Questions people ask

It differs a lot between forms and between offices. USCIS publishes its own processing times for each form and office, updated regularly.

Our flow charts show the order of the steps for each form, not how long they take.

USCIS processing times ↗

Both of you. USCIS generally requires the spouse who filed the I-130 to come, as well as the spouse applying for the green card. The interview is at a USCIS field office, on the date in your notice.

Your interview notice lists what to bring. USCIS also asks for the originals of every document sent with the I-485. That includes passports, travel documents and your I-94 record, even expired ones.

Fingerprints and photos may be taken again at the interview.

Our document checklist →

USCIS doesn't publish its questions. It does publish the evidence it weighs. That includes a home or lease you share, how you share money, children you have together, and statements from people who know you.

The questions are about your shared life: how it started, how you live now, and facts you would both know.

It is when each spouse is questioned alone and the answers are compared. USCIS can do this at any stage of a case, most often when an officer is not yet sure the marriage is real.

The name comes from Stokes v. INS, a New York court case.

Real couples don't remember everything the same way, and officers know that. What matters is the facts a shared life gives you both, and whether both answers can be true.

Saying you don't know is better than a guess, because a guess can create a contradiction.

Practice answering separately →

No. Your spouse is a witness in the case, so they can't interpret, and neither can your lawyer. You may bring an interpreter who shows ID, takes an oath and interprets word for word. You both sign Form G-1256.

USCIS Form G-1256 ↗

The officer may approve the case at the end of the interview or later by mail. USCIS may instead send a Request for Evidence, a Notice of Intent to Deny, or call you to a second interview. Every decision comes in writing.

Not always. Since 2022 USCIS decides case by case. It may skip the interview when the file already shows a real marriage and raises no concerns.

You file in the 90 days before the second anniversary of your conditional residence. Your receipt notice extends your status while you wait.

If you applied on or after October 20, 2025, the officer asks up to 20 questions from a list of 128. You need 12 right, and the officer stops at 12 right or 9 wrong.

If you applied earlier, you take the 2008 test: up to 10 questions from a list of 100, with 6 right needed.

Three parts. Speaking is judged throughout the interview, from how you understand and answer the officer. For reading, you read one of up to three sentences out loud. For writing, you write one of up to three sentences.

You are tested again on only that part, 60 to 90 days later. The officer gives you your result on Form N-652 before you leave the interview.

Some applicants can. At 50 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, or 55 with 15 years, you skip the English test. You then take civics in your own language. At 65 with 20 years, you get a shorter civics list.

A disability that prevents learning English or civics is covered by Form N-648, completed by your doctor.

USCIS exceptions and accommodations ↗

Your interview notice, your green card and a state-issued ID. Also every passport and travel document since you became a permanent resident, valid or expired. Bring originals of anything you sent as a copy, and IRS tax transcripts.

Yes, if you have lived in marital union with the same US citizen for the three years before the interview. You also need three years as a permanent resident and 18 months physically in the US.

You must still be married to that spouse when you take the oath.

When you take the Oath of Allegiance at a ceremony. You hand in your green card there and receive your Certificate of Naturalization. Sometimes the ceremony is on the same day as the interview.

USCIS naturalization ceremonies ↗

Three things. You met in person within the two years before the petition. You are both free to marry. The relationship is genuine.

After entering the US, you marry within 90 days.

It means the consular officer doesn't yet have everything needed. You may get a letter listing what to send. Otherwise the case goes into administrative processing, and the consulate contacts you when it is done.

State Department: visa denials ↗

Yes. We have guides for the spouse visa abroad, the student (F-1), visitor (B1/B2) and work (H-1B) visas, and the family and employment green cards.

A place to practice for immigration interviews. Couples answer the same questions separately and see where their answers differ. Citizenship applicants practice the civics test, reading, writing and the questions about their N-400.

At the interview, an officer may ask you both the same question. Answering apart shows you where your memories differ, so you can talk about it before the day.

Your answer stays hidden until both of you have answered.

The reviewer, a computer program, compares your answers. It names a difference and quotes what you filed where it applies. It does not write answers for you.

USCIS does not publish its questions. Ours follow the kinds of evidence USCIS says it looks at, and the facts in the forms you share with us.

Nobody can predict an interview, and we don't try to.

The civics, reading and writing tests, the visa interview practice, the case reader and the guides are free. Marriage practice has free questions, and a paid plan opens the full question bank. You pay once for a fixed number of days, and nothing renews.

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No. OathSure is an assistance tool, not legal advice.