The process of getting a marriage-based green card may take a year and a half, depending on factors such as whether the spouse is living in the U.S. or abroad and whether the sponsor is a U.S. citizen or a green card holder.
Another question we get a lot often is “How soon after marriage can I apply for that green card?”
How long does a marriage green card take? Hi, I'm Jim Hacking, an immigration lawyer practicing law throughout the United States out of our office here in St. Louis, Missouri. Recently, we've already opened our office in San Diego, and we're getting really excited about that.
Today, we're talking about how soon, after marriage, you can apply for a green card.
Key Takeaways:
• The first step in the marriage green card process is for the U.S. citizen or green card holder to file USCIS Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of their foreign spouse.
• The processing time for marriage-based green cards greatly depends on your spouse's immigration or lawful permanent resident status. It's around 15-16 months for couples already living in the United States with a U.S. citizen spouse, and typically longer for couples with a green card holder spouse.
• Hiring an experienced immigration lawyer will increase your chances of a successful application and protect your rights throughout the journey.
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I was talking to a couple the other day. They waited nine months after getting married to apply for their green card, and I thought this was very strange. And when I asked them, they said, "Well, we were worried that if we applied right away, the government might think we were up to something."
I sort of giggled to myself because we've had numerous cases in our office where people get married on a Monday, and we filed their cases on a Friday. There's no rule that says you have to wait after getting married to apply for your green card.
And so a lot of times, people will hire us or start talking to us before they are actually married. And that's okay because we'll get working on the paperwork so that when we're waiting for that marriage certificate, that signed marriage license back from city hall that allows them to actually get married, that'll be the last piece of the puzzle. We'll have everything else ready to go.
Ever since we've been doing it this way, we've never had USCIS say, "Hey, boy, you applied for that green card three days after you got married." So, you're not really going to have a problem with that, especially if there's some kind of a deadline, like if someone is coming up against a visa expiring or something, or they're graduating from school.
USCIS is generally pretty tolerant of that, and they understand. At the interview, they're going to look at all the dates of everything. They just want to make sure that you didn't file before you got married.
It's really not that big a deal to get married and then apply for that conditional green card right away. That could be a small little factor, but really, they're looking at the relationship itself.
• How long have you known each other?
• Why did you get married when you did?
They will evaluate if you were talking about the immigration benefits at that point. What was the couple's mindset when they decided to apply?
I guess the one time all that timing stuff really does come into play is if someone comes on a visit visa and gets married right away.
Remember, if you come on a visit visa, you shouldn't get married in those first 60 days because the government could say that you misrepresented yourself when you were coming through customs, that you said you were coming on a non-immigrant visa, but perhaps you're really coming to get married.
But if that’s not the case, you should not wait long. Given the delays at USCIS, I think that's another great explanation for why we filed right away.
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The marriage green card timeline takes a year and a half. A large part of that comes from the I-485 processing time once you've filed to adjust status — another reason to file as soon as you're eligible.
Getting a green card through marriage has become a lengthy process because of COVID and Trump. Thus, we want to get it on file as soon as possible.
Important Note: If you get your green card through marriage within two years of your wedding, you'll initially receive conditional permanent residence. To remove the conditions or apply for permanent green card status, file Form I-751 within the 90-day window before your green card expires.
If you have questions about filing a marriage green card application and other matters related to immigration law, like how to adjust status or become a lawful permanent resident, give us a call at (314) 961-8200. You can also email us at info@hacking lawpractice.com for more information about our citizenship and immigration services. Be sure to join us in our Facebook group, which is called Immigrant Home. If you liked this video, we ask that you please do two things for us. Share it on social, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. And finally, you can find us every Tuesday and Thursday, usually at noon Central Time, and we'll be answering all of your immigration questions there for an hour. Thanks a lot. Have a great day.
