If you consider yourself rather newly acquainted with Colorado living after having emigrated from another country of origin, various issues or situations may still be challenging for you or your loved ones. Perhaps you have a language barrier and when someone starts speaking quickly in English, you feel a little overwhelmed.
One setting that can cause a lot of stress is an immigration interview. If you’re currently preparing for one, you might be worried that a negative outcome could affect your legal status, which is likely true. While you’re making sure you have all your documents organized and take other steps to get ready for your interview, you’ll also want to carefully choose what you will wear that day. It’s always a good idea to seek advice from someone who is familiar with the interview process.
Why it matters
Human beings are creatures of first impression. Even if you do not consciously form an opinion about someone you’ve just met, what you see, including what the person happens to be wearing at the time, and how he or she acts subconsciously begins to form an opinion or reaction in your mind. The following information shows how clothing styles similarly impact immigration officials during interviews:
- Political slogans tend to prompt knee-jerk reactions from people, so it is best to avoid wearing shirts that feature such sayings.
- Certain images or wording can be controversial or even offensive to some; therefore, you may want to go with a plain shirt or prints that do not include pictures or logos of any kind.
- It is critical that you convince your interviewer that you understand the serious nature of your interview. If you show up in gym clothes or pajama pants, it is highly likely that that is not the impression you will give.
- Conservative, business-casual styles work best. This goes for clothing as well as hairstyles or facial hair.
In addition to the type of clothing you wear to your interview, if you typically wear cologne or perfume, you’ll want to choose scents that are subtle that would blend in nicely in a crowded room. Although interviewers go through training to learn how to be impartial and objective during the interview process, bad or strong smells and disturbing sights subconsciously affect the average person, so you’re chances of obtaining a positive outcome may increase if you avoid clothing and scents that may incite negative reactions.