Contact New York Lawyers Team for Marriage Residency in New York City / Manhattan.
This is the process by which U.S. citizens and permanent residents can request that permanent residency be granted for their non-US resident spouses.
There are two categories of petitions: spouses of U.S. citizens and spouses of legal permanent residents.
US citizens and U.S. legal permanent residents may file marriage based immigration petitions on behalf of their spouses (the following waiting times are for applications filed in the U.S. Consular Processes may require additional waiting time and procedures)
Residency Petition for Spouse of a U.S. citizen: 6-12 months wait period (however, work permit and travel authorization is granted within 60 – 90 days from filing for the authorizations if the spouse is eligible for adjustment of status); Residency Petition for Spouse of a U.S. legal permanent resident: 7 months to 2 years wait period **The estimated wait times are based on our experience and the US Visa Bulletin. They are subject to change depending on the location and volume of cases handled by a particular U.S. Immigration Service center. U.S. Residency/Green Card Petitions for immigrants from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines generally take longer than the estimated times above (see Visa Bulletin for those estimates).
Once legal permanent residency/Green Card is approved for a spouse, it will remain valid as long as the person continues to reside the majority of the time in the U.S. and complies with the conditions for U.S. legal permanent residency.
U.S. legal permanent residency status never expires as long as you continue to meet the U.S. residency eligibility conditions as stated in your residency application. However, the green card (or evidence of permanent residency) expires every 10 years and it is recommended that it be renewed six months before expiration. An experienced marriage immigration attorney can help with the renewal process of a green card / residency for a spouse.
Children of the spouse of a legal permanent resident may be eligible to obtain permanent residency with all its benefits, at the same time the applicant receives it. Children of the spouse of a U.S. citizen cannot be included in the spouse’s residency application; however, the U.S. citizen may apply for them directly as a step-parent, if the marriage occurred prior to the child’s 18th birthday. Otherwise, the parent may apply for the child once he has the approved Green Card.
Birth Certificate (copy of original and translated if original not in English) for:
Alien (Beneficiary)
Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident (Petitioner)
Marriage Certificate. Copy of original and translation if original not in English
Copy of Letter from Citizen’s or Legal Permanent Resident’s Employer stating:
Date of hire
Salary
Copy of Bank Statements for Joint Bank and other financial Accounts
Oldest; and
Most Recent.
Passport size photographs on white background
One photo of Citizen
2 photos of Alien
Copy of Alien’s Passport
There are three different procedures depending upon the status of the petitioner and individual circumstances of the applicants. Navigating through each stage will benefit from the skill and guidance of an experienced marriage and family immigration lawyer. Read more on the Green Card/Residency process for a spouse.
You will need to pay the filing fees for forms (I-130), (I-485), fingerprints and if applicable penalty fee for (I-485A), and (I-765-if work authorization is desired). Click on the link below to verify the U.S. Immigration Service fees as these change regularly: https://www.uscis.gov/forms