Marrying a Citizen of India? How to Get a Green Card for Your New Spouse

Special instructions for U.S. citizens and permanent residents wishing to petition for a fiancé or spouse from India to immigrate to the United States.

By , J.D. · University of Washington School of Law

If you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who is marrying someone from India, and you plan to sponsor your new husband or wife for a U.S. green card (lawful permanent residence), here is some important legal and practical information. We'll cover basic eligibility as well as the application process.

Note: This is a general overview of how the process works for most people. Your situation might contain complicating factors or qualify for exceptions; see an experienced immigration attorney for a full analysis.

U.S. Immigration Eligibility Based on Engagement or Marriage

First, a little background on U.S. immigration law. Marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident provides foreign-born persons a direct path to U.S. immigration. Contrary to popular rumor, however, the foreign national does not immediately or automatically receive the right to immigrate, nor U.S. citizenship, which is a step up in status from having a green card.

If you yourself are a U.S. citizen, your new spouse becomes your "immediate relative," and might receive an immigrant visa and green card as soon as the two of you make it through the application process. This can take several months.

If you are not yet married and your fiancé(e) is still in India, you can, if you are a U.S. citizen, petition for your fiancé(e) to enter the U.S. on a K-1 visa in order for the two of you to get married in the U.S.—after which, your new spouse can apply for a green card, if desired. You can also choose to get married first in India or another country, and then apply for an immigrant visa with which to enter the United States. The visa will turn into lawful permanent resident when your spouse arrives, and the actual green card will be mailed to that person some weeks later.

If you are a U.S. lawful permanent resident, your new spouse is considered a "preference relative," in category F2A of the U.S. visa system. That means your spouse can obtain permanent residence in the U.S. after a "visa number" (space for another permanent resident) has become available. At that time, your spouse can apply for an immigrant visa (and enter the U.S.). Because of annual limits on the number of people who can get permanent residence in category F2A, a waiting list often develops, based on one's "priority date." The wait is often two to five years long.

Permanent residents cannot petition for fiancé(e)s, only for spouses.

Overview of Obtaining a Green Card Based on Marriage

The application process for a green card based on marriage involves multiple steps, such as submitting forms and documents and attending an interview with U.S. immigration authorities. The purpose of all this is to prove:

  • the status of the U.S. petitioner (as a citizen or permanent resident)
  • that a valid marriage has occurred (or will occur, in the case of a fiancé visa)
  • that the marriage is bona fide (not a sham or fraud to get a green card), and
  • that the immigrant is not inadmissible to the U.S. for medical, criminal, financial, or other reasons. (See Inadmissibility: When the U.S. Can Keep You Out for details.)

Procedurally, you might have more than one option as to where and how you can apply, as described below.

Procedures When Applying for a K-1 Fiancé Visa

If you and your intended (who lives outside the U.S.) have not yet married—or have held an informal ceremony that does not count as an official marriage in the location where it was held—you can apply for a temporary (90-day) K-1 visa with which your fiancé can enter the U.S. and hold the wedding.

The U.S. citizen starts this process by filing a visa petition on Form I-129F with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and paying a fee. After USCIS approves the I-129F, it will transfer the case to the U.S. consulate in Mumbai, India. Your fiancé will apply for a K-1 visa through the consulate in Mumbai. This involves submitting forms (most notably the online Form DS-160) and documents, getting a medical exam done and photos taken, making sure all vaccinations are up to date and that the K-1 applicant has been vaccinated for COVID-19 (unless you qualify for a waiver), paying more fees, and finally attending an interview with a U.S. consular official.

(If things don't go as planned, see K-1 Fiancé Visa Denied--Can I Appeal or Refile?.)

After your arrival and marriage in the U.S., your new spouse can apply to USCIS for a green card, through a process called adjustment of status. (Again, this involves application fees.) The two of you will attend a green card interview at a local USCIS office. Learn more about The Day of Your Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status Interview.

Procedures for Your Spouse to Come from India on an Immigrant Visa

If you and your husband or wife have already married, and the foreign-born spouse is currently in India, you would start the permanent resident application process by filing a Form I-130 petition with USCIS and paying the fee. (See either Preparing an I-130 Visa Petition for the Immigrating Spouse of U.S. Citizen or Preparing an I-130 Visa Petition for the Immigrating Spouse of a U.S. Permanent Resident.)

After USCIS approves the I-130, spouses of U.S. citizens can continue on with visa processing.

Spouses of permanent residents must wait until the National Visa Center (NVC) says they can apply for an immigrant visa. The State Department publishes a Visa Bulletin to let you know when your application date is approaching. (See How Long Is the Wait for Your Priority Date To Become Current?)

Next, the foreign-born spouse will go through consular processing for an immigrant visa. This means submitting paperwork and fees to, and attending an interview at a U.S. consulate, most likely in either Mumbai or New Delhi. You will be given instructions on where to go; you might also want to check out the websites of individual U.S. consulates by using the State Department's page for Websites of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions.

If the foreign-born spouse happens to be living in another country than India, the consulate there would likely be the one to handle the case.

The U.S. petitioner is not required to attend, and in most cases would not be allowed to attend.

Upon approval, the foreign-born spouse can enter the U.S. on an immigrant visa (and must pay USCIS's immigrant fee), thereby becoming a lawful permanent resident. The actual green card should arrive by mail some weeks after.

Procedures If Foreign-Born Spouse Is Already in the U.S.

If your foreign-born spouse initially came to the U.S. legally (such as on a fiancé or student visa or as a tourist), and either you are a U.S. citizen or your spouse is still in valid status, your spouse is most likely eligible to apply to adjust status without leaving the United States. The main form for this is USCIS Form I-485, but it must be accompanied by various other forms, a medical exam, and fees. The two of you will attend an interview at one of USCIS's field offices.

Information about USCIS locations or service centers can be found at www.uscis.gov. (Just make sure your spouse didn't commit visa fraud by using the nonimmigrant visa specifically to enter the U.S. and apply for a green card—see Risks of Entering the U.S. as a Tourist, Then Applying for Marriage- Based Green Card for details.)

If, however, your spouse entered the U.S. without inspection or by using a fake visa, or you are a permanent resident whose spouse is no longer in legal status or has worked illegally in the U.S., your situation is more complicated than this article can address. You might have difficulty obtaining a green card for your spouse, though it is not impossible. See an immigration attorney for details or if you have any questions about whether you qualify to adjust status.

Proving That You Entered Into a Legally Valid Marriage

No matter where you marry, you will need to obtain a certificate that convinces the U.S. immigration authorities that it was legally recognized in the state or country where it took place. Below are some tips on doing that.

Obtaining Documentation of a Valid Marriage in India

If you have married, or plan to get married in India, you will first need to look into India's requirements for legal marriage.

According to information provided by the U.S. consulate, valid Indian marriages can take the form of either a religious or a civil ceremony. Some, but not all religious ceremonies will lead to a certificate that is considered sufficient for U.S. immigration and other legal purposes. If you don't receive the necessary sort of certificate, you might be able to get one from the Registrar of Marriages.

You might be asked by Indian authorities to provide a "no objection letter," which is basically an affidavit in which you state that you are not currently married and are eligible to marry. The U.S. consulate can help you prepare this.

If you're doing a civil ceremony or if you and your intended spouse are of different religions, you might also be asked to register your marriage under a law called the Special Marriage Act. Plan ahead, because this involves a marriage officer publishing a newspaper ad allowing people to object to the marriage within 30 days from the date of your initial application.

After the marriage ceremony, you will need to obtain a certificate of that marriage for purposes of U.S. immigration. The U.S. government keeps track of what documents are considered legally valid from each country, India included, and will reject your marriage certificate if it doesn't come from the proper source. (Check the State Department's Country Reciprocity Schedule to get further details on what documents from India it considers valid.)

So-called "Arya Samaj" ceremonies, though legal in India, have led to a number of consular rejections. They are popular among couples, because they do not require the same rituals as other marriages; they may be performed in about an hour, with the priest, fire, and other elements acting as witnesses. If this is your choice of marriage ritual, your best bet is to present U.S. immigration authorities with not only the Arya Samaj marriage certificate, but a certificate showing you registered the marriage with the Indian government, along with extra evidence that the marriage is bona fide.

Obtaining Documentation of a Valid Marriage in the United States

If you will hold your wedding in the U.S., you need to follow the laws of the state where you marry. Be sure to obtain a marriage certificate from a local government office. A church certificate, for example, is not enough.

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