In order to bring your spouse (husband or wife) to live in the United States as a permanent resident (green card holder), you must be either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. "Our office has assisted many thousand of couples in applying for a Green Card through marriage. We have also succeeded in hundreds of 601 waiver cases for people that have either entered the U.S. illegaly or overstayed their visa." Spouse of A U.S. Citizen Inside The United States - Adjustment of Status The spouse of a United States citizen can qualify for "adjustment of Status " while in the United States as an "immediate relative" immigrant. This can be done only if the spouse (1) entered with a visa or visa waiver program or (2) if they entered illegally or are out of status an application for immigrant status with the USCIS was filed before 4/30/01 or with the department of labor for Labor Certification before 4/30/01 or they were derivative beneficiary of a parents petition. All other spouse of U.S. Citizens that either entered illegally in the United may have to apply for a waiver of the 3/10-year bar. The adjustment of Status application is filed with the local USCIS office having jurisdiction over the Petitioner's residence. The packet is generally filed with an application for Employment Authorization and if desired with a permission to travel during the process (Advance Parole), if they have not been out of status for a period of over 6 months on the date of filing. A few months later a notice is sent directing the applicant to (1) appear for processing of the employment authorization (EAD) (2) take fingerprints (3) appear for the adjustment interview. On the date of the adjustment interview you should be granted a permanent Immigrant Visa (Green Card). The spouse may file for U.S. citizenship 3 years after the approval of the Permanent Visa (Green Card). Spouse of A U.S. Citizen Living Outside The United States The first step in establishing your eligibility to immigrate to the United States is to have your U.S. citizen spouse file an Immigrant Visa Petition with the office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) having jurisdiction over his/her place of residence. Petitions Required to be Filed in the U.S. -- File the I-130 petitions at the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of U.S. residence. Filing Petitions Abroad - Petitions, Form I-130, which can be filed abroad, are limited. Petitions for immediate relative immigrant or 1st preference petition classifications can be filed abroad by American citizen petitioners who have been authorized to be continuously resident in their consular districts for at least the preceding six months, including members of the U.S. armed forces, emergency cases involving life and death or health and safety, and others determined to be in the national interest. Petitions are filed with USCIS abroad or at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate (when there is no USCIS presence). If the U.S. citizen parent (the petitioner) presently resides abroad, s/he can file petition by post to the USCIS office at the Embassy. Proof of residence in the country is required If the petition is approved, the petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center and will eventually send the approved petition to the Immigrant Visa Branch at this Embassy for further processing of the visa. If your U.S. citizen spouse resides in the U.S. s/he should file with the USCIS office having jurisdiction over his/her place of residence in the United States. The processing can take several months. USCIS will send the approved petition to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing NVC plays an important role in the U.S. immigration process. NVC provides instructions to petitioners and sponsors, and receives from sponsors, the required Affidavit of Support forms, fees, other required documents, and much more. For numerically limited family preference petitions, NVC contacts the petitioner once the petition's immigration wait nears end, and the priority date is about to come current. The NVC will send you a package to prepare. This package contains all the vital information needed to approve the Permanent Visa (Green Card). You will send the completed package to the U.S. consulate were the parent resides. The U.S. Consulate will notify you of the interview date and the address for the medical exam and fingerprints once the priority date become current. Accompanying Children If the child of the spouse of the United States citizen has a child and if their marriage occurred prior to the child's 18th birthday, the U.S. citizen can file a separate petition as a stepfather of the wife's child. The child's case will be processed similarly to the mother.

• published: 13 Jan 2014
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