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MARRIAGE / GREEN CARD
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Marriage and Petition for Green Card based on marriage to a U.S. Citizen
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After you obtained a marriage certificate proving your marriage to an American citizen, you and your spouse can begin a process formally called an adjustment of status which eventually may lead to a status of a permanent resident or, as often referred to in the past, a green card holder. It does not make any difference where, in the United States, you entered into marriage, Las Vegas or New York, the immigration process will remain the same regardless of in which state the marriage took place, or for that matter, regardless of where you are residing.
Your American spouse must sign I-130 (application for unification of family) and I-864 (affidavit of support) along with three years of tax returns; you have to sign I-485 (application for green card) as well as some other bibliographical forms like I-325. You have to include an original marriage certificate, and documents indicating joint co-habitation; for example, lease and joint bills and bank records. I always recommend to my clients to include a few letters from friends and family as well as a few joint photographs and statement from both spouses how they have met and fell in love, etc.
You will also have to complete a medical exam and include a sealed envelope of the results with your application as well as two passport photos. I recommend stapling checks or money orders for the filing fees right to the application to which they apply so that immigration will not lose them.
Other applications and forms may be submitted along with the mandatory package; for example, I-765 (employment authorization), I-131 (permission to travel or parole) and I-601 (waver of inadmissibility) based on medical condition or criminal record or other conditions like violation of status. If you have such need, then you should definitely consult an experienced lawyer and hire such an office to represent you both during the filing application process and the interview.
If your application is straightforward, you do not need a lawyer to represent you, particularly, if the legal fees make it prohibitive or you simply can not afford it. I recommend though, not because I am an immigration lawyer and make my living as such but because the process of adjusting status has become so bureaucratically difficult and administratively cumbersome, that it is difficult to properly fill out of al the forms and submit the required information. Many applications are rejected not because the marriage is fraudulent or suspect, but rather because the forms were improperly submitted or incomplete. If you can afford it, at least hire a lawyer to submit the package properly; the representation at the interview is much less important, if the marriage is bona fide, there is no criminal record nor history of arrests and the application process was done properly.
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Process in USA
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The easiest process for adjustment of status is when the marriage takes place in the US and both parties are already in the United States. Then the complete application package and information is sent to a central location, in Chicago, which then schedules a biometrics analysis and an interview based on the geographical residence of the married couple.
The first interview is scheduled now relatively quickly; within 3-4 months of the filing receipt. Make sure you appear completely prepared for the interview. Bring all requested documents in the original form and their copy (a colored photocopy is preferable because it creates a nicer impression). Order transcripts from IRS of the applicable tax returns, make sure you have W-2 forms and a letter from your respective employers; if both spouses work, both should have it. Create a wedding photo album and a separate album for everything else. Make sure that both you and your spouse know all the relevant dates and names, date of marriage, date of the first meeting, birthday dates, etc. Names of immediate relatives like parents and siblings.
With spouses who had previous marriages, it is important to have an original and a copy of all divorce certificates and birth certificates of all children. It would be important to know how many marriages/divorces were in the prior personal live of your spouse and reasons for the divorce and their dates. For the rest of information on how to prepare for the interview, please see marriage interview.
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Process abroad
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Process of marrying abroad is a little more complicated than the process when the marriage takes place in the United States. The reason why it is more complicated is because the interview for the alien spouse conducted at the consulate in the country where she/he is a citizen. The time for this interview varies from country to country but is generally longer than the time it takes for the first interview in the US.
If your alien spouse is a citizen of a country which has a visa waiver program, you spouse can travel to the US on such a visa waiver program and file all documents for adjustment of status after arrival. Fiancé visa used to be a quick and efficient way to bring your future spouse in the US, particularly if no other visa was available for the spouse. Nowadays, the security screening for American citizens takes longer because of a great volume of abused spouse petitions which have been filed in the recent years against the American spouse.
For the most countries which do not have the visa waiver program,
it is best to check with the American consulate, but due to
the delays in the fiancé visa application process and backlog
of security clearances for the American citizens; it is quicker
to marry the spouse abroad and file the appropriate paperwork
for her/him rather than file and wait for the fiancé visa. Check
with the local consulate, just to make sure which application
has a faster track. The
State Department Visa Bulletin must show that a
spouse immigrant visa is available to your spouse, based on
the date you filed the immigrant visa application.
If your spouse is outside of the United States when your visa petition is approved and when an immigrant visa number (if required) becomes available, your spouse will be notified to go to the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing for an immigrant visa.
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Process during court
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If you get married during the deportation or removal proceeding, then you, probably, have a lawyer already, and if not, you should. If you are in immigration court already facing a Notice of Action for one or another violation of immigration law, for example, being out of status or losing a claim of political asylum, you may still be able to adjust status to that of a permanent resident by marrying an American citizen.
However, such process is far from automatic and is longer and more complicated then an ordinary marriage. First of all, you have to receive permission of the district counsel (immigration prosecutor) to file a bona fide marriage package which consists of a number of documents which you should discuss with your lawyer. Secondly, with permission of the judge, you will be able to file such a package at the immigration center in Texas and you will actually qualify for employment authorization once you file I-485. You will be standing in line for what is called a Stokes interview where both you and your spouse will be interviewed separately and together. If you pass Stokes interview, that means your I-130 will be approved by the interviewing officer, the immigration judge will conduct an adjustment of status hearing where he or she will determine if you qualify for a status of permanent resident. If you find your self facing such an option, get a good lawyer, quickly.
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FIANCE VISA