What is your spouse’s approximate annual or hourly income from their current job?

“What is your spouse’s approximate annual or hourly income from their current job?” is a practice question about work for a marriage-based green card interview at a USCIS field office. A real officer may ask it in other words, ask something else, or skip it. Practice can help you explain your own facts. It cannot tell you what USCIS will decide.

What is the officer checking with this question?

The officer may ask about approximate earnings to understand your knowledge of household support and current employment. An hourly rate and an annual salary describe different things, so the unit matters. This question does not establish whether financial requirements are met; case-specific concerns about income and support belong with your lawyer.

What might the officer ask next?

• Is that figure an hourly rate or a yearly amount?
• Is that pay before or after deductions?
• Does the amount change with hours or overtime?
• How does that income contribute to shared household costs?

The next question usually comes from the words in your answer. If you name a person, a place, or a month, expect a question about it. The guide to green card interview follow-up questions explains how to practice past the first answer.

How do you prepare to answer it?

Review the approximate amount you genuinely know and the time period it covers. Separate gross pay from the amount received after deductions if you know the difference for that figure. Do not turn a rough estimate into an exact annual calculation you cannot support. If you do not remember the amount, say that clearly. Ask your lawyer about financial support concerns rather than using this practice question to judge whether income is sufficient.

Answer from your own memory, in your own words. Do not learn a script or a sample answer. If your spouse remembers a detail differently, first check whether you mean the same event. Ask your lawyer about any concern with your forms or documents.

Can you practice this question out loud for free?

Yes. Choose "Answer it now, free". The officer asks this question first. You answer out loud, and the officer follows up on what you said. You can try 3 questions free, and you do not need documents. Feedback comes after the session, not while you speak.

More work questions

• Where does your spouse work, and what kind of work do they do?
• What is your spouse's typical work schedule?
• Have either of you changed employers since you filed your applications?
• Where did your spouse work when you first met?
• Does the adjusting spouse currently have employment authorization, and where do they work if employed?

Read the work topic guide, or see all 91 interview questions.