Marrying a US citizen or Permanent Resident - Immigration Aspects
American citizens or permanent residents of the US are the some of the most coveted partners for singles all over the world, particularly developing countries. while the prospect of better lifestyle attracts many, the freedom to live and love exactly the way one wants has sometimes even more appeal. If you too are in a relationship with a US citizen or permanent resident and are planning to immigrate to the “land of the Free and the home of the Brave”, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Fiance(e) Visa
In United States, it is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS is the federal agency that deals with immigration applications and procedures. There are several ways that you can go about applying for immigration to the US, if you are marrying a citizen or permanent resident of the country. One way is to apply for a fiancé(e) visa if you are living in another country and you want to marry your American partner in the United States. This visa lets you enter the United States for ninety days so that your marriage ceremony can take place in the United States. Once you marry, you can apply for permanent residence and remain in the United States while the USCIS processes the application. If you wish to go for this option, your American partner needs to file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). If the USCIS approves the I-129F, the application will be sent to the National Visa Center, which will process and forward it to the U.S. Embassy or consulate nearest you place of residence. The embassy or consulate will then invite you to apply for the actual fiancé(e) visa. As soon as you marry, your spouse may apply for permanent residence by filing a Form I-485.
Applying after marriage – If you are overseas
Another way to apply for immigration to the United States is to get married in your own country or some other place. However for this you need to be legally wedded to a US citizen, in accordance with the civil laws of the country and not simply have a social wedding. After you are legally married, your American partner can file an I-130 petition form - Petition for Alien Relative1 - with USCIS if he/she lives in the United States or, if he/she lives abroad, at an American embassy or consulate. However if you are living outside the United States, simply filing an I-130 by your American partner does not allow you to live or work in the United States. An I-130 petition only establishes your relationship with your partner. You will still have to wait outside the United States to immigrate legally. Filing an I-130 means that your American partner is filing an immigration petition and requesting that the USCIS notify a U.S. Consulate in the country where you live.
Approval of the petition signifies that a consular officer or USCIS adjudicator has verified that a valid, qualifying relationship exists between an American petitioner and foreign applicant. Among the documents that you both will be required to produce while applying for immigration are typically the petition itself, marriage and birth certificates, passports, and supporting documents and photos meant to prove the validity of the relationship.
Once the immigration petition is approved, the National Visa Center of the U.S. State Department will send a "Packet 3" to the U.S. citizen. After the necessary forms are completed, you will be required to go to the U.S. Consulate in your country to apply for an immigrant visa. On the day that you enter the United States on an immigrant visa, you become a U.S.
permanent resident.
If you are already in the US
If however you are already in the United States after having entered legally, then you can apply to adjust your status to permanent resident at the same time your partner files the I-130 petition. In this case, the I-130 can be filed together with an application for permanent residence which is the Form I-485, or Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
Affidavit of Support
Another aspect of the immigration application is Affidavit of Support. Under the law, each person who immigrates based on a relative’s petition must have a financial sponsor. If your American partner chooses to sponsor your immigration by filing a relative petition (I-130), when the time comes for you to immigrate, your partner must agree to be your financial sponsor by filing Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. If your partner does not meet the financial qualifications, other individuals will then need to make this commitment.
Time needed
The USCIS website does not mention any time limit for processing of various applications until a foreign spouse can be granted legal immigration status and allowed to stay in the country. Typically there is no waiting period for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes a U.S. citizen’s spouse, unmarried children under 21 years of age, and parents. Things can also be expedited if your partner applied as a permanent resident and then became a US citizen while you are waiting for a visa. In this case your partner can upgrade your visa classification and advance the processing of that petition by notifying the appropriate agency of his/her naturalization. In case of a U.S. citizen, a husband or wife and any unmarried children under age 21 will have visas immediately available to them.
Typically, couples must remain legally married for two years before the conditional status on the immigrant spouse’s permanent resident application is removed. Thus at the interview which decides whether the conditional status should be removed, you and your partner will be asked to produce documentary evidence that you both still live together like joint tax returns and bank accounts. And three years after removing the conditional status on your permanent resident card, you will be eligible for American citizenship and after that you can petition to bring your relatives from your home country to the United States.
In recent years, the USCIS has become increasingly vigilant for cases of marriage fraud where marriages with US citizens or permanent residents are entered upon only as a way of obtaining a ‘green card’. If you wish to minimize chances of your immigration petition being rejected, then you may have to prove the marriage was entered into in good faith for which evidence like Document showing joint ownership of property, Joint tenancy of lease, commingling of financial resources and Birth certificates of children born to you both would help a lot.
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