Marriage Visa For Spouses Of U.S. Citizens Outside of USA
The Marriage visa allows for the spouse of a U.S. citizen to enter the United States as a permanent resident. To obtain permanent residency, a couple must obtain a marriage visa and then the foreign national must go through consular processing and attend an interview at the local U.S. consulate.
Marriage Visa Qualifications
To be eligible for the marriage visa and consular processing, a foreign national must be married to a U.S. citizen and must be seeking lawful permanent residency. It does not matter how long a foreign national and a U.S. citizen have been married. A person who is married for one day is just as eligible as a couple who has been married for ten years.
Marriage Visa and Consular Processing Steps Outside the United States
To obtain a marriage visa for a foreign national spouse, a U.S. citizen must first file an immigrant visa petition with the USCIS. Once the petition is filed, the U.S. citizen and foreign national must wait for the USCIS to make a determination. Once the marriage visa petition is approved by USCIS, the case is transferred to the U.S. State Department for consular processing. The State Department will request certain documents and certificates, and then (once they receive the required documents) will schedule the foreign national spouse for an interview with a U.S. official at a U.S. consulate abroad. After the interview, a visa will be issued that will allow the foreign national spouse to enter the United States and reunite with the U.S. citizen spouse.
After Entering the United States
Upon entering the United States, the foreign national spouse will have permanent residency. With permanent residency, the spouse will be able to work and travel abroad.
If the couple is recently married, the foreign national will only be granted conditional permanent residency and will need to complete additional steps before the conditions on the permanent residency are removed. However, those steps will not need to be completed until approximately two years after the couple enters the United States.
A spouse of a U.S. citizen can generally apply for U.S. citizenship three years after obtaining lawful permanent residency (either conditional or not).
Based in San Diego, Vista, and Poway, Immigration Lawyers at Law Offices of Hasbini specialize in immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing, U.S. permanent residence, green card, working visas, H-1B’s, business and investment visas, naturalization, corporate and business immigration, political asylum, as well as deportation and removal matters.
San Diego immigration lawyer Habib Hasbini and his associates truly understand what it takes to get our clients the legal help they deserve. By remaining open and honest with our clients, we are consistently able to provide the highest quality of care and service. We are familiar with the emotional investment clients make in the immigration process.
San Diego immigration lawyer Habib Hasbini and his associates combine personal experience, knowledge of the immigration system, and extensive legal experience to provide the immigration services you need.