Marriage-Based Green Cards

Married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident? Here's what you'll need to prove if you plan to apply for U.S. lawful permanent residence, otherwise known as a marriage-based immigrant visa or green card.

Circumstances under which a foreign national's planned marriage to a U.S. citizen qualifies him or her for a U.S. fiance visa.

How your eventual eligibility for a green card may be complicated by long waits and inadmissibility issues.

How a foreign national spouse can include children in the immigration process.

A green card holder's spouse and children may move faster or slower in their quest for a green card depending on things like whether the petitioner becomes a U.S. citizen.

As a foreign national living in the U.S. after entering unlawfully, your marriage to a U.S. citizen may not, unfortunately, create a straightforward path to a U.S. green card.

How to find out whether U.S. immigration authorities will accept the civil or religious document you received in your country upon getting married.

The basic requirement for a good faith marriage is that the parties intend to share a life together as spouses and are not only marrying to seek an immigration benefit.

If you are a noncitizen in a same-sex relationship with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, everything you will read about the rules for marriage-based visas or green cards should apply to you, too.

Arriving in the U.S. as a tourist expecting to then apply for a green card based on marriage can result in an accusation of visa fraud.

When it comes to both direct expenses and ability to prove sufficient income, the K-1 fiance visa can present greater hurdles than a marriage-based immigrant visa.

If you are in a relationship with a U.S. citizen, and think that you are ready to take the next step and make your home in the U.S., you may consider applying for either a marriage-based visa or a fiancé(e) visa with which to enter the United States. However, these visas have very different requirements, and allow you to do different things on differing timelines.

If you are a U.S. citizen wishing to sponsor your foreign-born husband or wife for a U.S. green card, here's how to fill out the form that starts off the process.

Learn more about how the adjustment of status process works for the immigrant spouse of a U.S. citizen.

Your best proof that you are either a U.S. permanent resident or a conditional permanent resident (who received status either as an investor or as the spouse of a U.S. citizen) is a green card.