Marriage

US citizens and permanent residents (green card holders) are entitled to petition for their foreign-born spouses for permanent residence.  Marriage to a US citizen is considered the fastest way to obtain a green card because there are no quota restrictions for the spouse, as an immediate relative, to apply for permanent residence.  As for permanent residents, petitioning for their spouses involves waiting a couple of years for the quota to open.

Procedure if Marriage Occurs in the United States

Assuming the foreign-born spouse entered the United States legally, the US citizen petitioner must submit a visa petition to the USCIS Lockbox in Chicago with the evidence to prove that the marriage is entered in good faith instead of for the sole purpose of obtaining a green card. Simultaneously, the foreign-born spouse should submit the application for adjustment of status (green card application) together with the application for work authorization and advance parole.  Affidavit of support, tax returns and an employment letter from the petitioner, passport pictures from both petitioner and beneficiary, medicals from the beneficiary, are some of the documents that must be included in the packet. Once the applications are filed, the foreign-born spouse will be required to do fingerprinting. Then, the USCIS will schedule an interview if necessary. It usually takes the Service Centers about 90 days to issue the employment card (EAD). It takes anywhere between two and half to six months for the interview to be held.

Procedure if Marriage Occurs Outside the United States

If the marriage takes place abroad, the foreign-born spouse usually must remain in the home country until he/she obtains the immigrant visa/permanent residence through consular processing. Generally, the US citizen petitioner starts the process by filing a visa petition to the USCIS. Once the petition is approved, it will be forwarded to the National Visa Center to initiate the immigration visa application packet (pkt.3). The packet will require the foreign-born spouse to submit biographic data and civil documents. Once the case is completed and forwarded to the Consulate which has jurisdiction over the case, the foreign-born spouse will be notified for an interview. The process will take about three to six months. In order to avoid long periods of separation, the US citizen petitioner can file the K-3 visa petition after filing the immigrant visa petition. In most cases though, the processing times are the same. If that’s the case, the K-3 is withdrawn and the case proceeds as an immigrant visa application.

In some cases, if the US citizen petitioner resides in the foreign-born spouse’s home country for over six months, the petitioner may be eligible to file a visa petition directly with the US Embassy/Consulate. The processing time usually takes only six months for the foreign-born spouse to obtain the immigrant visa.