If you skip the interview without notice, your green card application will be denied — check first whether a removal order already exists before you go
Receiving a notice for a green card interview from USCIS means that a long wait is finally coming to an end. But ever since it became known that applicants who went to interviews in San Diego and New York in November 2025 were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigration forums have seen a steady stream of posts asking whether it is even safe to go after receiving such a notice. In Baltimore, the trial court (the first court to hear the case) ruled that arresting spouses with final removal orders at their interviews was unlawful, but in August 2026 the appeals court vacated that ruling. Even so, skipping the interview out of fear will get the application denied.
A spouse who went to the interview was detained
"In November 2025, an ICE spokesperson said that even a person inside a federal government building, such as a USCIS office, can be arrested, detained, and removed if they lack lawful immigration status (the legal right to remain in the United States), according to San Diego television station CBS 8."
According to CBS 8, an attorney in San Diego at the time said that five of his own clients had been detained at their green card interviews within a single week, and that in San Diego anyone who had overstayed a visa was being arrested at interviews. According to him, all five had entered on a visa and overstayed, were married to U.S. citizens, and had no arrests or criminal record.
On November 24, 2025, a man who went to his green card interview at the federal building in Manhattan (26 Federal Plaza) was detained and did not go home with his spouse that day. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that he had entered on a tourist visa, overstayed a departure deadline that had expired in September 2013, and had received a removal order in 2022 after failing to appear at an immigration court hearing. The couple said they had never received notice of the hearing date and did not know a removal order existed until the day of the interview. A judge granted him bail (release upon payment of a bond) in January 2026, but he was not actually released until April 23. An attorney with the organization that assisted him said that, in the meantime, ICE refused to accept the bond payment, according to CBS New York.
A similar thing happened in Baltimore several years earlier. Seven couples, each made up of a U.S. citizen and a foreign-national spouse, filed the marriage-based petition (the first application in which a citizen petitions for a foreign-national spouse) between 2016 and 2018 and were scheduled for interviews. Every one of the foreign-national spouses already had a final removal order. Three were arrested in the building immediately after their interview, and the rest postponed or gave up on their interviews once they heard the news.
According to the opinions in lawsuits the couples filed in 2018 and 2019, the foreign-national spouses were required to leave the United States and obtain an immigrant visa abroad (the visa used to come to the United States as a permanent resident), but leaving would have barred them from returning for up to ten years because of the time they had spent in the country unlawfully. For that reason, they were going through the process of obtaining a waiver of that bar before leaving. On August 14, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that having a waiver application pending, or even approved, does not confer lawful status to remain in the United States, and therefore cannot prevent an arrest.
The couples also argued that the government was using the marriage-based petition interview — the first step of the waiver process — as "bait" for arrests. The appeals court said that, because discovery had not yet taken place, the record so far was not enough to accept that claim, and sent the case back to the trial court.
If you simply don't show up, your application will be denied
"The immigration regulations provide that if an applicant fails to appear for an interview, the application is treated as abandoned and denied. The exception is when a request to reschedule or a change-of-address request reaches USCIS by the time of the interview, and USCIS grants that request (8 CFR 103.2(b)(13)(ii))."
Simply not showing up out of fear after receiving the notice, without any contact, does not fall within this exception. Sending a request is not enough by itself — USCIS must also accept the reason given in that request.
In guidance issued February 28, 2025, USCIS stated that when it denies an application, it will issue a notice summoning the applicant to immigration court if that person is not lawfully present. That notice is the start of removal proceedings.
Nothing in the ICE spokesperson's statement exempts a person who has filed a green card application from being an enforcement target. Another attorney in San Diego likewise said that a person without lawful status can be arrested whether or not they go to the interview.
The first thing to check is whether a removal order exists
"In its answer in the Baltimore case, the government acknowledged that 'ICE has a practice of arresting and detaining, in appropriate cases, a person with a final removal order at a USCIS office and pursuing removal,' according to the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit."
In both the Baltimore and New York cases, a removal order already existed. But because the ICE spokesperson said that lacking lawful status alone can lead to arrest, not having a removal order does not mean a person is safe.
Some people do not even know that a removal order has been issued against them. If a person fails to appear at an immigration court hearing, a removal order can be entered even in their absence. In that case, the government need only prove that notice of the hearing was sent and that the person is removable. Notice is considered properly sent if it was mailed to the last address the person provided.
A September 3, 2026 decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (the body that reviews immigration court rulings) was a case like this. The applicant in that case had overstayed a visa, moved in January 2019 without notifying USCIS, and the hearing notice was sent to the old address on file with USCIS. A removal order was entered in his absence in 2023, and he said he did not learn of it until his green card interview in June 2025. The Board held that notice sent to the last address on file was sufficient, and denied his motion to reopen the case.
If you move, you must notify USCIS of your new address within ten days. If you have a pending case in immigration court, you must also notify the court within five days, using the form the court requires (Form EOIR-33).
Entering your alien registration number (A-number) and nationality on the immigration court's Automated Case Information website (acis.eoir.justice.gov) lets you check any case filed under that number. You can also call the toll-free line 1-800-898-7180 (English and Spanish) and enter your nine-digit A-number (add a leading zero if yours is only eight digits) to hear the next hearing date and any judge's decision. If an earlier document shows a different A-number, check under that number as well. However, nothing showing up in the search does not mean there is no case, so you should confirm any decision through the court's own documents.
If a removal order has been issued and remains in effect because the person was never actually removed and never left on their own, USCIS's Policy Manual (its adjudication guidance) states that, as a general rule, jurisdiction over the green card application belongs to the immigration judge, not USCIS. Even a successful interview cannot result in approval in that situation, so you should consult an attorney before the interview. If the removal order was entered in your absence, you can file a motion to reopen the case by showing that you never received notice.
Filing this motion to reopen stays removal until the judge decides, but it does not by itself prevent detention. The man in New York remained detained until April even after the immigrant advocacy organization filed this motion on his behalf. According to a 2008 Board of Immigration Appeals decision, a claim that notice was "never received" is accepted more readily when the address was correct but the notice was sent by regular mail rather than certified mail. Evidence such as affidavits from the applicant and people around them is needed, and the judge also looks at whether the motion was filed promptly after the person learned of the order.
Before the interview, arrange for an attorney to attend and settle family matters
"USCIS announced that, starting May 18, 2026, it would no longer permit an attorney to appear remotely at a field office interview, with a few exceptions, and that the attorney must appear in person."
An applicant has the right to bring an attorney into a USCIS interview. If you plan to bring an attorney, you should first confirm early on whether that attorney can actually come to that office in person on the interview date.
Before deciding whether to approve a marriage-based green card, USCIS calls in both spouses together in most cases, so both of them will be away from home that day. The attorney who said arrest is possible even without going to the interview advised going to the interview, but setting family and work matters in order beforehand in case of detention. It is also wise to decide in advance who will pick up the children and who should be contacted first.
Conclusion
There are three things to do before the interview date arrives. First, if you have ever had a case in immigration court, or if you moved without notifying USCIS or the court of your new address, enter your A-number in the immigration court's Automated Case Information system to check, and go back and look for any documents you received around that time. Second, if something comes up that prevents you from going, make sure a rescheduling request stating the reason reaches USCIS by the time of the interview. Not showing up without any contact will get the application denied, of course, but so will sending a request and not showing up if the stated reason is not accepted. Third, if you have a removal order or a record of overstaying a departure deadline, decide with an attorney what to do first before the interview, and confirm in advance whether the attorney who will accompany you can actually appear in person that day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What happens if I'm too afraid to go to my green card interview?
The immigration regulations treat a failure to appear for the interview as abandonment of the application and deny it. The exception is when a request to reschedule or change your address reaches USCIS by the time of the interview, and USCIS grants it. Under USCIS guidance, if your application is denied and you are not lawfully present, you may receive a notice summoning you to immigration court.
Q. Can I be arrested at the USCIS interview location?
News reports in November 2025 described applicants being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after going to green card interviews in San Diego and New York. An ICE spokesperson said that even a person inside a federal government building, such as a USCIS office, can be arrested, detained, and removed if they lack lawful status. In the Baltimore case, the government acknowledged that it has a practice of arresting, in appropriate cases, a person with a final removal order at a USCIS office.
Q. How do I check whether a removal order has been issued against me?
Entering your alien registration number (A-number) and nationality on the immigration court's Automated Case Information website (acis.eoir.justice.gov) lets you check any case filed under that number. You can also call the toll-free line 1-800-898-7180 and enter your A-number. If an earlier document shows a different A-number, check under that number as well. However, not every case appears in this system, so you should confirm any decision through documents sent by the court. If you fail to appear at an immigration court hearing, a removal order can be entered even in your absence, and notice is considered properly sent if it was mailed to the last address you provided.
Disclaimer: This column provides general information and is not legal advice for a particular case. Individual immigration matters should be discussed with a qualified immigration attorney.
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