's U.S. residential address changes before arrival, give the new address to the CBP officer at the port of entry so USCIS mails the card to the right home. If the card does not arrive within 90 days of arrival or fee payment, you can call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 or submit an inquiry through the USCIS e-Request page.

For a step-child whose petitioning step-parent and genetic or gestational parent have been married for less than 2 years on the day the child receives permanent residence, the child receives conditional permanent resident (CPR) status. You must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence (not Form I-90) during the 90-day window before the conditional card expires. If the child gained CPR status at the same time as the parent or within 90 days, the child can be included on the parent's Form I-751. If the child became a permanent resident more than 90 days after the parent, the child must file a separate Form I-751.

Practice example

Has any information on your child's application changed since you filed, and how did you establish your legal parent-child relationship?

Start by stating directly whether any facts on the application have changed since filing, such as a new residential address, recent travel, or an answer that needs to be corrected before re-signing the form. Next, state the exact legal basis of your parent-child relationship as shown on Form I-130, whether you are the genetic mother, genetic father, step-parent, or adoptive parent. Have your civil documents organized to hand over immediately if requested: the child's civil birth certificate, your U.S. passport or Green Card, and any required marriage or divorce certificates. If you are a step-parent, point out the date of your marriage to the child's genetic or gestational parent to confirm it took place before the child turned 18. If you are an unmarried genetic father and the child was not legitimated under local law before age 18, have your records of emotional and financial involvement prior to the child turning 21 ready to show.

The officer is checking two required points from the USCIS Policy Manual and Form I-130 guidelines: that all answers on the form are accurate and up to date before the applicant re-signs at the end of the interview, and that the parent-child relationship meets the exact statutory definition of a child under 21.

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.