Marriage Green Card Documents : Everything You Need to Know

What documents do I need to file for a green card through marriage?

Congrats on your marriage and welcome to the United States!

Are you already ready to learn about the process of a marriage-based green card application?

Before starting the marriage green card process, learn what documents applicants need to prepare to speed the process up and avoid making common mistakes. Make sure to find more information that might interest you on our blog, or contact us. We would be glad to help you achieve your dreams.

Marriage-based Green Card in Short

In the United States, two categories of U.S. visas are available: immigrant and nonimmigrant. Immigrant U.S. visa is intended for foreign nationals who want to live permanently in the United States, and nonimmigrant visas are for those who intend to come temporarily.

A marriage-based green card is an immigrant visa for a foreign-born spouse of a U. S. citizen or permanent resident, allowing them to live and work in the United States and apply for U.S. citizenship after three years.

If the green card documents application process sounds complicated and confusing, you can get help from an immigration attorney from Herman Legal Group. By contacting us on (+1)(614) 300-1131, or complete our online contact form for an initial consultation, we will work together on your case.

Marriage Green Card Process Step by Step

To obtain permanent resident status, you have to:

• Submit I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative);
• Complete Application to Register Permanent Residence
• Attend the marriage green card interview and await approval

Here, we will talk about documents that you need to provide through each of these steps, but if you want to learn more about the green card documents process, read our Guide.

Step 1: Submit Form I-130

The first step to ensure permanent residence as a spouse of a U.S. citizen is to submit a Form I-130 petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

To prove that your valid marriage exists, you must prepare some supporting documentation, as well.

Both petitioners with U.S. citizenship and permanent resident status and beneficiary need to provide information about:

• Address history for the past five years
• Employment history in the past five years, (submit your prior work permit if you have received it in the past)
• Date previous marriage ended

Besides, there are other documents and evidence to attach to your application.

Petitioner

Additional petitioner’s information to provide:

• Whether he or she is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (birth certificate and photo ID, U.S. work permit if any, or other document proving the nationality).
• Whether he or she previously filed a petition for the beneficiary or other foreign national.

Beneficiary

An immigrant that wants to apply for a permanent residence status needs to provide the following details:

• I-94 information (if physically present in the United States)
• Any previous immigration proceedings

Proof of paid filing fee

The filing fee for the I-130 petition is $535.

Proof of status

Depending on your situation, relevant evidence may be a photocopy of birth, citizenship, or naturalization certificate for U.S. citizens or a photocopy of both sides of the green card or other proof.

Marriage certificate

Attaching a copy of your marriage certificate as supporting evidence showing that your marriage is valid and exists, you will prove a relationship between you and your spouse.

Proof of terminated marriages, if any

If you were previously married, you would need appropriate documents proving that it was legally terminated. This may be a divorce decree or death certificate.

Passport Style photos

Both of you need to attach two passport-style color photos taken within 30 days of filing the petition.

Proof that your marriage is bonafide

USCIS will examine your documentation very thoroughly so ensure your evidence shows that your marriage is legitimate. For example, you can use shared financial liabilities, assets, insurance, tax filings, birth certificates of a child born into the marriage to prove that valid marriage exists, etc.

Cover letter

Although optional, a cover letter will help you describe supporting documents showing in more detail any evidence that might need additional clarification. With this letter, you can get a chance to explain to the immigration officer your situation, but don’t go too much into detail, since you will present your evidence at the green card interview.

If you fail to provide all relevant documents, the USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) to supplement your petition.

Step 2: Adjust Permanent Resident Status

To determine a spouse’s eligibility, the USCIS will consider whether he or she lives in the United States or overseas.

When Applicant Living in the United States

If a spouse is in the United States, he or she must file Form I-485 (“Adjustment of Status” application or Application to Register Permanent Residence) concurrently. This will allow your spouse to get a marriage-based green card without leaving the U.S.

Documents to prepare:

• Government-Issued Identity Document (a valid passport or a driver’s license);
• Birth Certificate;
• Inspection and admission/Inspection and Advance Parole
• Immigrant category documentation
• Marriage certificate;
• Evidence of continuously maintaining citizenship or LPR.
• Affidavit of Support/ Confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer/ Request for Job Portability Under INA Section – unless a job offer is not required.
• Financial Support proofs
• Form I-693- Report of medical examination and vaccination record
• Filing fees

Medical Examination is required for each member of your family who is applying for adjustment of status. In order to get the medical examination, you need to visit a USCIS doctor.

Within this package, you should also include any other document received from U.S. officials, such as a work permit (Employment Authorization Document).

If you are a U.S. citizen

Your spouse has to file the I-485 filing package, the I-130 form, and supporting documentation, as in Step 1.

If You Hold Permanent Resident Card

Your spouse can submit the I-485 filing visa package after the USCIS decides that a marriage green card is available in the visa bulletin.

When Applicant Living Overseas

If you or your spouse are currently abroad: you need to submit a visa application package with the National Visa Center (NVC)

Supporting Documents to the Form I-485

Additional documentation aims to prove the eligibility of an immigration petitioner who wants to live in the United States. Some of them are obligatory, and others are optional.

Obligatory forms

Applicants who prepare the petition will usually include:

• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support
• Form I-693 — USCIS doctor provides this form establishing that the applicant is not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds.

Optional forms

• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization — to request employment permission.
• Form I-131, Application for Travel Document — to obtain an advance parole travel document and be able to come back after traveling abroad.

Step 3: Attend the Interview

After you sent your application package, you will receive a receipt notice from USCIS stating the date of your interview. The final step also requires you to bring certain documents. You can bring originals with you, but make sure to have copies if you need to leave some to the interviewing officer.

Photos and Passports:

You will need to present photo identification so it can be another official document as well. U.S. citizens or permanent residents may present a driver’s license.

Work or Travel Permits and Original Documents:

You should attach the original document you used when entering the United States and all documents you’ve gotten from U.S. consulates or USCIS. Since you probably provided USCIS with copies in your application package, bring originals at the interview.

Applicants will need to bring the original proof of U.S. citizenship status or permanent resident status. Don’t forget to ask the U.S. government officer for either an approval letter or an I-551 stamp in your passport. You will need to have evidence of the adjusted status until your marriage green card documents arrive.

New Evidence

If anything important changed or you forgot to provide in your application package, you can bring this proof to the interview.

Proof of Authenticity of Your Marriage:

The interviewing officer will assess your documents and your answers at the interview to determine whether your marriage is real. Bring anything you find appropriate such as rental agreements and mortgages, joint bank and credit card statements, tax returns, membership in clubs, and many other documents you provide can help you prove that your marriage is bonafide.

Herman Legal Group law firm provides U.S. Immigration services to our clients across the U.S. and overseas. If you need help with applying for an immigrant and nonimmigrant visa, getting a green card, or to adjust status, and prepare required documentation, you can use the online form or call us at (+1)(614) 300-1131. With our immigration attorney Richard Herman, you can get your case assessed, the best strategy developed, and legal advice on how to go through the process in the best possible way.

Who Can Apply for Marriage-Based Green Card?

If you have U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence status and fell in love with a foreign national, you probably consider options on how to bring your loved one to the United States where you can live together and make a family.

If you decided that your spouse should move to the United States permanently and apply for permanent residence status as an immediate relative and get immigration benefits, then it’s time for you you learn about the marriage green card process.

This article is a short review on the process of applying for a green card and possible scenarios, documents you have to submit (I-130 petition, form I-485, affidavit of support, etc), and how to handle it, but if you need legal advice, better consult an immigration attorney.

Eligibility Requirements

If a sponsoring spouse is a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, then a foreign national can apply for U.S. lawful permanent residence status. The U.S. immigration law imposes several requirements to make a person eligible to apply for a marriage green card:

• Marriage has to be legal
• Marriage has to be bona fide (show marriage certificate)
• You have to have U.S. citizenship or a lawful permanent resident status to sponsor your foreign spouse
• Neither of you can’t be married to another person.

How long does it take to get a marriage green card through marriage in 2021?

This waiting period also depends upon other factors such as Visa number availability (Visa Bulletin), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS or NVC processing time, U.S. embassy or consulate interviews schedules, etc.

Four possible situations will have different processing times:

1. Your spouse lives in the U.S., and you are a U.S. citizen;
2. Your spouse lives abroad, and you are a U.S. citizen;
3. Your spouse lives in the U.S. and is you are a green card holder;
4. Your spouse lives abroad, and you are a U.S. green-card holder.

Properly filing documentation can play a significant role regardless of which group you belong to.

Your spouse lives in the U.S. and you are a U.S. citizen.

If a spouse of a U.S. citizen seeking a marriage-based green card lives in the U.S., you can expect the shortest processing time, which is usually between 10-13 months.

Moreover, you can go through a procedure called “Concurrent Filing.” This will save you plenty of time because you will file two forms at the same time.

There are four steps in this process: Filing Green Card Application

A U.S. citizen files a marriage green card package for his or her foreign spouse with whom he or she must be legally married.

The application includes:

• Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative
• Form I-130A
• Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
• And supporting evidence with form I-130 and form I-485 such as birth certificate, marriage certificate, employment authorization (follow the instructions)

Optionally, you can submit:

• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
• Form I-131, Application for Travel Document or Advance Parole

After USCIS receives your application package, it will issue a receipt notice containing a set of case numbers in about 2-3 weeks.

Attend Biometrics Appointment

Usually, 3-5 months after USCIS receives your immigrant visa application, your foreign spouse will get the biometrics appointment date.

Attend the Interview

From 4 to 12 months after applying, USCIS will send you a green card interview notice. This notice will state the exact date, time, and location when you will attend the interview.

Receive Green Card

When you apply for a green card, it will arrive 2-3 weeks after the interview, but in some cases, it may take longer. You can check this article –How Long Does It Take To Get?

Your spouse lives abroad, and you are a U.S. citizen

A foreigner married to a U.S. citizen who lives outside the U.S. has to submit the green card application through a USCIS procedure called “Consular Processing. ”

Processing of Form I-130

When you file Form I-130 and Form I-130A along with supporting documents, in 2-3 weeks, you will receive a Receipt Notice from USCIS.

National Visa Center (NVC) Processing

When USCIS receives your application, it will transfer it to the National Visa Center (NVC). Processing time in NVC, including the time your application returns to USCIS, is about 3-5 months.

Interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate:

In about one month after receiving the interview letter, you will attend the interview. When a consular officer approves your application, you will get a visa that allows you to enter the U.S.

Green Card Arrival

You will receive the green card within six months after arriving in the United States.

As you can see, from the date when you apply for a green card to its arrival, you will wait somewhere between 11-17 months.

Your spouse lives in the U.S., and you are a green card holder

In this case, you will need to apply through a procedure called “Adjustment of Status. ”

Form I-130 Processing

After a green card holder submits Form I-130 and Form I-130A, USCIS will take about 11-15 months to process it.

Visa number availability

After USCIS approves your Form I-130, the petitioner has to wait until the visa number for the F2A category becomes available to file form I-485.

Form I-485, Adjustment of status processing

You can file Form I-485 for adjustment of status and supporting documents after the visa number becomes available. Processing adjustment of status form takes 9-11 months.

Green Card Interview and Approval

When USCIS finishes processing your form I-485, Application to adjust status, it will send you an appointment notice with the exact time and date to attend the interview. The interview that both of you have to attend usually happens a month after receiving the notice. Don’t forget that before coming to the interview, your spouse must see a USCIS-approved doctor for a medical exam.

Green Card Arrival

You will receive a green by mail within 2–3 weeks.

The entire process, in this case, takes from 29 to 38 months.

Your spouse lives abroad, and you are a U.S. green-card holder

If you are a green card holder and your spouse is outside the United States, then you’ll use an online green card application- Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application. This process used by foreigners living abroad is called ‘Consular Processing.’

Processing of Form I-130

You, as a green card, holder have to file Form I-130 and Form I-130A. It takes about 7-10 months for the USCIS to approve this application.

Visa number becomes available for the F2A category

When USCIS approves your petition, it transfers it to National Visa Center. In this phase, you will usually need to wait until the visa number in the F2A category becomes available. The processing time varies depending on the country of origin.

NVC Processing

Once the visa number is available, your spouse submits documentation for a green card. NVC takes 3-5 months to decide.

Interview at U.S. Embassy or Consulate

After attending the U.S. Embassy or Consulate interview, a foreign national will attend another interview in 1-2 months at a U.S. embassy or consulate in his or her home country.

Green Card Arrival

To physically receive a marriage green card to the U.S. address, the petitioner will need to wait six months upon arrival in the United States.

The conclusion is that the estimated time of this process, in this case, will take a bit longer, and it can go up to 32 months.

Is marriage The Only Way to Get a Green Card?

As a foreign national, there are several other ways through which you can become a U.S. green card holder or permanent resident, besides being married to a U.S. citizen.

There are three different categories of green cards:

• Family-based green cards (for parents, spouses, siblings, and dependent children of U.S. citizens or permanent residents)
• Employment-based green cards.
• Special immigrant green card.

How Can I Get A U.S. Green Card Without Marriage?

Although marriage to a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident is one of the most popular routes to becoming a U.S. permanent resident, foreign nationals are also given a chance to live and work permanently in the U.S. through one of the categories mentioned above.

Employment-Based Green Card

The employment-based green card is designed for foreign nationals who have job offers from a U.S. employer.

Both foreigners who are already in the U.S. or outside the U.S. can file for an employment-based visa if they already work for an employer or if they have received a job offer from a prospective employer.

Four preferences

• EB-1 (first preference)
• EB-2 (second preference)
• EB-3 (third preference)
• EB-4 (fourth preference)

Investment-Based Green Card

EB-5 Investor green card is intended for foreign entrepreneurs willing to invest at least $1 million or $500,000 in an approved EB-5 business.

It has to provide or preserve at least 10 U.S. jobs.

Special Immigrants Green Card

Eligible

• Religious worker
• International broadcaster
• Special immigrant juvenile
• Afghan or Iraqi national who has served for the U.S. government as a translator, or an Iraqi who the U.S. government employs on or after March 20, 2003, or an Afghan who has been employed by ISAF
• An employee (or family member) of an international organization; a member of NATO-6

Other Categories

You are also eligible for a green card if you:

• Have lived in the U.S. as an asylee or refugee for the past year
• Currently have either a T or U nonimmigrant visa.

Diversity Immigrant Visa

The diversity program has up to 55,000 immigrant visas. This number is available annually for foreign nationals whose countries have low rates of U.S. permanent residency applications.

This lottery mostly depends on luck, which limits your chances of being chosen. If you win and have the education and job qualifications for the program, you will need to undergo a series of processes that may take years before you can eventually become a permanent resident.

Undocumented Spouse

If an immigrant didn’t pass the inspection by a Customs and Border Protection CBP agent at the port of entry with a legally valid visa, you will need to learn how to help them to get a green card. We discussed this in a separate article that you can find here.

Do I Need a Lawyer?

Immigrating to the U.S. is a worthy but complicated process. Some tasks can make the process takes even longer if not done correctly, such as fulfilling the documents (I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, I-485 application to register or for adjustment of status, ds-260 online application, etc.) and procedures (concurrent filing, medical examination, getting a conditional green card, consular processing, etc.).

Hiring an immigration attorney is the best option, especially if this is your first time communicating in such was with officials.

How Our Immigration Attorneys Can Help?

Richard Herman and immigration attorneys at Herman Legal Group have extensive experience with many successful stories of helping foreign nationals continue their lives together in the United States with their families.

Book online consultation with your immigration lawyer via one of the online platforms: Skype, WhatsApp, or ZOOM if you are overseas. Or, you can call for telephone consultation at +1-216-696-6170. Also, on our site, you can find an online form where you can request your consultation with us.

We will be happy to discuss with you how to get a marriage green card for you or your spouse, provide you the right legal advice, and choose the best and the most proactive strategy.

Sponsoring Spouse: Marriage-based Green Card Income Requirements

Have you learned about the marriage-based green card process and determined that you are eligible to become a U.S. permanent resident?

If so, you probably know that among the eligibility criteria are specific income requirements that a sponsor has to meet. This applies whether you are a sponsor, a joint sponsor, or a substitute sponsor. Since many people doubt whether they meet these criteria, we prepared this article to dive into more details on determining your eligibility regarding enough income.

Short Review Of Marriage-based Green Card Income Requirements

The sponsor must:

Be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, living in the United States and at least 18 years old.
Have an annual income of at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (the more people in a household, the higher income is needed).
can use assets as well to meet these requirements. (cash, stocks and bonds, and property).
Also, remember that any other household member can help the financial sponsor meet these requirements, and this person doesn’t have to be a family member. The immigration spouse seeking the green card (the “beneficiary”) may also help the situation by using the income, but only as long as this income will continue from the same source after the green card is obtained.

Continue to read to find out about possibilities to meet this requirement.

Minimum Income Level

The household income has to be equal to or higher than 125% of the U.S. poverty level for your household size.

The most common minimum annual income for a marriage green card is $21,775, assuming that the sponsor is not on active military duty and is sponsoring only one relative.

The table showing the income requirements increase based on the family size you can find here. Note that, as USCIS stated on this page, residents of Alaska and Hawaii have to meet higher income requirements than the 48 Contiguous States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

If a sponsoring spouse is on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, the income only needs to be equal to 100% of the U.S. poverty level for the household size.

The U.S. government updated its Poverty Guidelines on Apr. 1, 2021.

Determining the Household Size

As you could see in the tables provided on the USCIS website, your income requirements will depend on the size of the household members, including:

• You
• Your foreign spouse
• Any dependent: children younger than 21 or others listed on your most recent Federal income tax return
• Any beneficiary previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or Form I-864 EZ affidavit of support you are still obligated to support.
• Any derivative applicants planning to immigrate within six months.
• Anyone sponsored in this Affidavit of Support.

What is Affidavit of Support?

Affidavit of Support or Form I-864 is a legal contract required by the law for most intending immigrants. It is concluded between the sponsor or petitioner and the U.S. government proving that an immigrant has adequate means of financial support.

What sources of income can I include?

Generally, your annual income as a sponsor is the exact figure you reported on your U.S. federal income tax return for the most recent tax filing year. The total yearly income can include wages and salaries, retirement benefits, child support, alimony, dividends or interest earned, and income from other legal sources.

Will my foreign income count?

If you currently live outside the United States, your foreign income will not count towards the minimum requirements unless you prove you will remain in your current job once you are in the United States or have a new job lined up that meets the minimum requirements. Good examples are remote jobs or just transferring offices within large corporations.

What if I Don’t Meet the Income Requirements?

If your annual income is not over 125% of the household income, you’ll have to think about taking other means to meet this requirement.

It is allowed to meet the minimum income requirement for your household size by using any of the combinations listed here:

1. Income from any relative or dependent living in your household or listed on your most recent Federal income tax return also signed Form I-864A
2. Income from your immigrant spouse, if it will continue from the same source after immigration.
3. The value of yours and the assets of any household member signed I-864A Form of the intending immigrants, or
4. A joint sponsor whose income equals at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Using Income of Your Relatives and Household Members

If you do not meet the income requirements to sponsor your immigrant spouse, members of your household may help you meet this requirement. To do this, these persons have to be in particular relation to you, such as by birth, marriage, or adoption.

In other words, if used jointly, your income plus the income of any relative living in your residence can be enough for meeting the requirement.

Still, you have to list them as dependents on your most recent federal tax return, or you should prove that they have lived with you for the last six months.

Also, these household members and dependents must complete and sign Form I-864A, along with Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member.

Using the Income of a Joint Sponsor to Meet The Requirements

As we mentioned above, if the petitioning sponsor does not meet the income requirements, there is a possibility for a joint sponsor who can meet the requirements to submit a Form I-864 to sponsor the petitioner’s immigrant spouse.

This means that the joint sponsor accepts the legal responsibility of supporting your spouse with you.

Besides the will to be held jointly liable with you for the support of the intending immigrant, a joint sponsor has to:

1. Be a U.S. citizen, green-card holder, or U.S. national and
2. Be at least 18 years old
3. Domiciled in the United States

The minimum annual income requirement applies here as well. The joint sponsor must meet the minimum annual income requirement of 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size until the end of your obligations. The income has to fit all the sponsoring immigrants without combining resources with the petitioning sponsor or a second joint sponsor.

Using Immigrant Spouse’s Income to Meet Financial Requirements

Your immigrant spouse can also help you meet the income requirements by joining his or her income.

Bear in mind the rule that your immigrant spouse can do this only if this income continues to come from the same source after the foreign spouse obtains a green card.

Using Assets to Meet the Income Requirements: If my income still isn’t enough, Can I Use my Assets?

The answer is yes: When your total combined household income still is not high enough to meet the minimum annual income requirement, you can use your assets. In this case, your assets will be used as a substitute for income.

As applies to income, also here, you can count your household members’ assets and family members. The following criteria have to be met:

1. They are related to you by birth, marriage, or adoption.
2. They have to be listed as dependents on your most recent federal tax return, or as a sponsor, you must show that they have lived with you for the last six months.

What assets can I use?

Financial sponsors may use assets convertible into cash within twelve months and without any difficulties that can cause hardship or financial loss to the owner or his or her family members.

The financial sponsor can include the automobile’s value only if they can show that they have more than one car, and the primary one is not included. In other words, the sponsor must be able to sell it. The financial sponsor is required only to use U.S. assets.

So, to meet this requirement, you may include savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), property, mutual fund investments, individual stocks, and bonds, etc. The value of the sponsor’s home also can be included. You will need to prove that you own the used assets.

You have to prove that the value of your assets converted in cash is worth five times the difference from the minimum income requirement (125% of the poverty level for your family size).

You will obviously need to enlist the assets and mainly prove that you own them, indicating your own portion.

What amount of assets do I need to include?

Here, we will show you how to easily calculate how much of your assets you’ll need to include on the Affidavit of Support Form as a substitute for income:

Step 1. Find Minimum Annual Income Requirement

Look for the minimum annual income required for your household size. Find this in the tables we mentioned above, listed on the USCIS website.

Step 2. Get the Remainder

Subtract your total, and combined household income from your minimum required income.

Step 3. Do the Math

If you are a financial sponsor who is a U.S. citizen, multiply the difference by 3 or 5 if you are a green-card holder. The result is the total value of your household’s assets that you’ll need to confirm to meet the financial requirements.

Can I count my Spouse’s assets, even if it is outside the United States?

If, after you included your own assets, determine that it is still not enough to meet the income requirement, you can count the assets of your immigrant spouse. It doesn’t matter where your spouse lives, in or outside the U.S., or where the spouse’s assets are located.

However, it does matter if your spouse meets additional criteria:

• Assets must be “liquid” (convertible into cash within one year).
• The spouse must be able to move the assets to the United States, and only up to the value the country allowed for each asset.
• The total value of assets must equal the difference between the sponsor’s income and the applicable minimum requirement at least five times.

How an Immigration Lawyer Can Help Me?

As the whole green card process can last a long time, filling out an Affidavit of Support can be confusing and challenging. Still, you will need an adequately completed I-864 for your marriage-based green card approval. To get it correctly done, you will need to include a bunch of papers to back up your claimed income and assets or your joint sponsor’s. To avoid any mistakes that can cost you losing the opportunity to bring your spouse to the United States, hiring a lawyer would be a smart step.

Richard Herman is an experienced immigration attorney who can help you assess what you will need as evidence to meet the requirements we talked about. With an individual approach to your case, we will make sure the best strategy is defined and used in your case.

If you have questions about this process or you just decided to team up with our legal team, book your consultations with Richard Herman or use an online form to request legal consultation on our site.

Can I Sponsor My Undocumented Spouse?

Marrying an undocumented or overstayed immigrant who came on a tourist visa by a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident is very often in the United States in the past years. If you are a U.S. citizen or you hold a permanent residence status, and you have an undocumented spouse, you might wonder how to help them get a green card.

There might be some complicating factors in your way, but you can easily overcome them if you have the right information.

The good news is that it is possible to apply for a marriage green card for a foreign spouse in many cases. But, be aware that the risks, expenses, and timelines will depend on whether the sponsoring spouse is a U.S. citizen and how the undocumented immigrants entered the United States- legally or illegally.

In the United States, there is an increase in immigration enforcement, including against people who have no criminal records. Therefore, many families decide that it is better to obtain adjust status and get a green card than to risk and spend much more on the application process.

We have gathered information that you need in one place if you want to sponsor an undocumented spouse, so keep reading and let us know if you have any questions. Herman Legal Group has lawyers experienced and specialized in immigration matters. If you need legal help, you can request a consultation with one of the immigration attorneys in our law firm using the online form, or you can call us at +1-216-696-6170

Green Card Eligibility for U.S. Citizen’s Spouse

If your marriage to a U.S. citizen is legally valid in the place where it happened, you, as a spouse to a U.S. citizen, are called an “immediate relative.”

To obtain a green card through marriage and become a permanent resident, you will have to:

1. Submit Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative);
2. Complete Form I-485 or Form DS-260 and gather supporting documents
3. Attend the interview and await approval

A green card is available as soon as you can get through the application procedures.

To learn about the whole marriage green card process, read our Marriage-Based Green Card Guide.

How to sponsor an Undocumented Spouse and get legal status?

Now, let’s look at different scenarios that may occur for U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are wondering how to marry an undocumented immigrant and find a pathway to adjustment of status and green card based on marriage for their spouses.

There are three possible scenarios:

1. A U.S. citizen’s spouse entered legally but overstayed
2. A U.S citizen’s spouse entered illegally
3. A green-card holder’s spouse is undocumented

 U.S. citizen’s spouse entered legally but overstayed

By “entered legally,” we mean that your spouse passed the inspection by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent when entered the United States. During this inspection, the agent assessed that your spouse had a valid visa or entered under the Visa Waiver Program, and this is the good news.

However, there can be a slight downside to applying for a marriage-based green card. The foreign national should be extremely cautious about leaving the United States until receiving the U.S. green card. If an undocumented immigrant leaves the United States, there is a chance that he or she won’t be able to return for three or ten years, depending on how long your spouse was in the U.S. without legal immigration status.

Spouse of the U.S. Citizen Entered illegally

Your spouse may be able to apply for a green card—but only after he or she leaves the United States.

When an immigrant spouse entered the United States illegally but has spent less than 180 days, he or she has to return home and apply for a green card through the U.S. consulate. This is similar to when immigrants live abroad and want to apply for a marriage-based green card.

If an immigrant spouse has been in the United States for more than 180 days without legal status, he or she is subject to a ban from entering the United States. This prohibition may take from three to ten years. To avoid this and return to the United States sooner, your spouse needs to apply for a provisional waiver.

There are three steps to take in this situation:

Submit Form I-130

This form needs to be submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In this form, you should make sure to indicate that your spouse will be applying for a green card from outside the U.S.

Submit the visa application and pay the fee

When your I-130 is approved, which usually takes between six to eight months, you will receive a notification from the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC will usually ask you to submit your immigrant visa application and pay the required fee. After paying the immigration visa fee, you’ll get a receipt showing that you submitted this immigrant visa application. Keep this receipt since you will need it to file your provisional waiver application.

Attend the interview

Usually, after about six months, you will get a notification if your provisional waiver is approved. If so, your spouse will need to attend the visa interview at the U.S. consulate. This means that your spouse will need to be back in the home country on a scheduled date to attend the interview.

You’d also have to overcome any other possible grounds of inadmissibility. For example, you have to show that you haven’t committed certain types of crimes or two crimes of any type.

A lifetime Bar from Entering the United States

A lawful entry is a requirement for all immigrants which means they must have been admitted or paroled into the United States. To enter the U.S., a foreign national needs to have valid documentation, make face-to-face contact with a U.S. immigration officer, and get the acknowledgment to enter the United States at a port of entry.

If the foreign nationals overstay a visa, they become unlawfully present. But, if they have a lawful entry., U.S. immigration law allows those physically present in the United States to adjust status to permanent resident even after a visa overstay.

But, departing the United States after specific periods of unlawful presence may trigger bars to reentry. As USCIS stated here, the bar may last for:

• Three years– if the immigrant departs the U.S. after having accrued more than six months (180 days), but less than one year of unlawful presence during a single stay;
• Ten years– if the immigrant departs the U.S. after having accrued one year or more of unlawful presence during a single stay; or
• Permanently, if the immigrant reenters or tries to reenter the U.S. without being admitted or paroled after having accrued more than one year of unlawful presence in the aggregate during one or more stays in the United States.

An undocumented spouse can get a permanent lifetime bar to entering the United States:

• if he or she entered the U.S. illegally more than once
• after having been deported
• after having been in the U.S. without legal status for a certain period of time- more than a year.

So, if you have entered the U.S. without inspection two times or more, and the total amount of unlawful time in the U.S. is one year or more, or if you were removed (deported) from the U.S. and came back illegally after it, you should consider speaking with a lawyer.

A spouse of a Green Card holder is an Undocumented Immigrant

To apply for a green card from inside the United States, foreign spouses of lawful permanent residents (green card holders) must have current legal immigration status.

It doesn’t matter if a spouse entered the country legally; the marriage-based green card application process is similar to the process for spouses of U.S. citizens, as immediate relatives, who entered the United States illegally. Still, there are two key differences that we can talk about:

The process takes longer

The process for spouses of permanent residents takes longer because they have to wait for a visa to become available. This waiting period can take about 18 months. When the visa becomes available, an undocumented spouse of a U.S. green card holder can apply for an immigrant visa with the NVC. This must be done before applying for a waiver.

Reasons to qualify for a waiver

Until recently, spouses of lawful permanent residents could not get waivers if they were subject to the three or ten-year bars from reentering the United States due to unlawful presence. It’s essential to get accurate, up-to-date information about whether or not your foreign spouse would qualify for a waiver in this situation.

How does DACA affect eligibility for a marriage-based green card?

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals may affect eligibility for a marriage green card spouse in different ways. This will be the case, especially if the DACA recipient entered the U.S. illegally and/or the sponsoring spouse is a U.S. lawful permanent resident.

First, we need to stress that “unlawful presence” accrues only after a person turns 18. If immigrant spouses applied for DACA before turning 18 or within 180 days of turning 18, they will generally not be subject to reentry bar (and therefore will not need a waiver) if they have to apply for a green card outside the United States.

Many DACA recipients can travel outside of the United States and return legally. This can be done with a travel document, also called “Advance Parole.” If DACA recipients entered the United States with their travel documents, they could apply for a marriage-based green card from inside the U.S.

Otherwise, DACA should have no particular effect on whether or not your undocumented spouse qualifies for a marriage-based green card.

Do I need a Lawyer?

Richard Herman is an immigration lawyer leading the law firm Herman Legal Group. Our attorneys have extensive experience in helping families reunite and live in the United States. We understand how important it is for you and that each case is different, so your immigration attorney will have an individual approach to your case, Legal fees may increase your expenses in the process, but making wrong steps can cost you a chance to

Information related to immigration processes on our site is not legal advice, so please contact us for any questions.

How Much Does It Cost to Get a Green Card Through Marriage?

Are you about to apply for a marriage green? If so, you’ve probably heard that the green card process can be expensive.

But first, we would like to congratulate you on your marriage! This is a huge step, and we ensure you that you are at the right place to look for the information you need about applying for a green card through marriage so you can continue realizing your life plans.

Here, we will discuss costs for applying for a marriage-based green card that primarily includes application fees, attorney fees, a medical exam fee, and more.

If, after reading, you feel that you have many other questions that are not answered here, or you couldn’t find more about it on our blog, be free to contact us at any time. We support our clients in all phases of the green card application process.

Green Card- Short Overview

In the U.S., there are two categories of visas for foreign nationals: immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. An immigrant visa is for foreigners who intend to live permanently in the United States, and nonimmigrant visas are for those who intend to enter the United States temporarily.

A green card through marriage allows a U.S. citizen spouse to live and work in the United States. Having a green card or a Permanent Resident Card will ensure your spouse “a lawful permanent resident” status until they decide to apply for U.S. citizenship, which they can do after three years.

Are You Eligible for A Green Card?

The first thing to check is whether you are genuinely eligible to go this procedural route. Being physically in the U.S. and technically eligible for permanent residence is not necessarily enough.

If you are a spouse of a U.S. citizen, you can apply for a green card as an “immediate relative.” If you are currently in the U.S., to be eligible for a Green Card as an immediate relative, you have to meet the following requirements:

Inspected and Admitted or Inspected and Paroled

To be eligible to adjust status, you have to be physically present in the United States. Also, you have to be “inspected and admitted” or “inspected and paroled” by U.S. government officials when entered the state. There are some exceptions to this requirement that you can find more about in USCIS Policy Manual.

Eligibility to Receive an Immigrant Visa

We already mentioned that to be eligible, you have to be inspected and admitted, or inspected and paroled into the U.S. to receive an immigrant visa and be physically present in the United States. Besides, your presence is required at the time you file your Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status)

At the time you file your Form I-485, an immigrant visa is immediately available to you.

Bars to Adjustment

There are cases when an immigrant may be barred from adjusting status. It depends on how the immigrant entered the United States or committed a particular act or violation of immigration law.

If one or more bars to adjustment listed in section 245(c) apply to you, you cannot apply for permanent residence or adjust status. More about this you can see in the Manual we mentioned above, as well.

Applying Under INA 245(i)

You may be able to adjust status under INA section 245(i) even if you are subject to one or more adjustment bars and are therefore ineligible for adjustment of status under INA section 245(a). See the separate Instructions for Form I-485 Supplement A, Adjustment of Status Under Section 245(i) (PDF, 559.26 KB) for more information.

Grounds of Inadmissibility

To get a Green Card, you must be admissible to the United States. Reasons for inadmissibility are listed in INA 212(a) and are called grounds for inadmissibility.

As the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, some of the listed grounds will appeal to you.

If you are inadmissible, you may apply for a waiver or other forms of relief. USCIS may approve your green card application if a waiver or other form of relief is granted, and you are otherwise eligible.

Marriage Green Card Cost

According to the phases of the process and costs you need to have in mind, we divided green cards expenses into the following categories:

• Government Filing Fees
• Attorney’s Fees
• Adjustment of Status Medical Exam Fee
• Postage to Mail Adjustment of Status Application to USCIS
• Immigration Photos
• Costs of Travel

You can also calculate required fees using the USCIS calculator.

Government Application Fees for Adjustment of Status

Before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will let you apply for a green card, your sponsor, in this case, your spouse, will have to file an immigrant petition, the form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, to classify you as potentially eligible.

The filing fee for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative is $535.

The applicant also has to pay the filing fee for an adjustment of the status application which is $1,140.

Also, there is a fee for USCIS to take “biometrics” (fingerprints and so forth). Currently, this fee is $85.

Adjustment of Status Medical Exam Fee

A medical examination is required for all immigrant and some nonimmigrant visa seekers and adjustment of status applicants. The purpose of providing the medical exam is to determine if an immigrant has a medical condition(s) that can pose a risk to public health in the United States.

This means that the applicant has to submit a Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (Form I-693). Besides, it is good to bring medical history, records of vaccinations, or any prior conducted chest X-rays (if any), and a letter from your doctor discussing any health problems or treatment for an ongoing problem.

Your medical exam should show that no health-related grounds of inadmissibility will prevent you from green-card approval.

There is a limited number of approved physicians to choose from, so the fee for the medical exam report varies by doctor. The costs are between $75 and $350 for the basic exam and filing out Form I-693. There can be additional costs if any vaccination is needed.

You don’t have to do the exam before you get the date for the interview, since if too much time pass (over one year), the examination is invalid, and you would have to pay again.

Translation

Within your application package, you will need to include some documents that can be in other language than Enlish. This is usually case with documents you prove your nationality, such as a birth certificate or a passport.

If you intend to submit within your green card application package any documents in a foreign language, you have to include a translation of each document. This translation needs to be certified as accurate by the translator.

W cannot exactly tell how much you will pay for these services fee, but for example, for a certified translation of a birth certificate or a passport you will probably pay between $20 and $40.

Attorney’s Fees to Assist With Adjustment of Status Application

Hiring an attorney is not obligatory in this process. You can handle it on your own. Still, it’s highly advisable to have an immigration attorney by your side in each phase of the process. An immigration lawyer will go through your case and provide you with an in-depth analysis and define the best strategy to implement.

Also, your attorney will do necessary paperwork that can be overwhelmed and ensure you haven’t missed providing any important evidence and filed all applications properly. If needed, the attorney can accompany you to the green card interview at USCIS facilities since marriage-based applications require an in-person interview.

The costs for an immigration attorney vary but usually depend on the complexity of the case and any particular complications (post criminal conviction), which the attorney must additionally analyze and help you prepare to deal with it, whether you’d like the attorney to accompany you to the USCIS interview, etc.

Although it can seem that the process is already expensive enough and that an attorney is just an extra cost that you can avoid, bear in mind that if anything unexpected comes up during the application process, the costs will go up. Also, it will take more time to deal with these changes, but a good lawyer could have prevented it.

Sending the Application to USCIS

After you collected all the forms and supporting documents of your green card application and made sure you filled it correctly, make sure to put it in order neatly. It would be safest to send the application package to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by certified mail or courier service to avoid loss. You’ll likely pay at least $10 for mailing.

Immigration Photos

The immigrant, and sometimes the U.S. petitioner, will need to submit photos with the applications. These costs will vary depending on the number of applications, but it will be around $15 per set.

Costs of Travel and Parking Near USCIS Offices

Travel costs are related to attending biometrics appointments and a green card interview at a USCIS office. Both the petitioner and the sponsor have to attend it, so your transport costs will depend on how you will get there and if you need to spend the night if it’s too far from your home.

Most USCIS offices are in big cities, so keep in mind that the parking can be expensive.

Marriage Green Card Cost for Spouses Living Abroad

There are two different methods of applying for a marriage green card: the ‘Adjustment of Status’ procedure and the ‘consular processing’ method.

In case that you are not in the United States, you will take the route through consular processing, the only method available to people who are not physically present in the United States.

First, you need to file Form I-130 which costs the same as for spouses in the U.S. After the National Visa Center NVC approves the petition, you will receive the notice stating that a visa is available.

This is the time for you to may apply your application at a U.S. Department of State consulate abroad for an immigrant visa in order to come to the United States and be admitted as a permanent resident.

The consular processing doesn’t require the applicant to submit Form I-485, but after the approval of Form I-130, you have to submit the Form DS-260, Immigration Visa Application. The filing fee for DS-260 is $325.

Your sponsor will have to submit the Form I-864, or Affidavit of Support to ensure that he or she will be able to financially support you in the U.S. if the sponsored immigrant files this form with USCIS or abroad with the Department of State (DOS) there is no filing fee to pay, but if you file it in the U.S. it costs $120.

How long does it take to get a marriage green card?

We know that you would like to know the exact time span of the process of getting the green card, but the truth is there is no specific time frame. Each case is different, meaning that the processing time will depend on various circumstances (where the marriage took place, provided evidence provided, etc.).

However, we can say the expected time ranges between 10 to 38 months.

One good thing about a marriage-based green card is that there is no cap on the number of available visas per year.

Immigrant Spouses Married to U.S. Citizens

The time frame is 10 to 17 months, but it’ll be shorter if the spouse lives in the U.S.

Immigrant Spouses Married to a U.S. Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident)

For the spouse living in the U.S. as a permanent resident, the expected time is 29-38 months. But, if the spouse is outside of the United States, it’ll be issued within 23-32 months.

Marriage Green Card Timeline

Now, let’s look at the time frame for each phase of the process.

As stated above, there are two types of processing:

1. Consular processing
2. Concurrent filing

Consular Processing

As earlier mentioned, this process is for spouses living abroad, and it involves three steps:

Filing Form I-130 (7-10 months)

To establish the validity of the marriage, a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident has to submit this application. The USCIS will take between seven to 10 months to approve it.

Green Card Application (3-5 months)

When the USCIS forwards your approved immigrant petition to the National Visa Center (NVC), NVC officials will take about three to five months to gather relevant forms and required documents and then forward them to the relevant embassy or consulate. Being asked to file an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) and Form DS-260, an online immigrant visa application can add up to two months.

Marriage Interview and Approval (1-2 months)

When the U.S. consulate or embassy receives your documents, you will get a date to come to the green card interview. But before attending the interview, you have to get a medical examination, lodged an address where your passport will be delivered, and scheduled a fingerprinting appointment.

The approval will take up two months.

Concurrent Filing With the USCIS

When a spouse is living in the U.S., the entire process is faster because you only have to prove the legitimacy of the marriage.

File Form I-485,(1 month)

To change your K-1 visa to conditional resident status, you will have to file the forms and supporting documents we mentioned above:

• Form I-129
• I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
• Form I-130A
• Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence
• Form-I765 Application for Employment Authorization
• Form I-864, (or Affidavit of Support, ensuring that the U.S. spouse will be able to financially support his/her spouse in the U.S.)
• Form I-693

When U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives your application package, you will wait at least one month.

Interview and Approval (10-13 months)

The last step is attending the green card interview after you get the approval of your package. Upon providing firm answers to the USCIS officers and all supporting documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, sponsoring spouse’ passport, a U.S. passport of the sponsor, etc), you can expect that it will take at least 10 to 13 months to receive a marriage-based green card.

To conclude: Arm yourself with patience. Although the process can take a long time, and you can go through it yourself, hiring a lawyer from the beginning can be a good idea. Having an attorney to advise you and take concrete actions at the right time and in unpredicted events can speed up the process, prevent you from making some common mistakes, and prolong the time to obtain a green card.

If you get a conditional residence status, you will have to obtain approval on Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions. It costs $595 along with the $85 biometrics fee. The processing time is usually 12 to 18 months.

At Herman Legal Group law firm, we practice an individual approach to our clients, meaning that we are aware that each situation is different and make the strategy accordingly.

If any questions have arisen about the green card process or are sure that we can work together on your application, contact us with no delay! Richard Herman has over 20 years of experience in an immigration matter, so you can book a consultation by calling us at +1-216-696-6170 or use an online form to request legal consultation on our site.

How to Get a Copy of a Divorce Decree? Divorce Decrees and Certificates

If you want to seek a marriage-based green card, but you have been married before, bear in mind that the U.S. government requires spouses’ divorce decree, a certificate of annulment, or a death certificate. In addition, if you have had more marriages, you will have to obtain such a certificate for each of them.

This guide will stress out how you can get a copy of your divorce decree.

Herman Legal Group has over 25 years of experience in providing services to many clients in immigration-related cases. Our immigration attorneys have an individual approach and help clients access documents and information they need. If any question arises while reading this article, do not hesitate to contact us!

What is a Divorce Decree?

The divorce decree is official documents issued by the court that contain all the essential provisions on child custody and support, spousal support, property division, information about parties, and any other element of your divorce.

In addition, it usually contains basic information of both parties’ names, the effective date, social security, and the case number. This information can help you locate records of the divorce decree in the future if needed.

As essential certificates, you should keep the divorce record in a safe place, or you can choose to hand the certified copy over to your attorney.

Requirements to Get a Copy of a Divorce Decree?

Who Can Obtain a Copy of Divorce Decree?

Divorce decrees are public records, so, in general, anyone can request it if they pay the fee and submit the required forms. However, some U.S. states seek a personal affidavit, signed and notarized document from one of the spouses, granting permission for you to obtain a copy.

The sponsoring spouse (the U.S. citizen or a green-card holder) and the spouse seeking a green card must provide a photocopy of their final divorce decree.

Also, you can provide a certified copy. You don’t have to submit the original document with your application, but you have to bring it in person to your green card interview.

When Marriage Ended for Other Reasons?

If a marriage ended with a spouse’s death or by annulment, make sure to provide a photocopy of the death certificate or certificate of annulment, depending on the circumstances.

Don’t forget to bring the original or certified copies of these documents to the green card interview.

Where to Get a Divorce Decree?

#Divorce in the U.S.

If you filed for divorce in the U.S., the court that issued the document holds the record about it, and it could provide you with the divorce decree or obtain a copy from the vital records office.

#Obtaining the Copy from the Court

You may contact the “clerk of the court” in the county where the marriage occurred.

#Obtaining a copy from the vital records office

The other way is to contact the “county clerk’s office” in the state where your divorce is finalized.

Here you can find government vital records offices.

This government record includes marriage licenses and certifications, marriage decrees, and birth and death certificates. Also, this base of government offices shows the current fees for requesting the paperwork.

Not that payment usually must be made by attorney’s check, money order, bank certified check, or bank cashier’s check.

If more than ten years have passed, the court clerk’s office may no longer have a copy of the divorce decree. You can check the vital records department, office of vital statistics, or registrar in this case. Alternatively, you can contact your state department of records or registrar.

#Overseas Divorces

If your marriage ended in another country and you are in the U.S., you can contact the country’s embassy or nearest consulate that will instruct you on how to get a copy of the divorce decree.

If you filed for divorce outside the U.S., search for information about the issuing authority.

If you mail a request to the state’s records department, make sure to include the names of each spouse, the date of the request and the divorce, the location, the type of final decree, and the purpose. In addition, of course, the agency will need your name and address, and you can mail a copy of your driver’s license or another identification document.

#Translation of Divorce Papers

If you possess original divorce records in any other language than English, you will have to obtain a certified English translation for these documents.

I Lost My Divorce Decree – What Should I do?

Of course, you can request a new copy. The correct address for this requirement is the court where your divorce is finalized or the state or local vital records department where your marriage occurred.

You may pay a fee for obtaining a certified copy- an official document proving the court verified it. You will need such a document when you want to get married again.

How Fast Can I Obtain it?

Some states require a waiting period before you may file a request for a new copy. So, in case you lost it 30 days after your divorce, you will have to wait before the state provides you a new form.

If you hired an attorney for your divorce proceedings, you could request a copy of your divorce decree from the lawyer’s office. While state law doesn’t usually require attorneys to keep client records indefinitely, most need to keep the files for a minimum amount of time.

Do I Need a Lawyer?

If you have difficulties requesting an official copy of the divorce decree from the clerk’s office or the state vital records department, you should firstly contact the attorney who represented you in the divorce proceedings. Lawyers usually retain clients’ files for several years. However, if it’s not possible to take this path, we invite you to contact us.

Although Richard Herman initially practiced international business law, he realized the immense legal needs immigrants have trying to prosper, so he came as the top attorney for immigration-related cases, especially for services such as family-based green cards.

As a result, the attorneys at Herman Legal Group have developed nearly 20 years’ worth of experience helping immigrants thrive and reunite with their spouses and family.

Our attorneys can help you obtain a marriage certificate and decree by searching the court record, as well as prepare your documents and lead you through the process of getting the green card.

You can call us or request a consultation through the online form on our site. We can serve our clients throughout the U.S. and abroad, so if you are not in the U.S., don’t worry- we may have a Skype or ZOOM session to look through your case and determine the right strategy.

Related questions about Getting a Copy of a Divorce Decree

Can I get a copy of my divorce decree online in South Africa?

Unfortunately, you cannot get divorce decrees online in South Africa because it limits access to a public record.

The civil court, where you filed your divorce, holds a copy of a divorce license in electronic and hardcopy format. To search for a copy of this certificate, you will need your divorce case number and provide a signed affidavit to the person or an agency that will file this request for you.

Where can I get a copy of my divorce decree in Cook County?

The Domestic Relations Division of the Clerk of the Circuit Court holds the record for dissolution, separation, and invalidity for a marriage.

The certified copy includes the following information: the plaintiff’s complaint and defendant’s response; certificate of evidence and the judge’s final decree, with the terms of the settlement, grounds for divorce; personal information of parties; date and description of the marriage; and provision for the care of the children, but it doesn’t include social security numbers. To get a copy, you need to file the form you may find on the Cook County government site.

How Long Does It Take To Get The Marriage Green Card In U.S.?

If like thousands of other American citizens who marry foreign spouses each year, you are looking to make a new beginning in the United States with your spouse, you came to the right place.

We prepared this guide to help you understand the basic timeline of the complete application procedure to be aware of how long your marriage-based green card procedure will take and how to make life plans accordingly.

By marrying a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, a foreign-born spouse becomes eligible for a marriage green card, also called a marriage-based green card.

So, how long does it take to get a green card? Well, it depends on different situations. Still, it should take anywhere between 7-15 months once the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS has everything it needs. But, let’s look at what will apply to your situation when it comes to obtaining a U.S. green card through marriage.

The main factors that will impact the Marriage Green Card Timeline

On average, to get a green card through marriage, you will need between 11 months to 14.5 months. So we can say that to get a marriage green card depends on three main factors that impact the green card timeline.

The green card timeline will be impacted by:

• The status of the petitioner (a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident),
• Whether the beneficiary lives in the U.S or outside the U.S., and
• Which service center the applicant sent the application to.

Also, a great deal of this waiting period can depend upon other factors such as Visa number availability (Visa Bulletin), USCIS application center’s processing time, NVC processing time, U.S. embassy or consulate interviews scheduled, and similar.

So, depending on the main factors, we can have four possible situations where the marriage green card processing time will differ:

1. The spouse seeking a marriage-based green card lives in the U.S. and is married to a U.S. citizen;
2. The spouse seeking a marriage-based green card lives abroad and is married to a U.S. citizen;
3. The spouse seeking a marriage-based green card lives in the U.S. and married to a green card holder;
4. The spouse seeking a marriage-based green card lives abroad and is married to a U.S. green-card holder.

Since many other factors can impact the green card processing time, filing documentation properly can play a significant role no matter which category you belong to.

That is why you should consider hiring an immigration lawyer to help you out with defining the strategy, gathering and filing all necessary documentation. We at Herman Legal Group are available to our clients 24/7, so do not hesitate to use our online form to contact us or call us to schedule your consultation.

The Spouse Seeking a Green Card Living in The U.S. and is married to a U.S. Citizen

For the applicants applying for a marriage-based green card living in the U.S. and are married to a U.S. citizen, the processing time of the green card application will be the shortest.

In this case, the waiting period to get a marriage green card is about 10-13 months since:

• The application processing time takes about 9-11 months,
• Scheduling interviews and approval takes 1-2 months.

Whatsmore, you can apply for a marriage-based green card through a procedure called “Concurrent Filing, “meaning you can save plenty of time by filing two forms at the same time.

There are four steps to follow in this process.

Step 1. Filing Green Card Application

Firstly, U.S. citizens file a marriage petition for their foreign spouse. The marriage green card package contains:

• Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative
• Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary
• Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (optional)
• Form I-131, Application for Travel Document (optional)

When USCIS receives your Form I-130 application package, it will issue a receipt notice in about 2-3 weeks containing a set of case numbers. You can use the number to track your case status online- USCIS Case Status.

Step 2. Biometrics Appointment

Upon receiving your immigrant visa application, USCIS will issue a biometrics appointment notice for the foreign spouse. This will take about 3-5 weeks before your marriage interview is scheduled.

Step 3. Attending the Interview

From 4 to 12 months after applying, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS will send you a green card interview notice with the date, time, and location you and your spouse will attend.

Step 4. Green Card Arrival

You can expect that your green card will arrive 2-3 weeks after the green card interview, but it can take longer in some cases.

The Spouse Seeking a Green Card Lives Abroad and is Married to a U.S. Citizen

If you are a spouse who is married to a U.S. citizen but lives outside the U.S., then you will have to apply through a USCIS procedure called “Consular Processing. “

Step 1. Form I-130 Processing

The sponsor will need to file Form I-130 and Form I-130A along with supporting documents and, in about 2-3 weeks, will receive a Receipt Notice from USCIS.

Step 2. National Visa Center Processing

Upon approval, USCIS will transfer the case to the National Visa Center (NVC), process it for 3-5 months, and forward it to the U.S. embassy or the consulate.

Step 3. Interview at U.S. Embassy or Consulate

You will attend the interview in about one month after receiving the interview letter. Then, when a consular officer approves your immigrant visa application, you will obtain a visa that allows you to enter the U.S.

Step 4. Green Card Arrival

The green card will arrive within six months after the applicant’s spouse arrives in the United States.

To conclude, an estimated processing time for the green card, in this case, will be from 11-17 months.

The spouse seeking a green card lives in the U.S. and is Married to a Green Card Holder.

If you live in the U.S., and your spouse has a lawful permanent resident status, then you will need to apply through a USCIS procedure called “Adjustment of Status. “

Step 1. Form I-130 Processing

Firstly, the petitioner, a green card holder, must submit Form I-130 and Form I-130A.

It takes USCIS about 11-15 months to process your Form I-130.

Step 2. Visa number availability

When USCIS approves your Form I-130, the spouse seeking the green card must wait until the visa number for category F2A becomes available. You can check its availability in the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin.

Step 3. Form I-485 processing

When the visa number is available, the spouse can file Form I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status, and supporting documents and wait another 9-11 months for USCIS to process it.

Step 4. Green Card Interview and Approval

When USCIS completes your green card application processing, it will send you a scheduled interview appointment notice, usually to attend it within a month. Both you and your spouse will have to attend the interview.

Note that the petitioner must see a USCIS-approved doctor for a medical exam in the country where the interview is scheduled.

Step 5. Green Card Arrival

Your green card will arrive by mail within 2–3 weeks of case approval.

However, the entire process can take from 29 to 38 months.

The spouse seeking a green card lives abroad and is married to a U.S. green-card holder.

If you live outside the United States and your spouse is a U.S. lawful permanent resident, then you’ll apply through a ‘Consular Processing.’ In this case, you will use an online green card application- Form DS-260 (officially called the “Immigrant Visa Electronic Application”).

Step 1. Form I-130 Processing

The petitioner (green card holder) has to file the Form I-130 package and Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary, and wait for the approval of the green card application, usually about 7-10 months.

Step 2. Visa number availability (F2A category)

Upon approval of your I-130 petition, USCIS will transfer the case to National Visa Center NVC.

When NVC identifies the case, the spouse of a U.S. green cardholder needs to wait until the visa number in the F2A category becomes available. As we mentioned earlier, you can check this in the Visa Bulletin.

The waiting time of foreign spouses can vary depending on the country of origin.

Step 3. NVC Processing

Once the visa number is available, the foreign spouse can apply for a green card.

All the required forms and documents should be submitted with NVC, typically taking 3-5 months to make a decision.

Step 4. Interview at U.S. Embassy or Consulate

The next step is attending the U.S. Embassy or Consulate interview in the spouse’s home country. After 1-2 months, a foreign spouse will attend an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate in their home country.

Step 5. Green Card Arrival

The spouses living abroad will receive the physical marriage green card to the U.S. address, usually within six months upon arrival in the United States.

In this case, the estimated time of the green card process will take a bit longer, so after the marriage interview and approval, the green card will arrive within 23-32 months.

What if the beneficiary spouse entered the U.S. legally but overstayed their visa?​

If a foreign spouse lawfully entered the U.S. but overstayed a visa, applying for an adjustment of status still may be possible as long as marrying a U.S. Citizen.

The overstayed period will play a significant role. So, if you overstayed your marriage visa for more than:

• 180 days (but still less than 1 year), you are subject to a 3-year bar if you depart the United States.
• 1 year, you are subject to a 10-year bar if you depart the U.S.

So you may conclude that given bars may exclude consular processing and your only option is to adjust status from within the United States so that the correspondent processing times would apply.

What if the beneficiary entered the U.S. without inspection?​

If you entered the country without inspection, you would have to leave to be eligible to be granted a Green Card. Unlawful presence in the U.S. can lead to 3 or 10 years of bars from coming back if you leave. This is when you will need to file an I-601A waiver. If approved, you will be granted a pardon for your unlawful presence. This way, the consulate officer will not deny your application based on the grounds of unlawful presence in inadmissibility.

You can file the I-601A waiver while you are still in the U.S. Once approved, you will receive a notice for a scheduled interview, and then you may leave the country.

So, how long does it take to get the approval of I-601? It depends, but the processing time of the I-601A waiver can take about 12 to 18. In addition, it takes another three months for the interview to be scheduled.

But note that the I-601A Waiver can only be filed after your I-130 is approved.

How Our Immigration Attorneys Can Help?

Immigrating to the United States is a worthy but complicated process, and supporting a loved one to come to the U.S. can often be overwhelming.

Identifying and managing the proper immigration documentation (I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, I-485 application to register, ds-260 online application, and similar) and procedures (concurrent filing, medical examination, getting a conditional green card, consular processing, etc.) is very complex, so you might consider taking help from a specializing immigration law firm.

Richard Herman and the dedicated immigration attorneys at Herman Legal Group have helped thousands of couples unite in the U.S. and get green cards.

By looking through your case, assisting you in filling out necessary forms, and filing proper documentation, our immigration lawyer will lead you through the process, making sure you meet important deadlines. This will ensure you are well prepared at any phase of the process.

You can book online consultation via Skype, WhatsApp, or ZOOM if you are overseas, or you can call for telephone consult +1-216-696-6170 or use the online form to request your consultation with us and discuss how to get a marriage green card for you or your spouse.

Marriage-Based Green Card: A Step by Step Guide

Congratulations on your marriage!

Have your spouse living abroad, and you, as a U.S. citizen, already chose the United States and decided to live in this country permanently? If that is so, you are ready to learn about the process of getting a green card through marriage as your best option and help your spouse and apply for a green card and permanent residence.

What is a marriage-based green card?

There are two categories of U.S. visas: immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.

Immigrant visas are designed for foreign nationals who want to live permanently in the United States and want to seek permanent residence, such as fiances of a U.S citizen, while nonimmigrant visas are for those foreigners who intend to enter the United States temporarily so they have nonimmigrant status.

First, let’s make it clearer on what the green card through marriage is: The spouse of a U.S. citizen is an “immediate relative.”

This means that you, as a couple who are already married, and one of you is a U. S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, the foreign-born spouse can become a green cardholder. The first step in this process to take is to file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

A marriage green card will allow a U.S. citizen spouse to live and work in the United States. Having a green card will ensure them “a permanent resident” status until they decide to apply for U.S. citizenship or going for adjustment of status, which they can do after three years.

Here, we will make short guidelines for those who want to apply for a green card and become a permanent resident without scrolling through a bunch of information on the internet.

We believe you will have plenty of questions after reading it since immigration law, so don’t hesitate to contact our law firm and get legal help from one of our experienced immigration attorneys who can lead you through all visa processes, answer immigration questions, or help you adjust status.

How To Become a U.S. Permanent Resident by Obtaining a Green Card Through Marriage?

When you want to obtain a green card through marriage and become a permanent resident, the process will require you to follow these three steps:

1. Submitting Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative);
2. Completing Form I-485 or Form DS-260 and gathering supporting documents
3. Attending the green card interview and await approval

To guide you through each of these steps, we prepared this article in the way it can show you and lead you to petition your green card through marriage, including important steps and helpful links to other relevant articles on our blog, official U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Service website, or other U.S. government websites where you can learn more thoroughly about the whole green card application process and permanent residence path.

But, needing to know more specific details regarding your immigration situation as a married couple, be free to seek legal help from our law firm.

Step 1: Submitting Form I-130

The first step to obtain a green card and ensure permanent residence status as a spouse of a U.S. citizen is to submit a Form I-130 petition. You or your spouse must file the I-130 petition in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The USCIS is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and it will be the primary contact point for you in this process. Their website will be the relevant source of required documentation and up-to-date information on the green card application process.

Along with the I-130 form, you have to prepare some supporting documentation. The primary purpose in this phase is to establish that your marriage exists and it is valid.

U.S. citizens or those who currently hold green cards file this form with the USCIS and they are called the “petitioner” or “sponsor.” The foreign spouse, the one seeking a green card is called the “beneficiary” or “green card applicant

Get help from an attorney from Herman Legal Group by contacting us on (+1)(614) 300-1131, or you can complete our online contact form for a initial consultation. .”

What documents should you prepare for the Green Card Marriage Interview?

Make sure to submit the following papers:

• Proof that you paid the U.S. government the filing fee, which is $535 (this is only for Form I-130, not the total cost for adjusting status)
• Evidence that the sponsoring spouse is a U.S. citizen (copy of the birth or naturalization certificate, or a photo of a valid U.S. passport) or permanent resident (copy of the sponsor’s green card)
• Proof of a legally valid marriage (a marriage certificate)
• Proof that the marriage is not fraudulent (joint bank account statements, a joint lease, and pictures together, other evidence related to your marriage)
• Evidence of termination of previous marriage (a divorce document).

Once you prepare the I-130 filing package, you have to mail it to the appropriate address. USCIS Service Center you send your petition depending on where you live and filing Form I-485 concurrently.

Then, you will receive an official acknowledgment (“receipt notice”). Typically, it takes USCIS about two weeks to mail this receipt to the sponsoring spouse.

If USCIS deems that the information you provided is sufficient to decide upon your case, within 2–3 months, you may receive a Request for Evidence (RFE). Once they get everything they need, they will make a final decision on your petition. Usually, this takes 7–15 months, depending on your situation.

Note: Due to the COVID-19, USCIS announced it is adopting a measure to assist applicants and petitioners responding to requests for evidence (RFEs). More about temporary measures you can find here.

If you receive notice that your I-130 form has been approved, you may process to the next step: ensuring eligibility for a green card of your spouse.

Step 2: Completing I-485 or DS-260 forms and gathering supporting documents

There are two different processes to determine a spouse’s eligibility for a green card. The USCIS will take into account whether your spouse lives in the United States or abroad.

When Applicant Living in the United States

If your spouse seeking a green card is physically in the United States, then he or she must file Form I-485 (“Adjustment of Status” application) at the same time and get a green card without having to leave the U.S.

Documents to prepare within the I-485 filing package:

• Government-Issued Identity Document (a passport valid for at least six months beyond your planned date of entry into the U.S, a driver’s license)
• Birth Certificate (or an explanation why it cannot be provided).
• Inspection and admission or Inspection and Advance Parole
• Documentation of your immigrant category.
• Marriage certificate and other proof of relationship.
• Evidence of continuously maintaining lawful status.
• Affidavit of Support or Confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section – unless a job offer is not required.
• Proof of Financial Support
• Report of medical examination and vaccination record (Form I-693)
• Filing fees of $1,225 ($1,140 for the green card application and $85 for biometrics)

If you are a U.S. citizen

Your spouse must include the I-485 filing package, the I-130 form, and supporting documentation. We already described those in Step 1. This process is known as a “concurrent filing.”

You may concurrently file your Form I-485 only when the underlying immigrant petition’s approval would make a visa immediately available to you.

If you are a green card holder

Your spouse cannot submit the I-485 filing visa package until the USCIS determines that a marriage green card is available in the visa bulletin. Here, you will see that there are various annual caps. The wait time differs, and currently, it is about one and a half years.

Note that this can vary by a few months, depending on the spouse’s home country seeking a green card. Once the I-485 filing package is submitted, you can expect that processing time is 9–11 months.

Read this for more explanation on concurrent filing and learn how to check your place in the visa queue.

When Applicant is not Living in the Country

The process differs from those who are physically present in the country. If you or your spouse are not currently in the U.S, your visa application package must be filed with the National Visa Center (NVC), which will gather the necessary forms and documents.

NVC is a division of the U.S. Department of State that plays an important role in processing immigrant visa applications as well as a fiance(e) visa applications. Upon completing the documentation, NVC will decide whether the spouse is ready for an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad (a “consular processing”).

Documents to include with the filing package:

• Government filing fees- $445 ($120 for the financial support form and $325 for the State Department processing fee)
• Form DS-260
• Nationality of the spouse who seeks a marriage green card (copy of the birth certificate and passport photo)
• A police clearance certificate for the spouse seeking a marriage-based green card
• Evidence that the U.S. citizen, sponsoring spouse, will be able to financially support the spouse seeking a green card through marriage (including Form I-864, or “Affidavit of Support,” and evidence such as tax returns and pay stubs)

Step 3: Attending the Interview

The last step to undertake in the green card application process is to attend the green card marriage interview led by the officer, who will aim to assess your marriage’s authenticity. You will have to take the proper preparation to avoid giving vague answers and make the interviewing officer suspect in your statements.

There are certain documents to bring, and after USCIS officers assess them, they will ask you questions to determine whether your relationship is genuine.

People make common mistakes that make the interviewing officer suspicious that marriage or relationship might be fraudulent, so make sure to get prepared for the green card interview.

If the officer is satisfied with answers and sees no irregularities in documents, the green card for your spouse will be approved.

Where you will attend the Interview?

The green card marriage interview location depends on where the spouse seeking a green card currently lives.

1. Your spouse is currently in the U.S.: you will both be invited to the local USCIS office, and the green card will be mailed within 2-3 weeks of the approval.
2. Your spouse lives outside the United States: they will go to a U.S. embassy or consulate in the home country. In this case, as a sponsoring spouse, you will not be invited.
3. If approved, the spouse applying for a green card will receive a visa stamp in the passport and be allowed to travel to the U.S.
4. Before a physical green card can be issued, which usually takes between 2-3 weeks, the fee that must be paid is $220.

What Can You Expect After The Marriage Green Card Interview?

The U.S. immigrant officer will usually bring the decision right away whether you get a green card. But, in some cases:

1. You can receive an RFE.
2. USCIS can conduct an additional application review.
3. USCIS can schedule the Stokes interview

If the application has been approved, the officer will put the stamp in the immigrant passport, valid for 30 days as a green card. The green card will arrive by mail in the next 60 days.

If you have been married to a U.S. citizen for less than two years

The spouse will receive a CR1 (or “conditional”) green card, which is valid for two years. You will have to submit Form I-751 ( “Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence”) within the 90-day before the expiration of the conditional green card.

When USCIS receives it, they will re-evaluate your marriage, making sure it is authentic and that you as a couple did not get married only for immigration purposes.

If you have been married to a U.S. citizen for more than two years

Your spouse will receive an IR1- “immediate relative” immigrant visa. This is a “permanent” green card that will be valid for ten years. The good news is that usually, renewing this green card is a straightforward process. It will not require you to prove the authenticity of your marriage again to stay a permanent resident.

We provide u.s. immigration services to our clients across the U.S. but also around the globe. We can help you apply for an immigrant and nonimmigrant visa, get a green card, adjust your status, and prepare all required documents throughout the immigration process.

You can contact us any time, and get help from our immigration attorney. You can use the online form or call us at (+1)(614) 300-1131. Our law firm is available any time 24/7 and will look through your case and make a unique strategy according to it.

Citizen of Jordan Successfully Obtains Marriage Green Card

Client: Lawful Permanent Resident
Client’s Country of Origin: Jordan
Case Type: Marriage Green Card/Asylum
Date of Application: March 2016
Date of Approval: Month 2019

In 2016, our client, a citizen of Jordan, entered the US on a visitor visa for personal travel. Shortly afterward, he applied for asylum. During the waiting period of the asylum application, our client united in marriage with a US citizen, and Chief Paralegal Connie Cook of Herman Legal Group assisted with filing for a marriage green card application concurrently with closing the asylum case.

Cook’s tactic to immediately file for a marriage green card application and administratively close the asylum case was extremely beneficial for our client. Firstly, asylum applications and processing are largely more extensive.

The applicant must file lengthy documents, produce fingerprints, background screening, and attend interviews prior to determining asylum approval or denial. In the US, the average timeframe for an asylum application to decision takes six months; however, the USCIS previously stated that due to increased workload priority related to border enforcement, there have been scheduling delays for asylum interviews.

Due to the above circumstances, our client essentially waited on asylum approval for nearly three years. However, with Herman Legal Group counsel, our client’s marriage green card application was filed and approved this year within months.

Furthermore, the asylum interview was just scheduled this year, where Cook attended the interview with our client and administratively closed the case due to the pending marriage green card approval.

Canadian Couple Approved Marriage GC after Successful USCIS Interview

Client: Beneficiary of Marriage Green Card
Client’s Country of Origin: Canada
Case Type: I-130 Petition for Alien Relative: Marriage
Date of Application: November 2018
Date of Approval: June 2019

Being neighboring countries, Herman Legal Group has helped many Canadian-American couples with their immigration needs. In this case, our client, a citizen of Canada, is an outdoorsman who met his wife, a citizen of Ohio, through a mutual hobby. They met at an animal showcase near his hometown and shortly after started dating.

Our client came to the US on tourist status to visit his girlfriend and continue the growth of their relationship. After some time passed, their love grew, and eventually, they sought to unite in marriage. They approached Attorney Richard Herman for legal counsel in order to begin changing our client’s current status to apply for a marriage green card.

Attorney Herman explained that doing so would present challenges to the couple—the USCIS generally examines this adjustment under strict scrutiny: If an immigrant comes to the US on a tourist visa and seeks to adjust status by marriage, the Service will presume that the immigrant intended to immigrate on the tourist status while already in the US. This act is known as visa fraud.

Our client explained that the couple in no way intended to evade immigration laws—they simply decided to take the next step in the course of their relationship after spending time with one another. Attorney Herman assisted the couple in filing their I-130 and I-485 applications along with other authorization forms. However, six months had passed and the Service had yet to issue an interview date for the couple.

Our client grew worrisome as he did not want the government to observe his immigration motives in suspicion. It is also important to note that, during the waiting period, the immigrant cannot work or travel until receiving authorization—which in some cases, leaves the immigrant waiting in limbo.

Finally, our client was scheduled for an interview, and Attorney Herman spent much time preparing the couple for the date. People often overlook how the interview process may seem intimidating and nerve-wracking for visa applicants as their possibility of lawfully living in America is on the line. Common fears for couples applying for a marriage green card being split up during their interview or that their answers won’t suffice for approval.

As experienced counsel, clients come to us in order to calm them down, talk strategy on the immigration process, and give them confidence that their case will be successful. In the end, that’s exactly what Attorney Herman did—he prepared our clients by going over questions, answers, legalistic terms they may encounter, and overall, let them know that it will be okay!

Entering their visa interview with confidence, our clients shared great stories of their relationship with the officers, who quickly approved the couple for the marriage green card. Excited to establish their life in America together, their next steps will be to file forms to remove the conditions on the visa.