GREEN CARD AND VISA BY MARRIAGE WITH AN AMERICAN
A marriage visa to an American or permanent resident can lead to the green card or green card for the right to reside in the United States. Obtaining a Green Card visa by marriage can be done through three different processes. The K-3 nonimmigrant visa which allows the foreign national to enter the United States and then apply for a green card once in the territory. The IR-1 / CR-1 immigrant visa is the equivalent of the green card, and is granted by US consulates abroad. Finally, the non-American spouse can apply for a Green Card while already present in the United States via the “adjustment of status” procedure.
Wedding
US citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) have the right to apply for a permanent residence, or green card, for their spouse. Note that the process will be longer if the spouse submitting the application is a permanent resident, because of the waiting period before a visa is available (see “green card – immigration by the family”).
Temporary visa by marriage (K-3)
Obtaining a K-3 visa through bona fide marriage to an American citizen gives the holder the right to enter the United States as a spouse and then obtain the green card. (Green Card) following the status adjustment request.
The K-3 visa application process begins with sending the appropriate forms to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. After a few months, when this request is approved, the file is transferred to the National Visa Center for processing and then to the US Embassy in the country where the non-US spouse resides.
The application must demonstrate the following criteria:
- Be married to a US citizen or permanent resident.
- The non-American spouse resides outside the United States.
- The child of the foreign national applying for the K-4 visa is under 21 (and under 18 at marriage if the in-laws want to petition for the child in the future)
- Marriage must be in good faith, and not for the purpose of obtaining a Green Card. For this you must provide evidence of an existing and continuing relationship.
The non-U.S. Spouse must not have a criminal record (which would make them ineligible for an immigrant visa), or a history of fraud, false testimony, or other wrongdoing. However, if this is the case, the person may request a waiver of their grounds for ineligibility before obtaining an immigrant visa for the United States.
Once obtained, the spouse can enter the United States and is entitled to apply for a green card once present in the United States, namely to file a file for adjustment of status within a reasonable period of time following his arrival, in order to become a permanent resident. The child of the holder of the K-3 visa can obtain a K-4 visa if he or she is under 21 (under 18 at the time of marriage if it is a child by step), otherwise a separate application must be submitted for this child: see green card – family immigration.
Subsequently, the foreign national will obtain a conditional Green Card valid for 2 years if at the time of approval of the application to the American immigration services the couple have been married for less than 2 years. If, on the other hand, the couple have been married for more than 2 years at the time of approval of the application, the foreign national will obtain a permanent green card which must be renewed every 10 years. Work authorization may be granted to holders of K-3 and K-4 visas before applying for adjustment of status in the United States.
Immigrant Visa (IR1 or CR1)
As part of this procedure, the non-American spouse will have to apply for permanent residence abroad, via the American embassy located in his country of residence.
Unlike adjustment of status, the immigrant visa process for the United States is a two-step process. The first step is to file an application, the petition for alien Relative, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which takes several months to approve. The second step is to send all necessary documents and application fees to the National Visa Center, which then forwards the file to the appropriate US Embassy for interview with the candidate.
The foreign national can also obtain a Green Card immigrant visa through marriage to a US citizen (or permanent resident if a visa is available). The request must demonstrate:
- The non-American spouse resides abroad
- The couple must be married
- Marriage must be in good faith, and not for the purpose of obtaining a green card. For this you must provide evidence of an existing and continuing relationship.
The non-American spouse does not have a criminal record (which would make him ineligible for an immigrant visa), nor a history of fraud, false testimony, or other wrongdoing. However, if this is the case, the person can request a waiver of their grounds for ineligibility before obtaining an immigrant visa.
After obtaining the IR-1 or CR-1 visa, its holder enters the United States as a green card holder, or permanent resident. If the spouses have been married for less than two years on the date of the non-American spouse’s entry into the territory, this green card is conditional (CR-1 visa). If the spouses have been married for more than two years on the date of entry into the territory, the residence or green card is permanent (IR-1). The U.S. citizen cannot include the unmarried child under the age of 21 (under 18 for stepchildren) in the same application, a separate application will need to be made for that child.
This rule does not apply to permanent residents who have the right to include unmarried children under the age of 21 of their spouse (under 18 for children by marriage) in the visa application. Immigrant that they make for this husband.
Status adjustment
It is also possible to apply for a green card following a marriage with an American citizen when you are already present in the United States, whether you are under legal status or not. However, the immigration authorities in the USA will not excuse the irregular presence of the foreign national spouse who entered the United States without being checked by customs (“entered without inspection” -EWI). Provisions have been put in place to allow despite everything the reunification of families separated because of the ineligibility of the foreign national spouse to the adjustment of status, because of a lack of control on entry into the territory. for example (see Provisional exemptions).
Unlike the immigrant visa process, the adjustment of status is carried out in a single step, namely the filing of the relative petition for alien at the same time as the request for adjustment of status. Once the file has been sent, the couple will be summoned to the US for an interview at the immigration facility closest to the applicant’s residence (i.e., US citizen spouse).