Overview On Us Green Card Through Marriage Application

By Author: Nancy Mervin
Total Articles: 56
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Marriage in good faith and because you want to spend the rest of your life with this person, then congratulations and best wishes! For the alien relative spouse, you may apply for permanent resident status. Legally wedded husband or wife is the spouse. Certain immigration benefits which are not available to other aliens are available for the alien spouse after marriage to an American citizen. Being alien spouse you have first preference in the visa quota category paving way to get your green card without must wait time. In case of polygamy the first spouse only qualifies. Time is required only for USCIS or any of the American consulates to process the Green card application.

Requirements for petitioner

• To file a petition for a spouse no age limit but you must be 18 years of age
• Home in US to file the affidavit of support, Form I-864 required for spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR-1) immigration cases and to issue a visa

Way to bring the spouse to U.S. if petitioner is US citizen

• Using the ...
... Form I-130, immigrant petition for alien relative to get Immigrant visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1 or CR1)
• Using Petition for Alien Relative, Form 1-130 and Petition for Alien Fiance (e), Form I-129F get the non-immigrant visa for spouse (K-3).K-3 is processed and issued in the country where marriage took place. After entering US spouse needs to wait for immigrant visa processing.
• Using only I-129F fiance (e) petition get non-immigrant visa for fiance (e) (K-1) to travel to the United States for marriage.

Way to bring the spouse/family members to U.S. if petitioner is a Lawful Permanent Resident

• Immigrant visa (F2A) - for family second preference immigrant visa for your spouse and children
• Non-immigrant (V) visa - for your spouse and children to travel to the United States to wait for processing of the immigrant visa.

Family-based immigration falls under two basic categories: unlimited and limited.

Unlimited Family-Based

• Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens (IR): The spouse, widow(er) and unmarried children under 21 of a U.S. citizen, and the parent of a U.S. citizen who is 21 or older.
• Returning Residents (SB): Immigrants who lived in the United States previously as lawful permanent residents and are returning to live in the U.S. after a temporary visit of more than one year abroad.

Limited Family-Based

• Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children, if any.
• Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters who are over age 20 years of lawful permanent residents. At least seventy-seven percent of all visas available for this category will go to the spouses and children; the remainder will be allocated to unmarried sons and daughters.
• Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and children.
• Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of United States citizens, and their spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age.

Duration and Processing Time

Time to process your documentation by USCIS is different depending on the number of application the immigration office receives. By contacting USCIS official you may obtain any information pertaining to processing times and additional requirements.

If the couple is waiting the processing time after the US citizen Petitioner already filed the Petition for Alien Relative in a Consulate or Embassy abroad, before the alien spouse can accompany the Petitioner to permanently return to the USA, then, consider researching the eligibility requirements for filing a K-3 Visa petition.

A visa for the spouse has to be allocated by the National Visa Center first if petitioner is a Lawful Permanent Resident. There is usually a longer waiting period involved for visa availability. Different visas are available for spouse or eligible family member to enter the US to start green card processing petitioned by U.S. citizen.

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