What Happens When You Are Not Immediately Approved at Your USCIS Interview

At the end of an immigration interview, there are two things that can happen. One, the officer approves the case at the end of the meeting. And two, the officer does not immediately approve the case and asks the applicant to wait for a decision.

The first scenario is, of course, what everyone wants to happen. But that’s not guaranteed. More often than not, the officer will need more time to go through the case before they can make a solid decision.

Why Your Case Did Not Get Approved On the Spot

Every immigration case is different. While some are simple enough to warrant immediate approval, others are more complex, either factually or procedurally. It’s an immigration officer’s job to go through the facts of the case in-depth and look at them side-by-side with immigration laws.

It’s their duty to make the right decision with regard to a case. And to do that, they may need more time to go over the file, check the facts, and make sure that everything is in order. When a case doesn’t get approved on the spot, it’s usually just because the officer requires more time to review the case and reflect on what was discussed in the interview.

It could also be that the interviewing officer is new and does not have a lot of experience handling cases. As such, every case file they take on would have to be reviewed by a supervisor before it can be approved.

What To Do If Your Case is Not Approved On the Spot

If an immigration case is not approved on the spot, it doesn’t immediately mean that the application has been rejected or dismissed. More often than not, the officer just needs more time to thoroughly review the documents and be certain they’re making the right decision.

The case might have a lot of dates and numbers, the applicant might have a long immigration history, or there might be some kind of complicated immigration law applied to the case. And it’s the officer’s job to make sure everything is correct before extending an approval.

Applicants who aren’t approved immediately after the interview should not panic! Instead, they should simply ask the officer when they can expect a response. Sometimes, all they need is a couple of days. Others may need weeks due to their workload. But as long as the applicant is confident that they did everything right, they have nothing to worry about.