What is a Marriage-based Green Card?

Marriage-based Green Card is a type of U.S. permanent resident or green card open to foreign nationals married to U.S. citizens. You must prove that your marriage is legitimate and were not engaged for immigration purposes. Moreover, suppose you are given permanent residency in the United States.

The green card will allow you to live in the country permanently and provide you with the same employment opportunities as U.S. citizens.

Here are the advantages of having a Marriage-based Green Card:

1. Permanent residency: A green card grants permanent residency in the United States, allowing the holder to live and work in the country permanently.
2. Path to citizenship: After three (3) years as a permanent resident, you are eligible to petition for U.S. citizenship.
3. Family unity: This green card not only permits spouses to live together in the United States, but also allows family members to be reunited in the United States.

5 Things You Need To File Marriage-based Green Card

1.) Enter Marriage In Good Faith

You must provide evidence that your marriage is valid. A valid marriage is entered into in good faith for legitimate reasons, not merely to get a green card or circumvent U.S. immigration regulations.

Here are the lists that indicate your marriage may be a sham:

• Large disparity of age
• The inability of petitioner and beneficiary to speak each other’s language
• Vast differences in cultural and ethnic background
• Family and/or friends unaware of the marriage
• Marriage arranged by a third party
• A marriage contracted immediately following the beneficiary’s apprehension or receipt of notification to depart the United States
• Discrepancies in statements on questions for which a husband and wife should have common knowledge
• No cohabitation since marriage
• The beneficiary is a friend of the family

2.) Gather Required Documentation

You must provide evidence such as a marriage certificate, proof of your spouse’s U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency, and evidence of the legitimacy of your marriage, such as joint bank statements, lease or mortgage documents, and photographs.

3.) Complete The Required Forms

You and your spouse must complete Forms I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), and I-864 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) (Affidavit of Support); and any other applicable forms for your case.

4.) Prepare For An Interview

Please study and prepare answers to questions on your relationship with the US citizen. Provide additional proof to support your claim that your marriage is legitimate. As part of the green card process, the USCIS will likely schedule interviews with you and your spouse.

5.) Work With An Experience Immigration Attorney

Many individuals can receive a Marriage-based Green Card if they are well-prepared and submit a well-documented application. I recommend talking with an expert immigration attorney to verify that your application is correctly submitted and to increase your chances of approval.

Is it hard to get a marriage based green card?

The process for obtaining a marriage-based green card can be complex and involves careful planning and attention to detail. USCIS closely scrutinizes marriage-based green card applications to ensure that the marriage is genuine and not entered into to obtain immigration benefits.

Lack of documents to verify the legitimacy of the marriage, differences between the information provided in the application and the information presented during the interview, or proof of marriage fraud may complicate the processing of the application.