A United State Citizen can petition for their immediate relative to come and live with them in the United States. There are no quotas for this type of petition and the spouse can come to live in the United States immediately after the application is approved. The question of who is considered a spouse is important. There are three main considerations of whether there is a marriage.
How to Qualify
To qualify for a spousal visa, the marriage has been be valid at the time it was performed. This means that each party must have been single at the time of the marriage and legally recognized where it was performed. ?Second, the marriage must still be in existence when the immigrant benefit is conferred. Third, the marriage must a real good faith relationship and not formed for immigration purposes.
Spousal Visa Process
The process begins with the U.S. citizen filing an I-130 petition in the United States with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The package must contain the required forms, passport photos, and documentation of relationship. If the U.S. Citizen and/or the foreign national were previously married, they have to provide evidence that the previous marriage was terminated. After about eight to ten months, the USCIS will complete processing I-130 package.
If the case has been approved, the application will be forwarded to the National Visa Center for processing. A list of civil documents and proof of financial support must be submitted to the National Visa Center for review. After the National Visa Center completes and approves the submitted documents, the package will be forwarded to the local U.S. consulate that has jurisdiction to your spouse?s residence.
The U.S. Consulate will send your spouse another list of required documents which include medical exams and other local documents.Then consulate will schedule an interview with your spouse. The spouse will have to bring a seal envelope containing the medical exam and their passport. The officer will review all of the documentation and interview your spouse to ensure that the relationship is not fraudulent and to look for possible reasons why your fianc? would be inadmissible.
The consular officer will inform your spouse if the visa is approved after the interview. If the spousal visa is approved, the officer will take your spouse?s passport to imprint the new visa. The passport with the spousal visa will be mailed to the spouse within a week.
Why hire us?
Immediate relatives are the spouse, parents (if U.S. Citizen is over 21 years old) and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of the petitioning U.S Citizen. The term children also include step-children under the age of 18 at the time of the U.S. citizens marriage to the step-child’s parent and children adopted prior to the age of 16.
My team and I have assisted hundreds of spouses (IR1 or CR1), children (IR2 or CR2), and parents (IR5) to immigrate into the United States. When you contact our office, we will have a conversation about your goals:
- What is the best option for you depending on your qualifications?
- What is the timeframe for your family members to immigrate?
- Will there be any difficulties with the case that we should discuss?
As a licensed U.S. Attorney whose practice is focused on U.S. Immigration law, I am legally able to represent you with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. State Department, and the local U.S. Embassy.
What our firm will do for you
- Prior to filing the case, we will discuss the best option for you.
- With an office in Bangkok, Thailand, we will ensure that your family members needs as part of the process are met.
- With fluent bilingual staff, we can ensure that all documents are properly translated and prepared.
- I personally oversee all cases and review everything prior to the case being sent to the appropriate U.S. Government agency.
- Clients are able to personally send me messages at any time and I guarantee that I will respond with an answer as quickly as possible.
- As your attorney, I will personally contact the appropriate U.S. Government agency if there are any issues with the case.
- We will personally prepare your family member prior to embassy interviews.
- We will help in obtaining police clearances and scheduling medical examinations.
If you have any questions about our services, please send us a message. We will be there to assist you.
