Did you enter the United States lawfully, and what was your most recent status before filing to adjust?

“Did you enter the United States lawfully, and what was your most recent status before filing to adjust?” is a practice question about interview day 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 be reviewing the entry and status history relevant to your adjustment application. An entry event and a later period of status are different parts of that history. The question uses legal terms, so a spoken summary alone does not establish which rules apply to your case or whether a particular entry meets a legal requirement.

What might the officer ask next?

• When was your most recent arrival in the United States?
• What entry record relates to that arrival?
• Did your status change between that arrival and filing?

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 your most recent arrival date and the entry records available for it. Put any later status changes in order up to the filing date. Do not treat a visa label, an entry event, and later status as the same fact. If a date is missing from memory, identify the record you need to check instead of guessing. Ask your lawyer to explain the legal terms and their application to your own entry and status history.

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 interview day questions

• Since you filed to adjust status, have any facts on your application changed, such as address, employer, or arrests?
• I will ask several yes-or-no questions tied to your adjustment application. Answer each carefully.
• Have you ever been arrested, cited, or charged with any crime anywhere in the world?
• Do you understand that if you have been married less than two years at approval, you may receive conditional permanent residence?
• Please confirm the originals of your passport, marriage certificate, and any prior divorce decrees.
• Has a civil surgeon completed your Form I-693 medical exam, and was it already submitted or brought sealed today?
• Do you have any questions about the next steps after today's interview?

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