Marriage with U.S. Citizen
When you file for a permanent residence status (green card) based on a marriage with an U.S. citizen, you will be considered an “immediately relative” of the U.S. citizen spouse. The term “immediate relatives” includes several kinds of family relationships and one of which is a spouse of a U.S. citizen. Unlike a marriage with a permanent resident, petitioning a permanent residence status based on a marriage with U.S. citizen has a much faster processing time as this green card category is not subject to a limited number of green card approved by Congress.
Immediate Relative
When a U.S. citizen marries a foreign spouse, he/she is considered “immediate relatives” for immigration purpose and is eligible to apply to become a U.S. permanent resident. The advantage of being “immediate relatives” is that they have special immigration priority and do not have to wait in line for a visa number to become available for them to immigrate because there are an unlimited number of visas for green card applications based on marriage to U.S. citizen.
Green Card Requirements based on a Marriage with U.S. Citizen
To be eligible for a green card based on marriage with U.S. citizen, you must prove the following:
- the marriage is legitimate;
- all prior marriages were legally terminated;
- the U.S sponsoring spouse is able to financially support his/her spouse, if not, a co-sponsor is available to provide such support if needed.
Why hire us?
The process of marriage green card to U.S. citizen is an extremely complex and detailed area of immigration law. If you are considering marriage or are married with a foreign residence, contact Cipolla Law Group for a consultation. Our Chicago Immigration Attorney have over 25+ years of collective experience helping clients to obtain their marriage green card. Our immigration law firm is located in downtown Chicago. Please contact us for a consultation today.
You may be interested in the following pages:
- Marriage green card requirements
- Proof of Marriage
- Marriage with green card residence
- Marriage based adjustment of status