Imagine, for a moment, that you are on “The Newlywed Game”. You are sitting in a chair shaped like a heart, while a man in a terrible suit asks you questions about your spouse. “What is your spouse’s favorite color?” “Who does most of the cooking in your home?” “How many pairs of shoes does your spouse own?”. The more questions you answer correctly, the better your chances of winning! One thing you didn’t count on, however, is the stress. On most days, you know the answers, even if you have to think for a few moments to remember. Right now, though, you have people watching you, waiting for your answer, and if you don’t answer right, you might not win the grand prize! The pressure gets to be too much. You flee from your uncomfortable heart chair, out into the parking lot, and drive home. It’s not until you get to your house that you realize you have forgotten your spouse back at the studio. Whoops.

Okay, that situation may be a bit exaggerated, and you’re probably not going to run out of an immigration office in a blind panic (and hopefully, you won’t forget your spouse). Marriage green card interviews can feel a lot like being on the Newlywed Game, though. Like the game show, someone will be asking you many questions about your spouse and your life together, only it will be an agent of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services doing the asking. The goal of this interview is to verify both that the marriage is authentic and that the immigrant does qualify for a marriage-based green card.

Since this is such an important step in obtaining a green card, this can be a very stressful process; not only do you have to answer a ton of questions from an outside source who can determine whether your application succeeds, but the emotion of having someone question your marriage can be an added level of stress. Even though it’s hard to completely remove all of the anxiety from the situation, we have some tips that can make the process a good deal easier.

Review Your History: Schedule time the week or so before your interview to refresh your memories of the important events in your life together. Discuss how and when you met, your engagement, your wedding ceremony, and your life together now. View any photo albums that you may have taken during events, as those can help your memory with things like the names of the people in the pictures.
Quiz Each Other: Print out a list of possible interview questions (like the list we have below!) and ask them to your spouse. Do so at scheduled times, but make sure to ask some of them at random moments, as well – it can help prepare you for the suddenness that may occur during questioning. Check your answers with each other. You can also print out a copy of the questions for each of you and go over the answers together.
It’s Okay to Not Know: If the interviewer asks you a question and you really can’t remember the answer, don’t try to make something up. Be honest, and just tell them that you don’t know or remember the answer. People forget things all the time; it’s far better to admit a hole in your memory than to make something up and get caught in a lie.
Get Your Papers: Bringing everything you included when you applied for your green card, like your birth and marriage certificates and passport, is a great idea, but so is bringing anything that shows that your marriage is genuine. Photos of you and your spouse together or with your families, anything in both of your names, like rental agreements or bank statements, your children’s birth certificates or pet adoption papers – all of these are a way to lend authenticity to your marriage. Put everything into chronological order and keep it together to take with you.
Relax: If you know you get stressed out easily or don’t do well under pressure, try to make the day of the interview as stress-free as possible. Learn some techniques that can keep you calm under stress (this list from Interview Gold is about job interviews, but the techniques are the same). Remember that it is okay to be nervous; everyone performs differently under stress

Below, you will find a list of questions that are commonly asked during marriage green card interviews. However, other questions can and will probably be asked, so be prepared to answer something you may not have thought about before the interview. Just breathe, take it one question at a time, and answer to the best of your ability. You may not win any game show prizes, but you may just win something better: a happy and legal married life in the United States.

Questions About Your Partner:

What is your spouse’s full name?
What is your spouse’s age and birthday?
Does your spouse have any scars, birthmarks, or tattoos? Where are they?
Does your spouse have any allergies? To what?
Does your spouse smoke? What kind of cigarettes?
What is your spouse’s telephone number?
What is your spouse’s favorite color?
What is your spouse’s favorite food?
What kind of car does your spouse drive?
What size clothing does your spouse wear?
What does your spouse usually wear?
What kind of scents does your spouse wear?
Where did your spouse go to school?
Did your spouse go to college?
What did your spouse get a degree in?
Who is your spouse’s employer?
How did your spouse get their current job?
How long has your spouse been working there?
What is your spouse’s position?
Where did your spouse work prior?
When did your spouse arrive in the United States?

Questions About Your Families and Friends

What are the names of your spouse’s parents? Are they alive or dead?
What are the names of your spouse’s siblings?
Have you met each other’s families?
How often do you see each other’s families?
When was the last time you saw them?
How do you typically celebrate holidays? For example, do you spend Thanksgiving with one family and Christmas with another?
Does your spouse have any nieces or nephews?
Do you have mutual friends?
What’s your spouse’s best friend’s name?

Questions About Your History Together

Where did you meet your spouse?
Who introduced you to your spouse?
What did the two of you have in common?
Where was your first date?
When did your relationship turn romantic?
When did you move in together? Whose house did you move into?
When did you meet each other’s parents?
How long was it before you decided to get married?
Who proposed to whom?
Who bought your engagement and wedding rings?
Why did you decide to have a long or short engagement?
How many people attended your wedding?
Where was the wedding held?
Who organized the wedding?
Who were the bridesmaids/groomsmen?
Did you have a first dance? To what song?
What flavor was your wedding cake?
Where did you sleep the night of your wedding?
Where did you go for the honeymoon?

Questions About Your Life Now

How many people live in your home? What are their names?
What kind of pets do you have? What are their names?
Which side of the bed do you sleep on?
What color is your partner’s toothbrush? What kind of toothpaste do they use?
Who does the chores in your house?
Who does the cooking in your house?
What meals do you eat together?
What grocery store do you go to?
Who takes care of the finances?
Do you share bank accounts? Whose name is on them?
How much is your rent? Who do you pay it to?
How much are your bills?
Do you have health insurance? Do you have life insurance?
Have you ever been on vacation together?
When is your anniversary?
Do you attend church?
Do you plan on having children?
Do you have any children from previous marriages?
Do you spend a lot of time together?
What did you do last weekend?
What did you do for your spouse’s last birthday?
What gifts have you gotten for your spouse?
When did you and your spouse last have sex?

Questions About Your Home

What is your current address?
What color is the outside of your house?
What color is the inside of your house?
What do the rooms of your house look like?
What kind of floors does your house have?
How many windows and doors does your house have?
What kind of lights do you have in your house?
How many televisions do you have in your house? Where are they?
What color are the appliances in your kitchen?
What kind of alarm is in your bedroom? What time does it go off?
What color are the sheets on your bed right now?
What size is your bed? How many pillows are on it?
Do you have plants in your house? What kind?