What are your spouse's parents' names, and where do they live?

“What are your spouse's parents' names, and where do they live?” is a practice question about family and children 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 your spouse's parents to understand your knowledge of their family. Names and places can lead to questions about personal contact or distance between relatives. Your answer gives context to family ties in your marriage, but it should not suggest you have met someone when you only know about them.

What might the officer ask next?

• Which city does each parent live in?
• Have you met either parent in person?
• If you have met, where did that first meeting happen?

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 each parent's name and the place where they currently live, as far as you know. Notice whether you usually use a nickname instead of a full name. Separate meeting in person from a phone or video conversation. If you have not met a parent, describe that fact without adding a visit. Say when you do not remember a name or location detail, and do not turn your spouse's memory into your own.

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 family and children questions

• Does your spouse have any siblings? Can you name them?
• Have you met your spouse's immediate family? When was the last visit or gathering?
• Do you and your spouse have any children together?
• Does either of you have children from a prior relationship? Where do they live, and how often do you see them?
• What did you do together for the last major holiday?
• Have you discussed plans for children or family growth?

Read the family and children topic guide, or see all 91 interview questions.