Adjustment of Citizenship status? (Already married)

Question

If I am already married to my foreign spouse in America, how do I go about changing her status as a U.S. Citizen and get her permanent residence?

Answer 1

Just to dispel any confusion:

US citizenship and permanent residence are two completely different things.

Your spouse may be allowed to apply for permanent residence because you are a US citizen.

Permanent residence means a green card, not citizenship.

Marriage to a US citizen never, ever confers US citizenship to a foreign spouse.

When your spouse's green card is approved, they'll have to keep it and stay married to you for 3 years until they can apply for citizenship. You can file form N-400 when the time comes but I wouldn't worry about it now.

Now as far as applying for your spouse's green card, here's a summary of the procedure:

First and foremost, your spouse must have entered the US legally. If they didn't, then they may not adjust status, even if they are married to a US citizen. That would be a wholly different procedure and would involve the foreigner returning to their home country.

If they entered legally, you'll need to fill out a few forms:

- I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative);

- I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status);

- I-864 (Affidavit of Support under Section 213A of the Act);

- G-325A (Biographic Information).

Optional but recommended forms, especially since their fees are waived if you file them concurrently with I-485 above:

- I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization);

- I-131 (Application for Travel Document).

You can get all of those from http://www.uscis.gov/forms/

Be sure to read the instructions that accompany each of those thoroughly.

The I-130 is for the US citizen to petition their foreign spouse to come/stay in the US.

The I-485 is for the green card.

The I-864 is for the US citizen to show that s/he can support both of you financially. S/He needs to meet a minimum annual income requirement, which is currently $17,500 for a household of 2.

The G-325A is just information on you two. You need to fill out two of those forms, and each form comes in 4 identical pages.

The I-765 lets the foreign spouse apply for an employment authorization. Those are typically adjudicated within 90 days of applying. That's a wise thing to apply for since it will allow you to work ASAP; because green card processing time is so variable, and your green card MAY take years to be adjudicated, this is an almost sure-fire way of being allowed to work ASAP.

The I-131 allows the foreign to travel outside of the US if you wish, before getting their green card.

See http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.p... for the income requirements.

Here is a guide on the process you're about to start:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index....

The forms will cost you a total of $1,365 to file: $1010 for the I-485 and $355 for the I-130. The other forms either carry no fee, or like I said, their fees are waived because you are filing them concurrently with I-485.

After you've filed, if your visa expires, do not worry or panic: because you have applied for adjustment of status, you cannot fall out of status while your green card application is pending.

Answer 2

The first step is to file an immigrant petition (Form I-130) for her to prove your status and that you are legally married.  If your spouse entered the U.S. legally, then she can also apply for her green card by filing Form I-485 at the same time.  If she didn't enter the U.S. legally, the process becomes much more complicated. You should talk with an immigration attorney.

Answer 3

talk to immigration services

Answer 4

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis   youll find some info