A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting a United States Marriage Green Card

The Marriage Green Card

Getting married to a United States national or green card holder? That’s great news! Having gotten married, it is time to begin a new life together. Before you intend to make the United States your permanent Resident, you will likely be required to apply for a marriage-based green card. A green card will permit you to settle and get employed in the United States as a permanent resident. It is a kind of immigrant visa that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) permits, and it is the first stage towards United States Citizenship.

A marriage-based green card is valid for a particular duration before you are required to renew it.

• If you have been married for more than two years before you made an application for your green card, you can obtain the IR1 green card, which remains for ten years.
• If you are married for not up to two years when you made the application, you will obtain a CR1 green card, described as a conditional green card. After 24 months, you can apply to renew and receive a ten-year green card.

Eligibility for a Marriage Green Card

To be qualified for a marriage-based green card, you are required to verify many things to USCIS, and these include:

If Your Marriage Is Legal

The United States Administration regards your marriage as lawfully authentic for immigration objectives if the administration officially identifies your marriage in the nation where your union occurred.

If you are Married to a United States National or Legal Permanent Resident

The administration offers close relatives of United States nationals preference in the green card procedures. You can verify that your partner is a United States citizen by giving a copy of their certificate of birth, United States passport, naturalization certificate, or citizenship certificate with your application.

Becoming married to a United States green card holder who is a legal permanent resident also entitles you to apply for a green card. A copy of your partner’s green card proves this provision.

If your Marriage is Legitimate

USCIS understands that some persons enter false unions to settle down and get employed in the United States. You must offer United States Citizenship and Immigration Service papers indicating that you and your partner are genuinely establishing a family together to ascertain that your marriage is real.

If Neither of You is Married to Another Person

If you have been married before to another person, you must offer a divorce ruling, death certificate, or any document to verify your previous marriage has ended.

Steps To Apply for a Marriage Green Card

Once you have decided that you are qualified for a marriage-based green card, making an application is a three-stage procedure.

1. Present Form I-130 and accompanying documents
2. Present your green card application ( Form I-485 or Form DS-260)
3. Attend your green card interview and obtain your green card

Step one: Present Form I-130

The first stage in the procedure of making an application for a marriage-based green card is filling out Form I-130—a plea for Alien Relative. The goal of the I-130 is to affirm that you possess an authentic union with a United States national or green card holder.

With the filled-out form, you must offer your marriage credentials and needed papers indicating that your union is legitimate. For instance, you can demonstrate a joint lease, a merged bank account statement, or pictures of you and your partner from your marriage ceremony or after marriage. It is a perfect notion to attach a cover letter with your I-130 petition. After concluding the I-130 filling package, you can present it online in your United States Citizenship and Immigration Service account or forward it to the applicable USCIS address.

Step two: Application for your Marriage Green Card

At this stage, your application procedure is to apply for permanent residency in the United States. The method you carry this out will be based on whether you are residing in the United States or overseas when you make an application. If you reside in the United States, you will file for an adjustment of status, but if you live overseas, you will file using the embassy procedures.

Application for a Marriage Green Card From the United States Via the Adjustment of Status Procedures.

If you are presently residing inside the US, you are required to file Form I-485 (Application to enroll Permanent Residence or Adjust Status). This is generally described as the Adjustment of Status form, which permits you to change your immigration status to a marriage-based green card.

When you have presented Form I-485, you are also required to submit supporting documents which has to do with the following:

• Your certificate of birth
• Evidence of your immigration medical test
• Proof of your legal access into the United States, such as your I-94 travel record or visa
• Documents indicating that your partner will be competent to assist you in the US financially.

If your partner is a United States National, you will often present your Form I-485 in the same period as your Form I-130. This is described as concurrent filing. If your partner possesses a green card, you will be required to hold on for many more months before presenting your Form I-48, which is described as non-concurrent filing. The administration will inform you when to file your Form I-485.

Application for a Marriage Green Card from Overseas Via Consular Processing

If you presently reside outside the US, you will utilize a procedure described as consular processing to make an application for a marriage-based green card. Using consular processing, you will hold on in your home nation until USCIS permits your Form I-130. When USCIS endorses your Form I-130, it will forward your file to the United States Department of States National Visa Center(NVC).

The National Visa Center will forward you a message with essential case information. The agency will deliver this information by email or mail based on what you demanded when you completed your Form I-130. The National Visa Center will also allow you to be aware of when you can move on to the next stage, which is presenting your NVC filing package.

Your National Visa Center filing package has to do with:

• The needed administrative filing payment of $445. You will often do these online; however, look for certain directions from the National Visa Center or the United States embassy handling your case.
• Your Form DS-260. This is your real green card application, and you must complete it online using the Consular Electronics Application Center.
• Evidence of your nationality. This is often a copy of your certificate of birth and passport photo page.
• Police clearance certification from applicable nations where you have resided since the age of 16.
• Evidence that your United States national or green card holder will be capable of monetarily supporting you. This involves Form I-864, described as an Affidavit of Support, and proof such as tax returns and pay stubs.

Step three: Attend your Green Card Interview and Obtain Your Green Card

Your last stage in the application procedure is the green card interview. The primary intention of this interview is for the administration to specify if your application is legal and if to provide you with a green card. During the interview, the immigration official will ask you questions concerning your relationship with your partner, your day-to-day exercises, and your agenda for the future as a couple. You must anticipate questions if your case possesses any truths that might propose immigration forgery.

These will comprise things like:

• An ample age space between you and your partner.
• Understanding your partner for not up to 24 months before marriage
• Possessing a very different cultural setting than your partner
• Maintaining various addresses pop up for you and your partner online.

You will often undergo your green card interview at a local United States embassy if you make an application via consular processing. If you adjust your status, the interview will be held at a local USCIS area office in the United States.

Adjusted Status with Form I-485

When USCIS has checked your whole application, the USCIS area office nearest to you will forward you a meeting notification for a green card interview. You and your partner are required to attend the interview. If the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service acknowledges that your union is actual, they will endorse your application. You are required to obtain your green card in the mail after two to three weeks later.

Application via Consular Processing with Form DS-260

After the National Visa Center has reviewed your Form DS-260 and accompanying documents, the United States embassy in your home nation will forward you a meeting notification for a green card interview. Your partner may not attend your green card interview overseas, and only you can do this.

After the interview, the embassy official will determine, and it often takes a week to endorse your application. The time may be extended if the official acknowledges additional analysis is required. If the official endorses your green card application, the agency will forward you a visa permitting you to travel to the United States. When you reach the port of entry, a United States border official will legally accept you into the United States. Then, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service will forward your new green card to your United States address.

Duration Required to Obtain a Marriage Green Card

How long the procedures take is based on whether you are already residing in the United States and if you are married to a United States national or green card holder. It often takes some time; therefore, some individuals begin preparing their forms with their fiance up to 90 days before their marriage.

Processing Duration for Candidates Residing in the United States With a United States Citizenship Partner

The entire processing duration for your application is often 10-13 months if you are wedded to a United States national and residing in the United States. Below is a summary of the timeline.

• Going for your green card interview and waiting for your green card often take about 1 to 2 months.
• Verifying that your union is real with Form I-130 and making an application for a green card together with Form I-485 takes about 9-11 months.
• The entire processing time takes about 10 – 13 months.

Processing Duration for Candidates Residing in the United States with a Permanent Resident Partner

Suppose you reside in the United States and your partner possesses a green card. In that case, it will take approximately 1-15 months for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to accept your Form I-130. After that, you must wait until a green card becomes obtainable in the Visa Bulletin, which takes an extra 8-10 months. Then, you must present your Form I-485, which takes the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service about 9-11 months to complete. Lastly, there is the interview and acceptance of your application, which lasts about 1 to 2 months. The processing will take about 29 to 38 months from the date you presented Form I-130.

Processing Duration for Candidates Residing Overseas with a United States Citizen Partner

If you are residing overseas while married to a United States national, it usually takes about 7-10 months for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to accept your I-130. Done with that, you must wait another 4-6 months for the NVC to receive your DS-260. It takes approximately 11 to 17 months after you file for you to obtain your green card.

Processing Duration for Candidates Residing Overseas with a Permanent Resident Partner

If you reside overseas while married to a permanent resident of the United States, it often takes 11-15 months for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to accept your Form I-130. After this, you must wait for a green card number to become obtainable. This can be checked in the Visa Bulletin. This procedure takes approximately 8-10 months. Then, you will present your DS-260 and often wait an additional 4-7 months for acceptance. You must anticipate a time span of 23 to 32 months until you obtain your marriage-based green card.

The Cost of Obtaining a Marriage Green Card

The entire expense for a marriage-based green card in 2020 was $1,760 if the candidate made an application while residing in the United States or $1,200 if they made an application from overseas. These amounts have to do with the needed United States administration filing payments and biometrics payments, which are not refunded. Also, they include the average expense of the required medical test. Furthermore, employing an attorney to assist with your green card may charge you an extra $2,000 to $6,000 based on the difficulty of your situation