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WHY YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY FOR I.N.S. INTERVIEW
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
Many people, several years ago, had relative petitions
filed for them by family members (such as spouse, parent, brother,
sister, etc.). After waiting anxiously for several years (sometimes
over a decade), the priority date finally becomes current, and
they are called by INS for their interview (or adjustment of status).
They may think to themselves that because they filed the Petition
on their own, they can handle the interview themselves and save
money, by not having an attorney with them for their Adjustment
of Status interview.
However, filing a petition and getting it approved
is relatively simple, compared to an INS in-person interview.
After all, with a petition, you fill out the form, include supporting
documentation, and mail it away to the INS. You then receive an
Approval Notice from the INS in the mail, without ever seeing
any Immigration Officer in person.
An adjustment of status interview puts you in an
entirely different situation. This may now be the first time that
you come face-to-face with an Immigration Officer. At your interview,
you may be questioned in detail about your case or petition. This
could include the facts about how you entered the U.S. (i.e. under
a different name or date of birth), what you have been doing in
the U.S. all these years (i.e. have you been working without authorization?),
whether you ever applied for any other immigration benefit during
that time (i.e. Political Asylum, CSS/LULAC, etc.)
The documents that you submitted when you first
filed the petition, and those documents which you bring to the
interview, will be examined carefully by the Immigration
Officer, who is highly trained to spot and detect fraudulent documents,
such as fake birth certificates, employment letters, tax returns,
etc.
I want to make it clear that INS Officers conducting
interviews are courteous, professional, and fair. However, when
you don't bring the proper or complete documentation, when you
don't provide correct information, when you start contradicting
yourself, when you start giving evasive answers, it may look like
you are trying to hide something or you are lying (even when
you're telling the truth). This could create suspicion in
the mind of the INS Officer. So, even though you may be legitimately
entitled to the immigration benefit being sought, you could find
yourself being put under investigation, or even having your case
denied.
A lot of times people think to themselves, "I'll
just go to the interview by myself, and if things get messed up,
then I can always go to an attorney". But, if you messed
up the case, it makes it all the more difficult and costly
(and your case gets delayed), as more time is needed to repair
the damage!
I know some people tell themselves, "If
I bring along an attorney, the INS may think I have done something
wrong, I have something to hide, or I am guilty". This
is a myth. If you are legitimately entitled to the immigration
benefit you are seeking, then having an attorney assist you in
preparing your case in advance and accompanying you to the interview,
increases the chances of your case being properly analyzed
and properly presented to the Immigration Officer. It is not
a sign of "guilt".
There are many good reasons for people to be accompanied
by an attorney to an interview or hearing. These reasons become
even more critical with the expiration of Section 245(i). Now,
there might be no "second chance" for most people, if
the petition they waited for so many years is denied. What will
they have to fall back on, if this happens?
1. An attorney can brief you for your interview
or hearing. An attorney can explain to you far in advance
of your interview (or hearing), what to expect, the types of questions
that may be asked of you, and the correct way to answer those
questions, etc. In an interview or hearing, you may be asked a
question, and you try to truthfully answer the question. But the
answer comes out wrong, because you somehow didn't say what you
really meant to, did not provide a full answer, or you may have
misunderstood the question, and gave an answer that did not fit
the question. This may spark INS' suspicion, or create additional
questions in the mind of the examiner or judge. You may be rescheduled
for another interview, and/or your case could be placed under
investigation, therefore prolonging the case. With proper
preparation and briefing by an attorney, you could possibly avoid
this from happening.
2. An attorney can help you gather the necessary
documents. Before the interview or hearing, an attorney can
make sure that all the necessary and important documents have
been gathered, and will be available at the time of the interview
or hearing. This could avoid your "forgetting" to bring
some important document to your interview, and then having to
come back another day, perhaps weeks or months later, or
your application being delayed or denied. Or an attorney
can evaluate your documents, and determine what documents are
needed. In other words, the Interviewing Officer may only want
documents that have a direct bearing on your case and eligibility.
If you bring a box full of papers that have no bearing on your
case, it could possibly complicate matters.
3. An attorney can make sure your rights are
protected at the interview or hearing. There are many complications
that can arise during interviews. For example, the interviewing
officer may suspect fraud, and ask the person to sign a confession.
Without an attorney to advise him, this person may go ahead and
sign the confession, out of fear and confusion, without even reading
it, because he will be very confused and scared, and would not
know what rights, remedies, and relief are available to him.
There are other complications that a person may
not be able to properly explain to an interviewing officer or
an Immigration Judge, like the existence of illegitimate children,
discrepancies in birth or marriage certificates, late-registered
birth certificates, applications for asylum, CSS/LULAC, DUI's,
or other criminal offenses.
Because of your fear or confusion, you may say things
that you didn't mean to say, or you may wind up signing documents
(or "confessions"), that you didn't read, simply because
it was put in front of you.
With an attorney accompanying you, the attorney
can make sure that the interview or hearing is conducted in a
fair manner, and that you are not accidentally giving up any of
your rights. The attorney can make sure that your rights are being
protected.
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