Immigrating to the U.S. Through Marriage

Whether you’re planning a wedding or already married, living in the U.S. or abroad, it is daunting if you are a U.S. citizen and your partner is a foreign national. Getting citizenship or permanent residency for your partner includes filing fees, interviews, and legal paperwork. Mistakes along the way could cause an application denial, which can cost you even more time and money.

An immigration lawyer can give you legal advice about American immigration laws and explain how your spouse or fiancé can immigrate to the U.S. Contact a local immigration attorney for answers to your questions about marriage visas.

Getting Your Spouse U.S. Permanent Residency

As a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card-holder), you can petition to bring your spouse to live with you in the U.S. The visa process for bringing your spouse to the country is different for citizens and LPRs. If you petition for a relative to come to the U.S. while a permanent resident and then become a citizen, you can upgrade your petition.

The process for U.S. citizens starts with filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. After the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves the petition, your spouse can apply to get a green card. File Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. This is for an adjustment of status when your spouse is present in the U.S.

Permanent residents have to wait until a visa is available before their spouse can come to the U.S. Spouses of permanent residents have a lower priority than spouses of citizens. You can check the priority dates for your visa category on the visa bulletin.

Along with the petition, you need to submit an affidavit of support, completed medical examination forms, and filing fees for consular processing. The U.S. embassy or consulate in your spouse’s home country will schedule an interview. A U.S. consulate immigration officer will conduct the interview to determine whether to approve the visa for the U.S.

You’ll need to send supporting documentation during the application process. This could include your marriage certificate and birth certificate. You also need to show the bona fides of marriage, to show the marriage is legitimate and not just for immigration purposes. Evidence of your marriage can include:

• Joint property ownership
• Joint bank accounts
• Property leases in both names
• Birth certificates of the couple’s children
• Sworn affidavits of people familiar with your relationship

Getting Your Spouse Citizenship Through Naturalization

After your new spouse becomes a green card holder, you’ll have to play a bit of a waiting game before they can get citizenship through naturalization. Your spouse will need to live in the country continuously for three years with their green card before they can apply for citizenship. You’ll also need to live together as spouses for those three years.

Your spouse will also need to meet the general requirements for U.S. citizenship, which include:

• Being at least 18 years old
• Possessing the ability to read and write English
• Passing a civics test for U.S. history and government
• Exhibiting good moral character

Additional requirements include filling out USCIS Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and needing to pledge an oath of allegiance to support the U.S. Constitution.

At each stage of the process, either or both of you may have to give more interviews to prove you have a genuine, valid marriage. The U.S. government representatives working on your case will need to determine that you have a bona fide marital union for your spouse to be eligible for citizenship. In other words, they will try to determine if your marriage is a sham just for your spouse to get into the U.S.

Getting a Visa for Your Fiancé

If your fiancé(e) isn’t a U.S. citizen, you have more steps to take as you navigate the immigration process. The naturalization process comes later. To get your fiancé to the U.S., you’ll need to follow the application process of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These steps generally include the following:

• You must file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé, and supply any evidence needed.
• Your fiancé will need to fill out the forms for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa, more commonly called a fiancé visa, and bring them to the interview with the immigration officer.
• The U.S. embassy in your fiancé’s country will then schedule an interview to determine if they’re eligible for the conditional visa.
• If they grant the visa, your fiancé will have six months to use it to come to the United States.
• You’ll need to have your wedding within 90 days of your fiancé entering the U.S.
• After you’re married, your spouse will need to apply for adjustment of status (Form I-485) to become a lawful permanent resident. They can concurrently file Form I-765 to receive an Employment Authorization Document, allowing them to work while the green card application is pending.
• A fiancé can apply for K-2 visas for their children at the U.S. consulate if they have any unmarried children under 21 who are also coming to the U.S. The children also need a green card application.

Eligibility Requirements for a Fiancé Visa

To apply for the fiancé visa, you and your partner will need to meet a few qualifications:

• You’ll need full U.S. citizenship to bring a non-U.S. citizen over through a fiancé visa.
• You’ll both have to be legally free to marry. This means you’re not legally married to anyone else when you file for the visa.
• You and your fiancé must meet in person at least once in the two years before you file, unless you’re granted a waiver. Waivers are usually only granted if you can prove a financial and logical hardship made the meeting impossible or if meeting in advance of the wedding would violate long-standing tradition.

If you don’t get married within 90 days, the visa will expire. Your fiancé will likely have to leave the country or face deportation. This can affect their ability to apply for citizenship in the future.

If the visa is denied, you’ll need to address any problems and then restart the process from the beginning.

After Marriage Overseas

If you marry your fiancé in another country, you can bring them to the U.S. as your spouse. You can file Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. You can petition to bring your spouse of a U.S. citizen to the U.S. with evidence of your marriage certificate and evidence of the bona fides of the marriage. Talk to an immigration lawyer about the benefits of marriage overseas or waiting until you come to the U.S.

Get Advice From an Experienced Immigration Attorney

The best way to ensure your family’s security is by closely following U.S. immigration laws. Errors could prevent your spouse from getting citizenship in the future. Working with an experienced immigration attorney can help you find and file your forms and documents. They can help prepare you for the next stages of citizenship through the naturalization process. Contact an immigration lawyer for help with marriage-based citizenship.