Mothers deserve to remain with their spouses and their families. Mothers who have careers as writers or who enjoy traveling can benefit from getting a marriage green card. If you have recently married, then you and your spouse are embarking on a new journey together and part of that Journey might include living together permanently in the United States. This means you have to apply for a marriage Green Card.
What is a marriage green card?
A marriage green card is a physical card that allows the spouse of a US citizen to live in the United States and work anywhere in the United States. Someone who has a marriage green card will be given permanent resident status. They can remain as a permanent resident but after three years they are also allowed to apply for citizenship.
How long until I get my marriage Green Card?
Getting a marriage green card is a lengthy process and with an Immigration lawyer you can avoid costly mistakes. It can take anywhere between 9 months and 36 months. This depends entirely on whether you are currently a US green card holder and now you have gotten married so you need to change your status, or whether you are now married to a citizen of America and need to get your marriage green card.
The length of time is of course also impacted by your application. Filling out your application properly without any mistakes can ensure that it is reviewed and approved within a much shorter time frame compared to someone who has many mistakes and has to re-submit the application with new evidence or documents. Working with a top immigration attorney UK based can help you avoid these mistakes and ensure that your application doesn’t get delayed because you don’t have the right attachments or you didn’t check the right box.
The cost of a marriage green card
The cost varies depending on whether your spouse lives in the US or not. First there are the government filing fees. The average cost for a marriage based green card if your spouse already lives in the United States is $1,760. If your spouse lives outside of the United States they will typically have to pay $1,200 for the government filing fees.
This does not include the cost of a medical examination. A medical exam can cost another few hundred dollars.
Steps for a marriage green card
The official process requires a form I-130. This is called the petition for alien relative form but it’s usually called the marriage relationship form. The purpose of this form is to provide legal support that you have a marriage. The spouse who files the form is called the sponsor or petitioner, and they are sponsoring their new spouse who is called the Green Card applicant or beneficiary.
- The filing fee for this is $535.
- You will need proof that the sponsoring spouse is a citizen or permanent resident. This can take the form of a green card or passport photo page, naturalization certificate, or birth certificate.
- You will need proof that there is a legal, valid marriage. This means a marriage certificate that shows the names of both parties as well as the date and location of the marriage.
You will need proof that the marriage is legitimate which includes things like pictures you’ve taken together, joint bank account statements, a joint lease on a car, etc… - You will also need proof that any previous marriage for either party has been officially terminated which means you need a divorce document.
After you have worked with an immigration attorney to fill out your package you have to mail it to the appropriate USCIS address, using certified mail, to ensure it was received. They will typically send you a receipt acknowledging that they have your package within two weeks. If they need more information, and you are working with a top immigration attorney, that attorney will receive the request for evidence within two or three months. This is a request that simply means they need more documents or information in order to process your package. Once immigration has everything they need, they will review your case and give you an answer back within about 7 to 15 months.
If you have received approval, then you should work with an attorney, just to make sure that they are just to make sure that they are eligible for a green card. Eligibility is its own legal process that requires a separate form, either Form 1-485 or Form DS-260.
