If your interview is coming up for your marriage-based green card, you are probably curious about what types of questions the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer will ask you.
While there is no set list of questions the USCIS officer will ask you, there are many questions that may come up.
The USCIS officer’s goal is to verify all your information and make sure your relationship and marriage are real (not just for the immigration benefit).
For the most part, if you provide enough evidence of your relationship, wedding, and life together when you submit your applications, you are much less likely to be grilled by the USCIS officer. They usually reserve the interrogation-style interviews for cases that either don’t have enough evidence or appear likely to be fraudulent.
For example, if you and your spouse don’t live together and have no joint financial evidence, be ready for USCIS to be suspicious right from the start. You are much more likely to be asked several of the below questions to determine if your relationship is legitimate.
On the other hand, if you and your spouse have been together several years, have children together, file joint taxes, and have solid evidence of a life together, the interview may just be a formality and you won’t need to worry about being questioned much at all.
The most important thing to remember is to never lie during your interview. Even couples who have been married and living together several years may not know the answers to every question. It’s ok to say you don’t know or can’t remember, but it’s never ok to lie to USCIS. Even if the interview goes poorly, you will have an opportunity to submit additional evidence or explain your answers afterwards, but only if you were truthful during the interview.
With that said, below are some examples of questions that could be asked during your interview:
Your Relationship
- How did you and you spouse meet?
- Where was your first date?
- What things do you and your spouse have in common?
- Who proposed and how did they do it?
- Did you meet each other’s family and when?
- How did your parents feel about the engagement?
- How long were you engaged?
- What was your favorite date?
- When did you start planning your wedding?
Your Wedding
- Where was your wedding ceremony held?
- How many people attended?
- How long was the ceremony?
- How many bridesmaids were there?
- Where was the reception held?
- What type of food was served?
- What song did you use for your first dance?
- What kind of cake did you have?
- Did anyone give a toast? If so, who?
- Did you and your spouse go on a honeymoon? If so, where?
Your Daily Life
- Who usually wakes up first?
- What side of the bed does your spouse sleep on?
- What time do you both usually get up?
- What does your spouse usually have for breakfast?
- What time does your spouse leave for work?
- Where does your spouse work?
- How long does it take for your spouse to get to work?
- What bills do you and your spouse pay?
- Who handles and pays the bills?
- Do you share a bank account?
- What activities do you and your spouse do on the weekend?
- Who cleans the house?
- Do you have any pets?
- Do you and your spouse go to church?
- Who usually takes out the garbage?
- What day is the trash collected?
- Who cooks dinner?
- Who shops for the groceries and how often?
Your Family
- How many kids are in your household?
- What are the kids’ favorite foods?
- Who helps the kids with their homework?
- When are the kids’ birthdays?
- When is your spouse’s birthday?
- When is the last time your spouse’s parents came to visit?
- Describe your relationship with your spouse’s parents
- How many siblings does your spouse have and what are their names?
- What is the last holiday your family celebrated and how did you celebrate?
- What does your family like to do on weekends?
- What are your spouse’s hobbies?
- How often does your family go out to eat? Where is your favorite place to go?
- What is the last movie you watched together? What shows do you watch together?
Your Home
- How many bedrooms are in your home?
- What color is the mailbox?
- Where is your bedroom located in the house?
- What size bed do you have?
- What color are the curtains in your bedroom?
- How many bathrooms in the home?
- What color is your refrigerator?
- Do you have a washer and dryer?
- Where are the bath towels located?
- Do you have a gas or electric stove?
- Do you have a guest room?
- Does your home have carpet or hard wood floors?
- How many televisions do you have?
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many questions that you could be asked. The main thing to remember is to always be truthful with USCIS.
A big part of how your interview goes is determined by how much evidence you provide when you initially file your applications, so it can be helpful to hire an immigration attorney to make sure you have everything you need. An attorney can also advise you of any potential “red flags” that might raise USCIS’ suspicions so you and your spouse can prepare for that before the interview.