What is a USCIS Marriage Interview?
In marriage-based cases, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may schedule an interview with the couple or conduct an independent investigation to evaluate if the marriage is legitimate.
- U.S. citizen or green card holder spouse is called “Petitioner” and the foreign spouse applying for permanent residence is called “Beneficiary”.
Circumstances that could cause the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to be suspicious about a marriage include the following:
- There is a large gap in age between the petitioner and beneficiary;
- It appears that they are not living together now or have never lived together;
- They do not share a common language; and
- They have filed for legal separation.
Whenever USCIS schedules an appointment for a marriage interview, the couple should be ready to demonstrate the legitimacy of their marriage by providing documents, pictures, their own statements, and the statements or declarations of friends and family.
We recommend couples to submit an extensive set of documents to prove that you entered marriage in good faith with the initial application.
Below is a list of documents that should be provided to prove that marriage is real:
- Wedding photos and other records of the ceremony;
- Photos, letters, telephone bills, airline tickets, and other evidence of the couple’s relationship during courtship;
- Lease or other records showing the couple are residing or resided together;
- Insurance policies;
- Employment records showing marital status and any employment related benefits paid;
- Joint credit cards, bank accounts, or other contractual relationships;
- Joint tax returns; and
- Birth certificates of children born of the relationship.
At the interview, the USCIS officer is likely to ask questions about the following topics, both with the couple together and separately.
- History—place and date of birth of spouse; names and addresses of siblings and parents; basic biographical information, such as spouse’s residences during the last 10 years, etc.
- Relationship history—where did the couple first meet, first go out together, go on trips together, ask the other to get married, get dressed before the marriage ceremony, get married, etc.
- Recent history—what was the last movie they saw together; who usually leaves first in the morning; who usually comes home first in the evening; what side of the bed does the spouse prefer; discuss everything they did together on a certain day, etc.
- Situational history—describe current living quarters: number of radios or TVs, location of clocks, color of bathroom rug or shower curtain, type of oven or microwave, etc.
- Private history—scars or birthmarks, favorite perfume, nicknames, spouse’s favorite color or food, spouse’s best friend, etc.
Interview Checklist of Required Documents
For your USCIS Interview, make sure to bring the original documents and one copy of each document for the USCIS officer.
Additionally, if any of the documents are in a language other than English, you should also bring English translations of them.
Note: Even though you will be providing translations of documents, you must also bring the documents in their original language.
- Interview Appointment Notice;
- Passports;
- Form I-94;
- Any Additional Immigration Status Documents, such as:
- I-797 Notices of Approval;
- I-20s;
- DS-2019s;
- Beneficiary’s Birth Certificate;
- Petitioner’s Birth Certificate;
- Work Authorization Card (if you have been issued one);
- Drivers Licenses (if you have been issued one);
- Petitioner’s Certificate of Naturalization (if the Petitioner is a naturalized U.S. Citizen);
- Petitioner’s Consular Report of Birth Abroad (if the Petitioner is a U.S. Citizen born outside the United States);
- Petitioner’s Green Card (if the Petitioner is a U.S. Permanent Resident);
- Marriage Certificate (if your Application is based upon marriage to the Petitioner, or if your Application is based upon you being a Derivative Beneficiary Spouse, or if you Application is based upon you being the Parent of the Petitioner);
- Certified Divorce Decree for all prior marriages for you and/or your spouse (or Death Certificate if marriage ended due to death of the spouse) (if your Application is based upon marriage to the Petitioner, or if your Application is based upon you being a Derivative Beneficiary Spouse, or if your Application is based upon you being the Parent of the Petitioner);
- Marriage Certificate for your Parents (if your Application is based upon you being the Child/Stepchild Son/Daughter of the Petitioner, or if your Application is based upon you being a Derivative Beneficiary Child/Stepchild, or if your Application is based upon you being the sibling of the Petitioner);
- Certified Divorce order for all prior marriages for either of your parents (or Death Certificate if marriage ended due to death of the spouse) (if your Application is based upon you being the Child/Stepchild Son/Daughter of the Petitioner, or if your Application is based upon you being a Derivative Beneficiary Child/Stepchild, or if your Application is based upon you being the sibling of the Petitioner);
- Proof of Bona Fide Marriage (see separate list) (if your Application is based upon your marriage to the Petitioner);
- Certified Court Disposition of ANY arrests or criminal charges;
- Updated evidence of the Petitioner’s continued ability to support you (if you have a co-sponsor, it is recommended that you obtain these updated documents from the co-sponsor as well):
- Update letter from employer
- Most recent IRS Personal Tax Return with Form W-2 if they have filed with the IRS since the I-485 Application was submitted to USCIS;
- Recent paystubs or copy of cashed checks from employer if updated letter from employer not available;
- Medical Examination Report (if not already submitted with the Application or in response to a Request for Evidence).
Sample Interview Questions
In preparation for your upcoming USCIS interview, we recommend that you and your spouse review the following questions together.
This will help you be prepared in case the USCIS officer chooses to question you and your spouse separately in order to verify the legitimacy of your marriage.
Though it is uncommon for USCIS adjudicators to ask these types of questions at the interview, they may do so if they have doubts about the validity of the marriage.
It is impossible to know if the USCIS officer will ask these types of questions at your interview, so it is best to review them prior to the interview.
This list does not include every potential question that a USCIS adjudicator could ask in this type of interview.
- Where and when did you meet your spouse? Who introduced you?
- Where was your wedding?
- Who was at your wedding?
- How did you celebrate after your wedding? Where was the celebration? If at a restaurant or bar, what was the name? Who came to the celebration?
- Where did you spend your honeymoon? How long were you there?
- Where have you lived with your spouse? [Be prepared to give the addresses (at least the street name and city) and the start dates and end dates (month and year) lived at each address for each place that you and/or your spouse lived at since you met]
- Who else, besides you and your spouse, live at your current address?
- Who else, besides you and your spouse, live at your prior address?
- Do you own your house or rent? (be prepared to answer this question for each place you lived together)
- How much rent or mortgage do you pay?
- What color is the carpet in your bedroom?
- What color is the comforter on your bed?
- Which one of you normally sleeps closest to the bedroom door?
- What color is the stove?
- What color is the dishwasher?
- How many televisions do you have in your house? In what rooms are they? Do you and your spouse have an account for Netflix/Hulu/Disney+ etc.?
- What was the last movie (name) you and your spouse saw together?
- What did you and your spouse have for dinner yesterday (or last meal together)?
- What TV programs do you and your spouse watch together?
- Where does your spouse work?
- What time does your spouse go to work? What time does your spouse come home from work?
- Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are their names? Where do they live? Are they married? Do they have children?
- Does your spouse have any brothers or sisters? What are their names? Where do they live? Are they married? Do they have children?
- What time did you and your spouse get up this morning?
- What did you do last weekend?
- What do you and your spouse like to do together?
- What is your spouse’s favorite restaurant?
- Who took a shower first this morning?
- What did you have for breakfast?
- How many cars do you have? What kind of cars? What color are they?
- How do you spell your spouse’s full name? (If you normally call your spouse by a nickname, please make sure you know and can comfortably pronounce their full legal name)
- What is your spouse’s date of birth?
- Where was your spouse born?
- What are the names of your spouse’s parents? Where do they live? How often do you talk to your spouse’s parents? How often does your spouse talk to their parents?
- When did you get married?
- Where did you get married?
- What family members attended your wedding?
- What did you do after the wedding ceremony? (have a party, go out to eat, what was the name of the restaurant, who was there with you etc.)
- Do you or your spouse have any children? What are their names and ages? Where do they live? What schools do they attend?
- Does your spouse have any tattoos or scars? If so, what and where are they?
- What is your home telephone number?
- What is your spouse’s cell phone number?
- When did you and your spouse go on your first date? Where did you go for your first date? What did you do on your first date?
- Where were you living when you met your spouse?
- Where was your spouse living when he/she first met you?
- Who proposed to whom? When did the proposal occur? Where did the proposal occurred? Who was there when the proposal occurred? How did they propose?
- If you did not have a formal proposal, when and how did you decide that you were going to marry each other?
- Do you/your spouse have an engagement ring? Where did you get the engagement ring? Did you pick the rings together?
- Do you/your spouse have wedding rings? Where did you get the wedding rings? Did you pick the rings together?
- Have you taken any trips together? If so, when and where?
- Have you met your spouse’s family? If so, who did you meet, where and when?
- Who lives with you now?
- What is your address?
- What is the main street you turn off of to get to your house?
- Is your residence a house, apartment, condo, townhouse, etc.? (be prepared to answer this for any previous residences as well)
- How many floors are there in your residence? (be prepared to answer this for any previous residences as well)
- How many bedrooms are in your residence? (be prepared to answer this for any previous residences as well)
- How many bathrooms are in your residence? (be prepared to answer this for any previous residences as well)
- What other electronics (stereo, clock, etc.) are in your bedroom and where are they located?
- How many closets are in your bedroom?
- What other furniture is in the bedroom?
- Is there a ceiling fan in your bedroom?
- Where does your spouse keep his/her socks?
- Is there carpet or hardwood floors in the bedroom?
- What color are your bedroom walls?
- What color is your shower curtain?
- What color is your spouse’s toothbrush?
- What color are the bathroom walls?
- If there is another bedroom, what furniture is in there?
- What time did you and your spouse go to bed last night?
- What time did you wake up this morning?
- Was your spouse also awake or still sleeping?
- What time did you leave to get to this appointment?
- What type of car did you come in today?
- Where did you park for this appointment?
- Where do you normally park your car at your house?
- Where does your spouse work?
- What is your spouse’s work number?
- How often does your spouse get paid?
- When did your spouse last work? What were the work hours?
- When did you last work? What were your work hours?
- How often do you get paid?
- Who does the food shopping for your house?
- What is the closest supermarket to your house?
- Who normally cooks dinner in your house?
- Who pays the bills?
- Who is your spouse’s best friend?
- What is your spouse’s religion?
- Does your spouse smoke or drink? If so, what brand of cigarette do they normally smoke? What brand of beer do they normally drink? What type or brand of alcohol do they normally drink?
- Does your spouse have any medical conditions?
- What and when was your last argument?
- How did you celebrate the last major holiday? (New Year, Christmas, birthday)?
- What did your spouse buy you for your birthday? Christmas?
- What is your date of birth?
- What is your spouse’s date of birth?
- Where were you born?
- Where was your spouse born?
- Where were you working when you met your spouse?
- Where was your spouse working when you met?
- Do you have any pets?
- Do you go to church? If so, where?
- Does your spouse go to church? If so, where?
- Do you eat meals together on a typical workday?
- Are you paid by check or direct deposit to bank?
- Is your spouse paid by check or direct deposit to bank?
- Is your stove gas or electric?
- Do you have a computer at home? Where is it located?
- What time of day were you married?
- Do you sleep in the same bedroom as your spouse?
- Last night, what time did you go to bed?
- What time did your spouse go to bed?
- Do you or your spouse take medicine every day? If so, what is it for?
- Where is medicine kept in the house?
- Where is your mailbox at home?
- Where are dirty clothes kept?
- Does the husband shave with a blade or electric razor?
- If you/your spouse wears a wig(s), where do they keep it when they are not wearing it?
- Does your spouse wear a bonnet/hair covering when they sleep?
- Do you celebrate any holidays at home? How do you usually celebrate?
- Do you decorate the house for the holidays?
Related:
Marriage Green Card – Checklist, Forms and Processing Time
Married to a U.S. Citizen and Living in the U.S.
Married to a Green Card Holder and Living in the United States
Married to a U.S. Citizen and Living Abroad
