This article was last updated on March 19, 2026

Summary

This guide describes what to expect and how to prepare for a refugee revetting interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Some refugees who were resettled to the United States are receiving appointment notices for “revetting interviews.” For more information about why these interviews are happening and new U.S. government policies that impact refugees, click here. 

General information on revetting interviews

If you have refugee status and you receive a notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or USCIS telling you that you have an appointment for a “revetting,” “reverification,” “PARRIS,” “Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and I-485,” or an “I-485 adjustment of status” interview, it is very important that you attend this interview.

If you are in Minnesota and unable to attend your scheduled interview, you should ask a lawyer or legal representative to write a letter explaining the specific reason why you cannot attend. They should appear at the interview without you and deliver this letter to the USCIS office in person. If you are outside Minnesota and unable to attend your interview, you should follow the instructions on your appointment notice or contact the USCIS Contact Center to request that the appointment be rescheduled. If you do miss your appointment, the government may try to take away your refugee status or even arrest you.

These interviews are currently taking place at a USCIS office and can take several hours. The person who interviews you will be a USCIS officer. If you do not speak English, you should bring your own qualified interpreter to your appointment. If you have a disability, you can request accommodations for your disability. See the USCIS website for more details on requesting accommodations.

The officer will ask you questions about your identity, your original refugee case, and other information from your immigration case. Many of these questions will be similar to those that you already answered in your original interview with U.S. immigration officials from before you entered the United States.

The main purpose of this interview is to confirm that the government correctly approved you for refugee status after your original interview. They may ask you many questions about why you left your home country or why you were afraid to return there at the time of your original interview. If you have applied for a green card, they may also ask you questions related to your green card application (Form I-485). This may include the long list of “yes or no” questions that you answered already on the form. You should answer carefully and honestly, just as you did in your original interview(s). 

If you have an attorney or legal representative, they can come with you to the interview. Their main role in the interview will be to observe and take notes, but they will also be able to speak directly to the officer if there are issues or problems in your interview.

What if I cannot attend this appointment?

It is very important to attend this interview. The government has said they will arrest people who do not attend a scheduled revetting interview.

If you are in Minnesota and unable to attend your scheduled interview, you should ask a lawyer or legal representative to write a letter explaining the specific reason why you cannot attend. They should appear at the interview without you and deliver this letter to the USCIS office in person.

If you are outside Minnesota and unable to attend your interview, you should follow the instructions on your appointment notice or contact the USCIS Contact Center to request that the appointment be rescheduled.

Who should attend the interview?

Anyone whose name is listed on the interview appointment notice should attend the interview. Most likely, the officers will only ask questions to the “principal applicant” on the case, but the other family members should still attend if their names are on the notice.

If you have an attorney or legal representative, they can attend the interview with you.

If you do not speak English fluently and know a qualified, professional interpreter who can attend the interview with you, you may bring them. This person should not be a friend or a family member. In Minnesota, the government has been providing interpretation for refugees who come to a revetting interview without one. But in other locations, you may be required to bring your own. 

How should I work with the interpreter?

When you are answering questions, speak clearly, slowly, and loudly so that the government official and interpreter, if any, can understand you. If there is an interpreter, speak in short sentences with pauses so that the interpreter can translate what you said. Do not rush to speak over the interpreter, or you may risk losing some important details.

If you do not understand or cannot hear the interpreter at any time, you can explain why, such as dialect or an accent, and request an interpreter you understand. If you are not comfortable with your interviewer for another reason, you may request a change – for example, if you feel most comfortable with an interpreter or interviewer of a certain gender. The interpreter will not be part of the decision-making process. They are required to keep your information confidential.

I have not applied for a green card yet. Should I do so?

If you have been in the United States for more than a year and have not yet applied for a green card, you should probably do so as soon as possible. If it is possible to submit your application before your revetting interview, you should strongly consider doing so. If you have any questions or concerns about applying for a green card now, you should ask a legal representative for advice.

You can find more information on how to apply for a green card here. 

Preparing for a revetting interview

Understand the legal definition of a “refugee.”

Under United States law, you are a “refugee” if you were allowed to apply for refugee resettlement through a specific program, and you proved that:

• You were seriously harmed in the past or had good reason to believe you would be harmed in the future in your country of nationality, and
• The harm was because of something specific to you and your identity – like your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or something else that you could not change or should not have to change, and
• The harm was caused by the government, or the government was unwilling or unable to protect you from the person responsible for the harm, and
• If you entered another country because you fled from your country of nationality, the new country did not offer you permanent residence or citizenship, and
• You met other requirements of the law.

Remember that the U.S. government already decided that you met this legal definition when they approved your refugee status before you traveled. The purpose of the revetting interview is to answer similar or additional questions to confirm their original decision was correct.

Refresh your memory and plan for answers in advance.

Since you will be asked very personal questions during this interview, including on topics you may not have discussed in several years, it is a good idea to refresh your own memory and plan in advance to answer certain questions.

Take some time to try to remember what questions you were asked during your original resettlement interview. You probably had several interviews with different people during your resettlement application process. You may have had some interviews with UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. You also had an interview with the “resettlement support center” that managed your application, such as IOM, CWS, or HIAS. Finally, you had at least one interview with a USCIS officer (a US government immigration official). During all of these interviews, you were asked questions about things like:

• Why you left your country of nationality, 
• Your fear of returning to or living in your country of nationality,
• Information about why you were harmed or have a fear of returning to your home country, such as your political views and religious beliefs, or your sexual orientation or gender identity,
• Your membership in certain tribes, groups, or political parties, 
• Your interactions with armed groups or the government,
• Your work and education history, 
• Your military service history,
• Your criminal history,
• And more.

You may want to take time to write a summary of the events that led to you or your family leaving your home country, or the reasons you were afraid to live there at the time of your original interview. You should write them down in the order they happened. This can include the dates you fled your home or the dates you received threats. Some of these events may bring up bad or difficult memories, but it is important to remind yourself of the details and be ready to answer questions about them. If you cannot write, you can ask a friend or relative to help you, or draw simple pictures of events to help you remember. Do not bring what you wrote down to your interview. It is only to help you prepare to tell your story again during your interview.

The government must keep all information in the interview private and is not allowed to share it outside of the US government without your permission. 

Keep in mind these general interview tips.

Privacy. If you are being interviewed with other family members, you have the right to ask to speak with the officer privately to discuss matters you would prefer not to discuss in front of your family.

You can ask for breaks. If you have any problems during the interview, tell your interviewer right away. For example:

• “I feel sick and need to take a break.”
• “I am not comfortable answering that question.”
• “I need the interpreter to speak louder.” If you need a break, you can ask for one. It is not rude or impolite to ask for a short break during the interview. It is important for you to feel comfortable telling your whole story. If you are upset or uncomfortable, ask for a short break to relax and refocus.

Ask for clarification when needed. If you do not understand a question or you did not hear it, ask them to repeat the question or explain what they mean. 

Be truthful. Even if you are worried your answer may hurt your case or you have gotten advice from community members, friends, or family that you should try to hide something in your past, keep in mind that lying in an interview can cause much bigger problems in your case. If you are worried about sharing something truthful in an interview, ask a lawyer for advice before the interview.

Do not guess. Answer questions about the past only with what you remember. If you do not know something or you do not remember something, say so. Try to provide as much detail as you can, but only if the details are true to your memory. For example, If they ask you what date something happened, and you remember only that it was in summer 2013, tell them it was summer 2013 rather than making up a more specific date. Even if the officer asks you the same or similar questions multiple times, if you do not know the answer, say you do not know.

In a refugee interview you will be asked important questions about what risks you face in the future, and why someone might want to hurt you. For these questions, you should explain why you think you were or are at risk. You can mention things that have happened to people like you in similar situations, even if you do not know all the details.

Be consistent. If at all possible, think through your answers in advance and try to avoid having to change your answers during your interview. If you do have to correct something you have said during the interview, do your best to explain why. If the officer thinks you are saying something that does not match other information they have in their files – either from your own previous interviews, or other relevant information – they may tell you and give you a chance to explain. Listen carefully when they bring these things up so you can explain the differences.

Do not sign anything you do not understand. The immigration officer may ask you to sign the adjustment of status (green card) form that you submitted, to confirm all of your responses are true. You can ask to review the document you are signing. If the immigration officer asks you to sign anything else, such as interview notes, you can ask to review the notes or have them read back to you.

What if I am interviewed in ICE detention?

If you don’t speak English well, you have the right to an interview in your language. If you have an attorney, you should inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. If you have your lawyer’s phone number, they may be able to join the interview by phone. If you do not feel comfortable with the interview, you may be able to say you do not agree to the interview. Unfortunately, it is hard to predict what is likely to happen if you do not consent to an interview.

During the re-interview, you may be asked many questions about why you left your home country or why you are afraid to return there. These questions may be very similar to questions you already answered when you were interviewed overseas. You should answer carefully and honestly, just as you did in your original interview(s).