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Spouse and Fiance(e) of an American Citizen Overview Spouse - If you are an American citizen you have two ways to bring your foreign spouse (husband or wife) to the United States to live. They are:
It is important to note that application for the nonimmigrant visa for spouse (K-3) who married a U.S. citizen must be made and the visa issued in the country where the marriage took place. After visa processing, and the visa is issued, the spouse can travel to the United States to wait for the processing of the immigrant visa case. Fiance(e) - If you are an American citizen, you may bring your fiance(e) to the United States to marry and live here.
Immigrant Visa for a Spouse (IR1 or CR1) How Does My Spouse (Husband/Wife) Get an Immigrant Visa? Nonimmigrant Visa for a Spouse (K-3) What Is a Nonimmigrant Visa for a Spouse (K-3) Visa? Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fiance(e) (K-1) What Is a ¡°Fianc¨¦¡±? Immigrant Visa (IR1 or CR1) How Does My Spouse (Husband/Wife) Get an Immigrant Visa? The first step is to file a Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130 for your spouse (husband or wife) to immigrate to the United States. You file the petition with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) immigration Field Office in the United States that serves the area where you live. For instructions on how to file a petition see Petitioning Procedures: Bringing a Spouse (Husband of Wife) to Live in the United States. Sometimes a U.S. citizen living abroad can file an immigrant visa petition at an U.S. embassy or consulate (post). To find out whether you can file a petition at a specific post abroad, you must ask that post. For information on how to contact the post, please select U.S. embassy or consulate abroad (/travel/tips/embassies/embassies_1214.html) A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration, but only if the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs recognizes common-law marriages and grants them all the same rights and obligations as a traditional marriage. In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration. Minimum Age Requirement for the Petitioner There is no minimum age to file a petition for a spouse for immigration. However, you must be 18 years of age and have a domicile in the U.S. before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for an immigrant visa for spouses and other relatives of U.S. sponsors. You must have a domicile (residence) in the United States before we can issue an immigrant visa to your spouse. This is because a U.S. domicile is required to file an Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for all Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR-1) immigration cases. What Does the National Visa Center Do? After a Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in the United States approves the petition, it sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC does the following:
Note: It is important to follow instructions from the NVC carefully. Send the NVC only those things that it asks for. How Do I Pay the Fees for the National Visa Center (NVC) Services? The NVC sends bills for certain fees at the appropriate time in the immigrant visa process. It sends bills for these services to the following people:
The NVC sends a correctly addressed, return envelope with the bills. Remember these important things:
For further information see National Visa Center. Upgrading a Petition - If You Were an LPR and Now are an American Citizen Suppose you filed a petition for your spouse when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR). Now you are an U.S. citizen. You must upgrade the petition from family second preference (F2) to immediate relative (IR). You can do this by sending proof of your citizenship to the National Visa Center (NVC). To prove that you are a U.S. citizen, you can send:
If you are now a U.S. citizen, you must file separate immigrant visa petitions for each of your children. If you upgrade a family second preference (F2) petition for your spouse and you did not file separate petitions for your children when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you must do so now. A child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition. This is different from the family second preference (F2) petition. A child is included in his/her parent's F2 petition. A child is not included in his/her parent's IR petition. An appointment package is sent to the agent or the applicant. (See note below.) The appointment package gives the applicant an interview date and tells you the specific requirements of the visa. It includes instructions on where to go to have the required medical examination. In general, the following is required:
An applicant may bring marriage photographs and other proof that the marriage is genuine. Documents in foreign languages should be translated. The consular officer may ask for more information. Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the immigrant visa interview. Original documents can then be returned to you. Note: The National Visa Center sends appointment packages to the agent for applicants in certain countries when the petitions are filed in the United States. The embassy or consulate sends appointment packages to applicants in all other countries. It also sends appointment packages to all applicants whose petitions are already at the embassy or consulate. Fees are charged for the following services:
For current fees for Department of State government services select Fees. In general, applicants for immigrant visas are required to have all of the following vaccinations:
Bring your vaccination records to the immigrant visa medical examination, if you have them. The panel physician decides which vaccinations you will need, appropriate to your age, medical condition and medical history. Does a Child Have Derivative Status? No. A child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition. This is different from the family second preference (F2) petition. A child is included in his/her parent¡¯s F2 petition. A child is not included in his/her parent's IR petition. If you are a U.S. citizen, you must file separate immigrant visa petitions for each of your children. If you upgrade a family second preference (F2) petition for your spouse and you did not file separate petitions for your children when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you must do so now. Remember that children born abroad after you became a U.S. citizen may qualify for U.S. citizenship. They should apply for U.S. passports. The consular officer will decide whether your child is a U.S. citizen and can have an passport. If the consular officer decides your child is not U.S. citizen, the child must apply for an immigrant visa if he/she wants to live in the U.S. Termination of All Previous Marriages U.S. law does not allow polygamy. If you were married before, you and your spouse must both show that you ended (terminated) all previous marriages before your current marriage. The death and divorce documents that show termination of marriages must be legal and verifiable in the country that issued them. Divorces must be final. In cases of legal marriage to two or more spouses at the same time, or marriages overlapping for a period of time, you can file only for your first spouse. What Is Conditional Residence? If you have been married for less than two years when your spouse enters the United States on an immigrant visa, the permanent resident status is considered ¡°conditional.¡± The immigrant visa is a CR ( conditional resident ) visa, not an IR ( immediate relative ) visa. You and your spouse must apply together to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to remove the ¡°condition¡± within the ninety days before the two year anniversary of your spouse¡¯s entry into the United States on an immigrant visa. The two-year anniversary date of entry is the date of expiration on the alien registration card (green card). See How Do I Remove the Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage ? The length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances, and cannot be predicted for individual cases with any accuracy. Some cases are delayed because the applicants do not follow instructions carefully. Sometimes the petitioner cannot meet Affidavit of Support requirements. In addition, the consular section may need to get a security clearance for the applicant. Security clearances take time. What Can Be Done If the Petition Gets Lost? We don¡¯t want this to happen, but occasionally it does. Files can get misfiled; shipments of visa files have been lost. Usually a misfiled petition can be located, but in an emergency an embassy or consulate can issue a visa from the computer record and an original Notice of Action approval (Form I-797) from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Give the consular section time to locate the file, and it probably will. But all is not lost if the petition is really gone. Be sure to keep all correspondence you receive from the BCIS. What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa? Certain conditions and activities may make you, the applicant, ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:
The consular officer will inform you if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. See Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas for more information. How Do I Find the Regulations about Immigrant Visas? To read the relevant Department of State regulations on immigrant visas in 9 FAM 40.1 Note 1 and 9 FAM 42, select Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM). How to Apply for a Social Security Number Card Before your spouse arrives in the United States, you can help them learn how to apply for a social security number card. To learn more about this process, visit the website for the Social Security Administration. General Visa Questions
Spouse of American Citizen (K-3) Spouses of U.S. citizens, and the spouse's children, can come to the United States on nonimmigrant visas (K-3 and K-4) and wait in the United States to complete the immigration process. Before a K-4 visa can be issued to a child, the parent must have a K-3 visa or be in K-3 status. A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. Cohabiting partners do not qualify as spouses for immigration purposes. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes depending on the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs. In cases of polygamy only the first spouse qualifies as a spouse for immigration. U.S. law does not allow polygamy. If you were married before, you and your spouse must show that you ended (terminated) all previous marriages before your current marriage. The death and divorce documents that show termination of marriages must be legal and verifiable in the country that issued them. Divorces must be final. In cases of legal marriage to two or more spouses at the same time, or marriages overlapping for a period of time, you may file only for the first spouse. Filing - Two Petitions are Required You must first file an immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, form I-130 for your spouse with the USCIS Office that serves the area where you live. The USCIS will send you a Notice of Action (Form I-797) receipt notice. This notice tells you that the USCIS has received the petition. You next file Petition for Alien Fianc¨¦(e), form I-129F for your spouse and children. Send the I-129F petition, supporting documents and a copy of the Form I-797 receipt notice to this Department of Homeland Security USCIS Address on their web site. National Visa Center (NVC) Sends Petition To Post After the USCIS approves the I-129F, it sends it to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC sends the petition electronically to the embassy or consulate in the country where the marriage took place. If your marriage took place in the United States, the NVC sends the petition to the embassy or consulate that issues visas in the country of your spouse's nationality. If your marriage took place in a country that does not have an American embassy, or the embassy does not issue visas, the NVC sends the petition to the embassy or consulate that normally processes visas for citizens of that country. For example, if the marriage took place in Iran where the United States does not have an embassy, the petition would be sent to Turkey. A Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (K-3) Is Also an Immigrant The spouse of an U.S. citizen applying for a nonimmigrant visa (K-3 applicant) must have an immigrant visa petition on his/her behalf by the U.S. citizen spouse. Therefore, the spouse of the U.S. citizen (the K-3 applicant) must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. The embassy or consulate where you, the spouse of an American citizen, will apply for a K-3 visa must be in the country where your marriage took place. Here are the procedures to apply. The embassy or consulate will let you know any additional things to do, such as where you need to go for the required medical examination. The following is required:
The consular officer may ask for additional information. It is a good idea to bring marriage photographs and other proof that the marriage is genuine. Documents in foreign languages should be translated. Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the visa interview. Original documents can then be returned to you. Fees are charged for the following services:
For current fees for Department of State, government services see Fees. The I-129F petition is valid for four months from the date of approval. A consular officer can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate the petition) if it expires before you finish processing the visa. Children Have Derivative Status Children do not need separate Petition for Alien Relative, I-130 petitions, but you, the petitioner, must take care to name all your children on the Petition for Alien Fiance, I-129F petition. If you do not name the children on the petition, they may find it difficult to prove their identity as children of a K-3 applicant or person in K-3 status. You must file separate I-130 immigrant visa petitions for your children before they qualify for permanent residence. When they adjust status in the United States, they must file Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status with the USCIS Office that serves the area where you live. Remember that in immigration law children must be unmarried and under 21 years of age. See child. If the child is not named on the I-129F petition, will that be a problem? |
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