The green card
interview usually takes place 3-8 months after your marriage green card is filed with USCIS.
It is important to properly prepare for your marriage green card interview, or you could experience a delay in the approval of your case, or worse, your application could be denied if you don’t present the proper information at your interview.
Here are guidelines on preparing for and attending the green card interview:
Always be on time for your green card interview. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before to your appointment.
Dress formally and conservatively, like you are going to a job interview.
Listen and respond to the the USCIS officer’s questions.
The USCIS officer is only given a short amount of time to conduct the green card interview for each couple.
Keep your answers brief and to the point.
Do not guess on anything:
The denial of many marriage-based immigrant visa cases have one thing in common: people’s attitude that they have to give an answer and guessing.
One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is to guess when he or she does not know the answer to a particular question.
It is fine to say that you don’t remember instead of guessing the answer.
You have nothing to memorize for the green card interview:
Remember that there is nothing that you need to learn by heart for the interview.
There are no specific test questions prescribed for the immigrant interview that you have to memorize.
What we mean by this is if the officer asks what was the date when you last entered the U.S.?
And you cannot remember you are allowed to look at your I-485 Form, Page 1, for the Date of Last Arrival. That’s it.
If the USCIS officer suspects during the green card interview that the marriage may not be real they may separate you and interview you individually.
While not necessarily designed to be tricky the questions can potentially trip up spouses that are not familiar with each other.
Be prepared with the proper documents at your marriage green card interview:
Carry a set of original documents and a complete set of duplicate copies that you can give to the USCIS officer.
You are expected to provide certain documentation to prove the validity of your marriage.
The documents requested include, but are not limited to,
wedding invitations,
wedding photographs,
birth certificates of any children you may have together,
property leases with both names featured,
photographs of special occasions spent together,
joint bank account statements, and
other joint financial documents.
Sample Marriage Green Card Interview Questions:
What is your current address?
Who lives at your address?
What your cell #?
What is your spouse’s cell #?
What is your spouse’s date of birth?
How, when and where did you meet your spouse?
How many days after you first saw her/him did you call her/him?
When did you see your spouse a second time?
What did you do with her/him?
Where and with whom did your spouse live when you met your
spouse?
Did she ever come up to see you?
Where did your spouse work when you met your him/her?
What type of work did he/she do?
Where did your spouse work when you met? What type of work did
your spouse do?
What type of work does your spouse do?
What is your spouse’s work schedule?
What is your spouse’s salary?
Are both of these salaries deposited into the same bank account?
What bank account do you use?
Did your spouse have a car when you met? What model, color, etc?
Are these the cars you and your spouse current drive?
If not, when did you and/or your spouse change cars?
If you now have cars, how much money is owed on them? How much
is the monthly payment?
How long did you and your spouse date prior to getting married?
When did you and your spouse decide to get married? Was there a
proposal? Who proposed? When and where did it take place?
Did you and your spouse live together prior to your marriage?
When, where, how long?
When did you and your spouse move in together?
When did you get married?
If you had a celebration, what food/beverages were served?
Did you and your spouse go on a honeymoon? If yes, where did you
go?
How did you purchase the honeymoon travel package, or who made the
How long did you travel for?
How did you get to your honeymoon destination?
Who pays the rent/mortgage? How is it paid? (Do you mail it?
Hand-deliver it?)
Where does your landlord live, or what company holds the mortgage
on your property?
How many sleeping rooms does your home have?
Are all the sleeping rooms on the same side of the home?
What size bed do you and your spouse have?
Describe the pieces of furniture in your bedroom