Green Card Marriage
If you marry a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident, you may be eligible for a green card through marriage. However, the process depends on several factors, including your sponsor’s immigration status, where the applicant is living, and whether an immigrant visa is available.
At Warren Law Firm, we have over 20 years of experience handling green card marriage cases. Our lawyer can explain everything you need to know about getting a green card through marriage, including the types of documentation you need to provide to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), what happens at a green card marriage interview, and how long your green card will be valid.
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Angela D. Warren
With more than 20 years of immigration and business immigration experience, Angela Warren has helped hundreds of individuals, families and businesses.
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What Is a Green Card Marriage?
A green card marriage refers to obtaining lawful permanent residence based on a qualifying marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. To qualify for permanent residence, the foreign spouse must meet specific requirements before obtaining a green card through marriage.
How Can You Get a Green Card by Marriage?
To get a green card by marriage, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident generally begins by petitioning for their foreign spouse. The next steps depend largely on the sponsor’s immigration status and whether the foreign spouse is living inside or outside the United States.
A spouse who is already in the United States may be able to apply through adjustment of status, while a spouse living abroad generally goes through consular processing.
What Documents Do You Need for a Green Card Marriage?
Depending on your pathway and circumstances, required documents may include:
- Your marriage certificate
- Your and your spouse’s birth certificates
- Financial documents
- Proof of your sponsor’s citizenship or lawful permanent resident status
- Police certificates, if required for consular processing
- Proof that you have terminated any prior marriages
- Court and police records, if applicable
- Military records, if applicable
- Current or expired U.S. visas
- A medical examination document
You may also need additional documentation, and our attorney can walk you through what’s necessary to prove your eligibility and supplement your green card marriage application.
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What Is the Green Card Marriage Interview?
When you apply for a green card based on your marriage to a citizen or permanent resident, you’ll have to participate in an interview. For green card marriage interviews in the United States, you’ll sit down with a USCIS officer who will attempt to determine whether you are in a bona fide marriage. Immigrant spouses who applied through consular processing will attend an immigrant visa interview in their U.S. embassy or consulate.
The officer may ask you several personal questions, such as what side of the bed you sleep on, how your chores are divided around the house, who chooses where you dine out, and other things that couples would commonly know.
If the USCIS officer suspects that you are not telling the truth, they may separate you from your spouse and conduct individual interviews. Then, the officer will compare your answers.
Your attorney will let you know that you shouldn’t lie during this interview. It is far better to admit that you don’t know the answer to a question than it is to make something up. If the USCIS official conducting your interview determines that you lied about something, your green card petition could be denied and you could be removed from the United States.
What is a Bona Fide Marriage?
The United States government wants to ensure that people don’t simply marry each other to gain U.S. immigration benefits. For that reason, USCIS will require you to prove that you are engaged in a bona fide marriage. That means you’ll most likely need to provide proof that shows you and your spouse married each other for valid reasons during your green card marriage interview. We encourage you to compile the following documentation:
- Mortgage or loan documents that show both of your names
- A lease agreement with both of your names on it
- Driver’s licenses or other identification cards that show the same address for both of you
- Bank statements that show you share money
- Health or life insurance statements
- Correspondence, such as letters or emails, from your friends and family that show you are a couple
- Children’s birth certificates or adoption certificates
- Utility bills showing both of your names
- Tax returns that you filed as a married couple
- Other documents that show you both share ownership in property, cars, or investments
- Wedding photos, pictures of your vacations together, and other evidence that you share family dinners, holidays, and special occasions
- Receipts for gifts you have purchased for each other
- Travel itineraries from trips you were both on
- Social media records, which may include screenshots of your social media pages where you share photos and statuses with one another
When Will You Get Your Green Card Through Marriage?
There is no single timeline for getting a green card through marriage. Processing time depends on your pathway, the agencies and offices handling the case, visa availability when applicable, and your individual circumstances.
What Is a Conditional Green Card?
If you have been married for less than two years when you become a permanent resident through marriage, you generally receive conditional permanent resident status.
Your conditional green card expires two years after it is issued, and if you are filing jointly with your spouse, you generally file Form I-751 during the 90-day period before your conditional permanent resident status expires. USCIS will send a receipt notice after a properly filed Form I-751, which serves as evidence of your continued conditional permanent resident status while the petition is pending.
After USCIS approves your petition to remove the conditions from your green card, you will receive a permanent green card. Your permanent green card is valid for 10 years, and with it, you may be eligible to apply for United States citizenship if you would like to.
If you fail to file Form I-751 as required, your conditional permanent resident status can be terminated and you may be placed in removal proceedings.
Talk to an Attorney About Pursuing a Green Card Marriage
Because U.S. immigration law can be very complicated, and because a simple paperwork error can cause significant delays in your case, many people choose to work with an immigration attorney to obtain a green card through marriage.
If you have questions about pursuing a green card marriage, or if you need help with the process, contact Warren Law Firm today to schedule a consultation with us.
