Green Card Through Marriage :
Learn About Marriage Visa Requirements
-Part Two-
 To obtain a green card through marriage, you must first either apply for a K1 fiancee visa or a K3 marriage visa.
If you marry a US citizen, you will be able to apply for your green card as soon as you finish the application process. If you marry a U.S. permanent resident, however, your spouse can file the petition right away but the category you go into is different, and is known as a 2A. While you can still get a green card, you will have to wait, possibly even several years, before the green card will become available to you.
Getting a green card through marriage starts with obtaining a K3 visa. Also known as a marriage visa,
the K3 is based on an existing spousal relationship, and is one of the most commonly used instruments for obtaining lawful immigration status, or lawful permanent resident status, in the United States.
This is Part Two of Learning about Marriage Visa Requirements. To go to Part One, Click here.
Second Requirement -- Marriage in Existence Throughout the Entire Immigration Process
A person may not immigrate through a spousal relationship if the marriage has been legally terminated.
Further problems may occur, and a petition may be denied, if the couple is separated either legally or if they do not plan to live together again as husband and wife.
Especially in cases such as this, you should Contact an attorney.
Don’t apply for a green card if you and your spouse are not living in the United States and don’t have plans to live there any time soon. You won’t get your green card through marriage if the US citizen or permanent resident can’t show that he or she is, or soon will be, living and earning income in the United States. You will lose the green card, anyway, if you don’t make the US your home. Wait until you plan on living in the US before making plans to apply for your green card.
Learn about the other two requirements for obtaining a K3 visa: marriage valid at the time it was performed and "not entered into for immigration purposes":
Go on to Part 3-- Marriage Green Card - Not Entered into For Immigration Purposes
Return to Part 1 -Green Card Through Marriage -Marriage Valid at the Time it Was Performed
Click here to contact K3 marriage visa lawyer Nicole Wipp.
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