U.S. Citizenship Through Marriage

There are many problems in the process of family reunification with a spouse and immigration to the U.S. through marriage. It is important to understand that if the U.S. government can prove and confirm that the marriage was entered into for the purpose of obtaining a green card, there are civil and criminal liabilities.

By definition, a spouse is someone who has entered into a legal marriage with a U.S. citizen or green card holder and has an official marriage certificate.

Currently, the process of obtaining a green card for the spouse of a U.S. permanent resident (green card holder) — category (F2A) — has undergone changes. Previously, petitions filed for spouses and unmarried children under 21 had a waiting line of four years. Today there is no backlog for the F2A category. This category is processed within the same time frames as category (F2B) — family reunification with the spouse of a U.S. citizen.

The immigration procedure for spouses does not differ from any other family reunification.

Obtaining U.S. Citizenship Through Marriage

When the marriage is concluded outside the U.S., the petitioner files a family reunification petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Lately there has been a trend where the immigration service wants to see all documents that confirm the relationship, communication, courtship, and the wedding itself. That is, information about where the spouses met, where they met before the wedding, all details regarding the wedding, and how they have communicated from the wedding up to the present. Previously, these matters were clarified at the consular interview; today the government wants to obtain this information at the initial stage.

After the petition is approved, the documents are sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing. At the NVC you must pay the visa fee for each applicant and the Affidavit of Support. The Affidavit of Support is a tripartite contract signed by the petitioner on behalf of the beneficiary and the U.S. government. Under the signed terms, the petitioner guarantees the government that his or her spouse will not seek public assistance for 10 years or until obtaining citizenship.

After complying with the National Visa Center’s requirements, an interview and visa issuance are scheduled. All petitions in the F2A category are automatically converted to category IR1 – spouse of a U.S. citizen or IR2 – child of a U.S. citizen.

If the marriage is concluded within the U.S., the petitioner in the U.S. files a family reunification petition. At the same time the applicant files a special application to obtain a conditional green card for two years. In this case, at the interview — which will certainly take place — you must prove that at the time of the marriage registration they intended to establish a family, not to obtain a green card.

What constitutes evidence? That they know everything about each other’s past and current life, and can document cohabitation (joint bank accounts, credit cards, tax returns, car insurance, health insurance, rent on a house and other documents).

Immigration to the U.S. through marriage

A person has the right to file a petition for citizenship through marriage three years after receiving the initial conditional green card, provided the spouses have lived together for those two years. The temporary green card is issued for two years to give people the opportunity to prove that they have met certain conditions. In the case of marriage, the condition is proving that the marriage was genuine.

After one year and nine months of the two-year joint residence, you can file a petition to remove the conditions on the green card and obtain a permanent one (if the spouses continue to live together and run a joint household) as a general rule. Applicants must pay special attention to the evidentiary base of cohabitation. There is a specific practice here: besides joint accounts, tax returns, and insurance, you need to attach letters from 6-8 witnesses about cohabitation. These are letters from neighbors, acquaintances, employers, which must be signed and notarized. A repeat interview is not conducted in all cases to obtain the permanent green card. It all depends on how the evidence file was prepared at the time of filing. If there is sufficient evidence, the green card is mailed.

The worst outcome is receiving a denial of the petition, and there is no administrative appeals process for the petition. If a denial is received, the case is transferred to immigration court for review.

After obtaining the permanent green card, you can file a petition to obtain citizenship.

Legal assistance in obtaining citizenship through marriage

Since the issue of obtaining U.S. citizenship through marriage is a life-changing decision, we strongly recommend seeking help from an immigration attorney so as not to take risks and to properly submit all required documents. Will you be able to keep your conditional green card, obtain a permanent green card, continue to live and work legally in the U.S., or will you be deported? A specialist who knows all the nuances of U.S. immigration law can answer all these and other questions.