In this article our spouse visa lawyer explains that there are several immigrant visas available for spouses of either US citizens or US permanent residents. There is also a visa available to fiancés of US citizens.
First, let’s look at definition of who will be considered a spouse of a US citizen or a US permanent resident. According to US immigration law, a spouse is broadly defined as a legally wedded husband or wife. For immigration purposes, merely dating and living together does not qualify as a marriage. However, common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes if the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurred permit such a marriage and certain conditions are met. Our spouse visa lawyer explains that for marriages that occurred in countries where polygamy is allowed, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for US immigration purposes.
Immigrant visas are available to foreign spouses of both U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, but the parties involved have to meet certain criteria to qualify. There are two types of spouse visas. One is the CR-1 visa, which is available to spouses of U.S. citizens, and the other is the F-2A visa, which is available to spouses of US permanent residents (green card holders). These two marriage visas are very similar, but the F-2A visa, which is the visa for spouses of green card holders, the visa takes longer to process. The basic requirements for both visas are as follows:
- The sponsor must be a U.S. citizen (CR-1) or lawful permanent resident (F-2A).
- The sponsor and the applicant must be already married and be able to show proof in form a marriage certificate and additional proof to show there is a bona fide marriage. That means the marriage is for genuine reasons and not to evade U.S. immigration law.
- The sponsor must be able to demonstrate that he or she is able to financially support their spouse by meeting at least the minimum federal poverty guidelines. In cases where the US citizen or permanent resident does not make enough money to qualify, he or she may be able to use a co-sponsor, for example a parent or another close relative. Another option is for the sponsor to show that he or she has assets such as real estate, cash in a bank account or other investments such as stocks, bonds or crypto currencies.
Our spouse visa lawyer explains that for spouses outside the US, the sponsoring US citizen or US resident has to first submit an immigrant petition to US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). If the immigrant petition is approved by the USCIS, it is then sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing. Once the NVC processes the case, it then sends it to the consulate where the spouse resides. The spouse will then receive instructions as to how to make a visa interview appointment and what are the steps to get the spouse immigrant visa. The processing time for spouses of US citizens is approximately 10-13 months for immigrant petition to be approved by USCIS and another 3 to 6 months for the process at the US consulate, depending on location and the local conditions regarding the COVID pandemic at the consulate’s location. For the spouses of US permanent residents, also known as green card holders, the process is likely to take between 2 to 2.5 years. However, the processing time is expected to decrease due to recent policy changes.
Our spouse visa lawyer explains that for spouses currently in the US, the sponsoring US citizen or US resident has to submit the same immigrant petition to USCIS as those filling for spouses outside the US. At the same time, the non-US spouse can submit an application for adjustment of status. There are other optional applications that can be submitted together with the immigrant petition and the application to adjust status. Those include an application for employment authorization, giving the non-US spouse the right to work until their green card is approved, and a request for issuance of a travel document, allowing the non-US spouse to travel outside of the USA before final green card approval.
For spouses, who have been married less than 2 years before the non-US spouse became permanent resident, the green card is conditional, meaning that it expires in 2 years if the condition is not removed. To do that, both spouses must submit a joint petition to remove the 2-year condition which should be done 90 days before the conditional green card expiration date.
If you are want to pursue a marriage visa or green card, contact us, your trusted spouse visa lawyers in Miami, Florida USA or book an appointment.
Malescu Law P.A. – Immigration Lawyers