I have lots of sympathy for people going through an interview at the local office, so here is yet another rant for you.
I did not have my lawyer with me and I was ok. I did a 1hr preparation session with him the day before the interview.
It is important to have copies of your previous INS documents (H1, LC, I140 approvals) and personal documents based on what the INS asked for in the interview notice, for example Birth/Marriage certificates, Diplomas, Lease contracts, Bank statement with copies and translations where appropriate. The INS may have lost any important documents from your file in the time elapsed since the file submital. It happened in cases I am personally aware of.
There may be questions asked on your status since you last entered the US, on your familial status, on your work responsibilities and company well being and even on your political history - not all the above may apply to you of course.
The next level of paranoia is to bring copy from the applications them selves, phone statements, travel statements. In my case the INS temporarily misplaced the pictures and I was very happy to have a backup set with me.
Bring and attorney with you if you are not sure you can handle the questions properly, for example because you have a complicated case or because you do not react well under stress or because your are not a well organized person and cannot handle lots of documents. I am not trying to be a smart ass, just pointing out that now is the time to evaluate correctly your skill set.
Keep in mind that hundreds or thousands of interview occur for employment based cases. I have not heard of any case being denied. Your goal is simply not to be further delayed and get the stamp in the passport on the spot.
Good luck!
I did not have my lawyer with me and I was ok. I did a 1hr preparation session with him the day before the interview.
It is important to have copies of your previous INS documents (H1, LC, I140 approvals) and personal documents based on what the INS asked for in the interview notice, for example Birth/Marriage certificates, Diplomas, Lease contracts, Bank statement with copies and translations where appropriate. The INS may have lost any important documents from your file in the time elapsed since the file submital. It happened in cases I am personally aware of.
There may be questions asked on your status since you last entered the US, on your familial status, on your work responsibilities and company well being and even on your political history - not all the above may apply to you of course.
The next level of paranoia is to bring copy from the applications them selves, phone statements, travel statements. In my case the INS temporarily misplaced the pictures and I was very happy to have a backup set with me.
Bring and attorney with you if you are not sure you can handle the questions properly, for example because you have a complicated case or because you do not react well under stress or because your are not a well organized person and cannot handle lots of documents. I am not trying to be a smart ass, just pointing out that now is the time to evaluate correctly your skill set.
Keep in mind that hundreds or thousands of interview occur for employment based cases. I have not heard of any case being denied. Your goal is simply not to be further delayed and get the stamp in the passport on the spot.
Good luck!