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When a U.S. citizen, residing in the United States,
marries an alien, the alien is eligible to receive a green card based
on that marriage. If you are a U.S. citizen, your spouse is considered
an "immediate relative" and he or she may apply for permanent residency.
In order to be granted permanent residency,
your spouse's relationship with you must be established and your
spouse must be admissible to the United States under the immigration
laws. The marriage must be bona fide, not merely an attempt to get
the alien a green card. The Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) takes fraudulent marriage very seriously and you will be asked
to provide supporting documents to show that the marriage is legal
and valid.
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Marriage Abroad: Alien-Spouse Visa
If a U.S. citizen marries an alien abroad,
an I-130 petition must be filed after the marriage to begin the
immigration process for the alien spouse. This can be filed either
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in the United
States, or, under certain circumstances, at U.S. Embassies or Consulates
abroad.
U.S. Embassies and Consulates have differing policies on approving
I-130s and should be individually contacted about the availability
of this service. Many posts have their own web pages which include
this information and which can be accessed through the U.S. Embassy
and Consulate links page. Prior to departure from this country,
the U.S. citizen should contact the INS or appropriate Foreign Service
post to ascertain exactly what documents will be necessary to file
the immigrant petition for a new spouse.
Marriage In the United States: Fiancé Visa
U.S. citizens may file an I-129F petition with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) for the issuance of a K-1 fiancé visa
to an alien fiancé.
An U.S. citizen exercising this option must
remain unmarried until the arrival of the fiancé in the U.S.
You and your fiancé must be free to marry. This means that both
of you are unmarried, and that any previous marriages have ended
through divorce, annulment or death.
The wedding must take place within 90 days
of the fiancé’s arrival if he/she is to remain in K-1 fiancé status.
The alien and U.S. citizen must have met personally
at least once in the two years before the petition was filed. This
requirement can only be waived if meeting your fiancé in person
would violate long-established customs, or if meeting your fiancé
would create extreme hardship for you.
Please note that legal permanent residents may NOT file petitions
for a fiancé visas. They must marry abroad and then file an I-130
petition for the immigration of a new spouse.
After your marriage, if the 90-day validity period of the K-1 visa
has not yet expired, you may file for a green car without leaving
the U.S. or filing a petition for alien relative.
For more information about K-1 visas see the Bureau of Consular
Affairs' brochure Tips For U.S. Visas: Fiance(e)s.
Your fiancé will initially receive conditional permanent residence
status for two years. Conditional permanent residency is granted
when the marriage creating the relationship is less than two years
old at the time of adjustment to permanent residence status.
You may also apply to bring your fiancé's unmarried
children, who are under age 21, to the United States.
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