What did you do for your spouse's last birthday?

“What did you do for your spouse's last birthday?” 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?

A birthday question may help the officer understand a recent personal event in your married life. The answer can separate the birthday itself from a celebration held on another day. Details about time together, a gift, or no celebration may provide context, but the question does not mean you must describe a large or expensive event.

What might the officer ask next?

• What is your spouse's birthday date?
• Did you celebrate on that date or another day?
• Was anyone else with you for the celebration?

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?

Focus on the most recent birthday, since memories from different years can blend together. Review whether you spent time together, gave anything, or marked the date in another way. Keep any later gathering separate from what happened on the actual birthday. If you cannot remember a restaurant, gift, or exact celebration date, state that limit rather than borrowing a detail from an earlier year.

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?
• What time does your spouse typically leave for work or return home?
• Who handles laundry, cleaning, and other household chores?
• Do you have any pets? What are their names?
• Where do you usually shop for groceries?

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