Perhaps one of the most stressful interviews you and your spouse will likely go through in your life is the green card interview.
Fortunately, there is way to combat those feelings of anxiety.
Like anything else in life where you will be performing to some degree (and lets face it, an interview is a performance) being thoroughly prepared before the interview will do wonders for your nerves.
The first thing you need to do is read over carefully the interview notice you received, especially the list of documents you are asked to bring.
Write this list of documents onto a separate sheet of paper so the information will stand out and not be forgotten.
When the day of the interview arrives, dress as though you are going to work or to a job interview, but don't overdo it.
You want to be presentable and neat, but you also want to be comfortable.
The last thing you want is to be sitting in a small government office cubicle wearing a tight collared shirt, sweating profusely because the cotton shirt you bought the night before simply doesn't breathe.
Also be prepared for the fact that your interview will be in a federal building so you will be going through a metal detector.
To make this a bit easier just go ahead and place your keys, your cell phone and anything else made of metal in one pocket so you can quickly place them in the tray and move through the detector without too much hassle.
Once you enter into the lobby of the building you will be directed to a waiting room where other couples will be waiting to be called for their interview too.
Just take a seat and try to relax by remembering to breathe slowly and deeply.
As silly as that might sound, the reality is that when we are stressed we often times don't realize that our breathing is rapid and shallow.
Just becoming aware of your breathing pattern will help you breathe in a more relaxed way and calm your anxiety.
Also, when you are just sitting there in the waiting room anticipating your interview, keep in mind that most of green card interviews go relatively fast, maybe fifteen minutes or so.
The USCIS officers conducting the interviews have enormous case loads and prefer to keep things going at a fairly fast clip.
So during the interview, do your best to keep your responses centered on the question and don't go off on some unrelated tangent.
If there is an area of your response where the interviewing officer needs more clarification, he or she will be sure to ask you.
Some of us have a tendency to try to fill voids in a conversation because we might feel uncomfortable when there is a sudden pause in the back and forth of our discussion.
We might feel compelled to contribute something to the conversation just to keep it moving.
If you are susceptible to that habit, resist it at this interview.
You don't want to inadvertently offer information that could contradict or bring into question something you may have stated earlier or something you may have declared on your paperwork.
Keep your responses centered on the question asked.
You have to remember that while you are sitting there at the interview, the USCIS officer is actually multi-tasking.
He is reading through your file while trying to interview you and your spouse at the same time.
Just be patient and allow these somewhat uncomfortable pauses that may come and go during the interview.
One of the other things you should be sure to do before the interview, is to gather all of the original documents that you had made copies of and mailed to the USCIS with your adjustment of status application and bring them with you to the interview.
While the officer will not be keeping these original documents, he or she may want to compare them with the copies that will be in your application file.
If anything has changed in your life since you first submitted your adjustment of status application, make sure you bring some documentation to substantiate it.
For example, if you have since had a baby, bring along the birth certificate.
If you have recently purchased a new home, bring the loan documentation and other pertinent paperwork.
Another thing that you should make you feel a bit more comfortable about the interview, is that this is not a miniature version of Jeopardy.
You don't have to come with every little detail and date of your relationship memorized.
If you are asked a question pertaining to something on your application, a particular date lets say, you can simply take a look and read what you had written.
If you and your spouse have only been married for less than two years, the odds are that the tone of questioning may not be as intense as it otherwise might be because any green card issued will only be conditional and good for only two years.
This is not always the case, but generally the officer knows that even if he grants you the green card you are still not completely free of the USCIS.
A very good first step in getting your spouse and yourself prepared for the interview is to start just by going over some basic questions you are sure to get at the very beginning: How did you meet? What's your wife's middle name? What does her father do for a living? etc.
After a little bit of time you will realize you know a lot more about your spouse than you thought you did.
You are on your way to a successful green card interview.