Marriage based Green Card interview questions

If you are getting married to a US citizen or resident, you should know that there are some marriage based Green Card interview questions that you will need to complete succesfully.

Our New Jersey immigration lawyers will be able to help you with this process. They have been helping thousands of Latino couples obtain their permanent residency by marriage for over 10 years. Call today and get a confidential consultation for your case.

Frequently Asked Questions In 2023 about Marriage based Green Card Interview Questions 

In order to obtain your legal permanent residence, you will need to complete an interview for residency by marriage; This could be done at a US consulate abroad or at a USCIS office.

The following questions will help you prepare and convince the officer of the veracity of your marriage and thus know how to obtain the Green Card.

You may also be interested in knowing the requirements to legally enter the United States. This way you will be able to expand the information on the marriage based Green Card interview questions.

Note that these questions are an example of possible questions that you will be asked; but they are not the official ones. They will help you to get an idea of ​​what can be found. Let’s see now some of these questions divided by themes.

Basic Information

• What is your full legal name?
• What is your current address?
• Phone number?
• E-mail address?
• What other names (any aliases, maiden names, nicknames, and other names that are legal) have you had before?
• Did you change your name? What was the previous one?
• Why did you change your name?
• When did you start living at your current physical address?
• Have you ever physically lived together as a couple?

Family Theme

• Where do you currently live? Do you live with your parents?
• Did your parents or friends approve the marriage? 
• When did you meet each other’s parents?
• What do your parents think about the relationship? 
• How do you get along with their in-laws?
• Have you given him or her gifts?
• How often do you visit your in-laws?
• When was the last time you saw your in-laws?
• With what other family members do you have a frequent relationship?
• If you have children, who takes care of them?
• Who is the person who takes care of them when your parents are away from home?
• Who feeds them most of the time or puts them to bed?
• What is your child’s favorite food, toy, or story?
• Do your children go to the toilet alone?
• Do you use an extra seat in the car?
• Does your spouse have siblings? If so, what are their names and ages?
• Where do your spouse’s closest relatives live?
• Have you met your spouse’s family? If so, describe the circumstances that you encountered.
• Do you have unmarried children under the age of 18?

Employment And Work

• Where do you work?
• What kind of work does your spouse do?
• Did you meet at work?
• What is your spouse’s salary?
• Do you want to work on something else?
• Have you visited your spouse’s home or workplace?
• What were your previous jobs?
• When did you work at each previous job?
• Did you quit or get fired? Why?
• When did you start working at your current job?
• Where else have you worked in the last five years?
• Are you currently unemployed or were you unemployed at some point in the past five years?
• Have you filed an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) for anyone else before? If so, how many times?

Questions About Dating

• Where did you meet?
  • Where did you meet your spouse?
• When did you fall in love?
  • When did you fall in love with your spouse?
• What do you two have in common?
• How long was it before you decided to get married?
• Who proposed to whom?
• Why did you decide to have a long-term commitment?
• Who chose the ring?
• Where did you go for dates?
• Where was your first date?
• Did you live together before marriage?
• Why did you decide to have an engagement?
• Did you give your spouse a ring when you proposed to her?
• Where were you when a courtship was proposed?
• What attracted you to your spouse?
• Where did you and your spouse go on your second date?
• When was the second time you met?
• Did you arrange to meet again?
• Where did you live at that time? 
• Where and with whom was your spouse living when you met your spouse?
• Could you describe the first meeting?
• Who introduced you to your spouse?
• When and where did you get married?
• Were you previously married?
• In addition to your current marriage, how many other times have you been married?
• What are the names of your former spouses?
• When did your marriage to each previous spouse end?
• What activities did you do together when you were dating?
• Do you remember the time when you went from being friends to becoming a couple?
• Who decided it was a good idea to get married?
• What activities did you do together when you were dating?
• What is your spouse’s date of birth?
• Which is his/her favorite color? 
• What is his/her favorite animal? 

Questions About The Wedding

• Where was the wedding held?
• How many people attended the wedding?
• Did all of your parents attend?
• Was there music or other entertainment?
• What kind of cake was served?
• Who was present on behalf of each of the families?
• Until what time did the guests stay?
• Until what time did the reception last?
• Did someone get drunk? Who was?
• Describe the ceremony and the banquet. Something out of the ordinary?
• Did you have a moment of embarrassment during the reception?
• Did the bride change clothes for the reception?
• Who were the bridesmaids or groomsmen?
• Did they serve liquor? What kind of liquor?
• Do you remember what was served to eat and drink?
• How was the menu decided?
• Who chose the menu?
• Who paid for the banquet?
• Did any of your closest guests not show up?
• What time did you and your boyfriend / girlfriend leave the reception?
• Did you go on a honeymoon? When you left? How did you get there? What airline did you use?
• Where was the honeymoon?
• Why did you decide that destination?

Life in common

• Which of the two usually gets up earlier and at what time?
• Who Makes Breakfast?
• Who makes lunch or dinner?
• Which of you two usually does the purchase of food?
• Who washes the dishes?
• Who irons in the house?
• Where do you keep the winter clothes?
• What is your spouse’s favorite ornament?
• What adornment does your spouse hate?
• How many times a week do you go for a run outside?
• What was the last movie or series you saw together?
• What color are the curtains on each window in the property?
• What appliances are in the kitchen?
• What color is the double bed?
• Do you have a television in the bedroom?
• What is your spouse’s favorite pajamas?
• On which side of the bed do you sleep?
• What is the type of shampoo or toothpaste that your spouse uses?
• What kind of contraceptives do you use?
• When did your wife have her last menstruation?
• When is each one’s birthday?
• What celebrations were held recently in your home?
• What did you do together on the holiday?
• What is your spouse’s favorite TV show?
• What is your spouse’s favorite station?
• How many cars do you have?
• How many landline phone numbers are there in the property?
• What is the internet or cable service provider you have?
• How many televisions are there in the property and where are they located?
• What magazines do you read?
• What cable subscription do you have?
• Do you live in a building or apartment?
• How much is the finance or mortgage allowance?
• If there are pets, who walks them or who takes them to the vet and what are their names?

Kitchen Room

• Do you have a barbecue grill? Do you use it?
• Do you have a gas or electric stove?
• How many times a week do you eat out?
• What is your spouse’s favorite restaurant?
• What are your spouse’s favorite foods? 
• What is your spouse’s least favorite food?
• Do you eat a specific food each week?
• Where do you buy food?
• Who cooks the most and who does the shopping? 

Immigration

• What other nationalities do you have or have had in the past?
• Do you have a passport or travel document?
• Were you previously in the United States, were any of your visas lost or stolen?
• Have you ever had an immigration problem?
• Is there a particular place that you visit on occasion?

Finance

• What is your and your spouse’s current annual income in the US?
• Are there other people (siblings, parents, or adult children) who contribute your income to financially support your spouse?
• Do you include your assets with your pay to meet the income requirements for a marriage-based green card?
• What is the total value of your assets?
• Have you filed a federal tax return for each of the last few years?
• Do any of your children claim someone else as a dependent on their tax returns? 

About Your Medical History

• Do you have documented proof of the vaccines you have received?
• Do you have a disease that is a public health problem?
• Do you have a mental or physical disorder that could harm you or others?
• Have you ever been addicted to drugs or abused drugs?
• Have you ever suffered from COVID-19?
• How were you at that time?

About Education

• On what dates did you go to your school?
• What was your course of study at school?
• Have you ever attended a high school or an institution of higher education? 
• What is the name and address of the school?
• Did you receive a diploma or degree from the school? 
• What is your level of education?

Other Questions Asked By USCIS

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office will require some additional information; which will not affect your application result. However, this information is important to learn more about you.

It should be noted that these questions do not seek to discriminate you, as we said, it is to complete the database according to your respective physical attributes. These questions are:

• What is your gender?
• How tall are you?
• How much do you weigh?
• What color are your eyes?
• What is your race? You must specify if it is:
  • White.
  • African American.
  • Asian.
  • Native from Alaska.
  • Native from Hawaii. 
  • Native from another island in the Pacific. 
  • And so on.

How To Pass The Interview To Obtain The Marriage Green Card

1. Arrive on time: We recommend arriving at least 45 minutes to an hour before your scheduled appointment. Take the time to park your vehicle, go through security, and find the interview location.
2. Dress correctly: Approach the marriage based Green Card interview as if you were going to a job interview, be respectful about the way you dress.
3. Prepare carefully the documents you are going to bring: Make sure to organize all your identity documents and all original documents in a folder. Do not put holes in your original documents. All original documents must be placed on protective plastic sheets.
4. Speak up when told by the officer: Otherwise, keep your mouth shut. Don’t speak when it’s not your turn. Do not answer for your spouse if the question is directed at your spouse.
5. Listen carefully: Listen carefully to the questions the USCIS officer asks you before responding.
6. You may need an interpreter: If your interview requires the services of an interpreter, make sure the interpreter has time to translate before responding. If the interpreter is unclear or does not understand the translation, be sure to tell the interpreter or official.
7. Make no assumptions: This is not the SAT test or a standard test. There is no merit in guessing facts or details of life. And don’t make up facts! Stick to reality, if not, you will be in serious trouble.
8. Never memorize things: It is best to never memorize things. If you do not remember a detail or fact by heart, tell the officer that “I do not remember.”
9. Do not argue with the officer: If you think the interview is not going as you would like or that the officer is not understanding you properly, be respectful.
   1. Please note that the officer will not make the decision instantly.
   2. The officer may determine that he/she needs more information or documentation before making a decision.
   3. The officer may need to recheck the file depending on the answers you and your spouse provided during the interview.

Be Sure To Check Out The FAQ

If you decide to hire an attorney, hire an immigration attorney, not an immigration consultant or notary. 

Immigration attorneys are authorized to represent clients before USCIS and have knowledge and experience of United States immigration laws and regulations. 

If you decide to go without an attorney, be sure to read all the information provided on the USCIS.gov website .

Final Reminder : DON’T LIE! Lying constitutes fraud. There are serious penalties for committing marriage fraud. Tell the truth.

Is There A List Of Questions The Officer Will Ask A Couple?

There is no specific list of marriage based Green Card interview questions that the officer in charge will ask you and your partner. Therefore, these will be totally random, in addition to being not available to the public.

This is done in order to prevent marriage fraud and thus ensure that the married couple is in good faith.

How Many Questions About Marriage Will The Officer Ask Me?

Usually the number of questions the officer asks about your marriage depends on your relationship with your partner. Therefore, if the officer detects that it is actually a fraudulent marriage, the number of questions will be greater.

If the marriage is real, then the number of questions may be much less, where the most basic will come first.

What If I Make mistakes while Answering The Questions?

Couples can often make mistakes when answering questions; It is something very common, this happens mostly because couples forget the moments they have lived.

The officer in charge will ask you more questions in case you or your partner makes a mistake; However, you don’t have to be very relaxed either, if you make a mistake in logical questions such as the number of children you have (if they have said so) the officer could suspect fraud.

What Is The Processing Time To Obtain The Green Card?

It all depends on where you are filing the Adjustment of Status application in the United States or a consular process.

If you live in New Jersey and are adjusting in Newark, it is currently 9 months to 12 months after filing Form I-130 and Form I-485 simultaneously or just I-485.

What Documents Do I Need For Marriage based Green Card interview questions?

You need to have the following documents for the marriage based Green Card interview questions:

• An appointment for the interview issued by the NVC.
• The valid passport for 6 months.
• 1 photo of the page where your photo and name are displayed.
• 2 color passport size photos with a white background.
• Civil documents and a photocopy of the document sent to the NVC.
• Results of a recent medical exam.
• The confirmation page for Form DS-260, Application for Immigration Visa and Alien Registration that you submitted to ceac.state.gov.
• A signed statement supporting Form I-864 and supporting documents for your petition. 
• Proof of the US status such as Green Card, naturalization certificate, American passport, or others.
• Have legal translations of any document that is not in English.

Other Documents To Submit At The Interview

The USCIS officer may ask you for additional documents showing whether the marriage is real. Some requested documents are:

Photos Of The Wedding And / Or Honeymoon

You must bring some photographs of the wedding day and honeymoon with you so that the USCIS officer can determine that the wedding was indeed carried out in good faith. 

You can also display other celebration photos, such as:

• Christmas.
• Vacations.
• New Year.
• Others.

Tax Returns

You will need to submit documents that show tax returns, such as shared property, bank account, mortgage, vehicle and others.

Curbelo Law Helps You Understand And Be Prepared For Your Marriage Interview

You will need the help of expert lawyers in marriage based Green Card interview questions, they will be able to provide you with all the advice you need for this application process.

Our Curbelo Law attorneys can help you from getting a cancellation of removal to the process to obtain American citizenship.

Call us today and get a more personalized consultation towards your requirements necessary to marry a permanent resident in the United States or an American citizen.