When did your current spouse's prior marriage legally end?

“When did your current spouse's prior marriage legally end?” is a practice question about earlier marriages 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 compare your understanding of your spouse's prior marriage with the civil documents in the case. The key event is the legal end, which may not be the day the spouses separated or started divorce proceedings. Clarifying which date you mean helps the officer follow the sequence before your current marriage without treating each date as interchangeable.

What might the officer ask next?

• Which document gives the final date?
• Is that the date of separation or the legal end?
• Did the final date fall before your current wedding?

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?

Look at the record that states when your spouse's earlier marriage ended. Note the month and year you can recall, and check the exact date rather than borrowing a guess. Keep your current wedding date separate from both the separation and final divorce dates. If you cannot remember the day, explain the limit of your memory. Ask your lawyer to clarify any uncertainty about when the earlier marriage legally ended.

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 earlier marriages questions

• Have either of you been married before?
• When and where did your previous marriage end, and do you have the divorce or death certificate?
• How long were you married previously, and when did that relationship end relative to this marriage?
• Has your spouse been married to anyone else before this marriage?
• Are there any ongoing financial or custody obligations from a prior marriage?

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