Know The Green Card Application Process For Your Partner Or Fiancé

Got engaged or married? Congratulations!

If your spouse/fiancé is from another country and you are an American citizen, you’ll have to process an immigrant visa for your partner before starting to live together in the USA. Marriage itself does not automatically provide citizenship rights to your partner but it does offer a quicker pathway towards permanent residency.

However, many factors, including the immigration status or history of the applicant largely influence the process. In Houston, a non-immigrant visa lawyer will be able to guide you in getting the Green Card application right.

To obtain a Green Card on marital grounds, you need to provide documentary proof supporting a legitimate and real relationship between you and your spouse/fiancé, wherein neither of you is married to anyone else.

Although the timeline for the process varies from case to case, the average time taken is about 12-18 months.

Here’s a general outline of the Green Card application process for your spouse/fiancé:

Establishing sponsorship

As the visa petitioner for your spouse/fiancé, you must file the relevant forms for the green card application or the fiancé visa process. Complete the forms with correct information, include appropriate documents to prove the bonafides of the relationship such as photographs, joint bank account statements, joint lease agreements, etc., and mail it to USCIS for processing. An experienced US fiancé visa attorney or a spouse visa lawyer can help you prepare your documents and fill out the forms correctly.

You’ll receive an official receipt from USCIS within a few weeks. USCIS may seek further information or documents to finish processing your application.

Apply for Permanent Residency

If the beneficiary entered the USA on a visa, and the petitioner is a US citizen, then they may be eligible to apply to adjust status concurrently with the relevant fiancé/spouse visa petition. If the petitioner is a Green Card holder, then the beneficiary may have to wait until USCIS is able to accept the applicant’s green card application.

Along with the application to adjust visa status, the beneficiary needs to submit documents, including a birth certificate, current visa or I-94, financial sponsorship documents, and medical examination records.

Consular Processing

Beneficiaries living outside the USA will await notification from the National Visa Center in their home country to apply with the requisite fees, form DS-260 or DS-160, proof of nationality, police clearance certificate from the country of residence, and other documents. A US fiancé visa lawyer that is experienced in immigration laws will guide you with the correct documentation to provide.

The Interview

Finally, the beneficiary will attend the interview with the US embassy/consulate in their home country or the USCIS office in the USA along with the spouse to receive the Green Card approval, subject to their answering the questions of the interviewing officer satisfactorily.

Salinas Law Firm is highly regarded in Houston as a spouse immigration lawyer ready to help couples start their life in the USA. We review each immigration case very carefully to assess the eligibility factors of the applicant. Our mentorship in obtaining US citizenship status is reliable, and you can trust us to guide you step-by-step through the petitioning process until the interview.

Consult us with today to discuss the Green Card process for your spouse/fiancé.