What time does your spouse typically leave for work or return home?

“What time does your spouse typically leave for work or return home?” is a practice question about daily life 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 departure and return times to understand how your spouse's work fits into household life. Those times may differ from the hours actually spent working because of travel or other stops. Your answer can also explain changing shifts or work from home, which may make a single daily time inaccurate.

What might the officer ask next?

• What time does the work shift itself begin?
• How much does the return time vary during the week?
• Does your spouse work from home on any days?

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?

Separate the time your spouse starts work from the time they leave home. Consider travel time, changing shifts, and days worked from home before describing a typical range. Use what you know from daily life rather than guessing about hours you do not observe. If a recent schedule change is unclear, explain which schedule you know and which part you still need to check.

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 daily life questions

• Who usually wakes up first in the morning, and around what time?
• What did you eat for your most recent evening meal together at home, and who made it?
• Who does most of the cooking in your household?
• How do you usually spend weekends together?
• Which bedroom or sleeping area does each of you use at night?
• Who handles laundry, cleaning, and other household chores?
• Do you have any pets? What are their names?
• Where do you usually shop for groceries?
• What did you do for your spouse's last birthday?

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