1. Live in the United States

This means your spouse will be able to live legally in the United States.

2. Work in the United States

Your spouse will be able to work legally in the United States.

3. Education

With a Green Card, your spouse can attend schools in the US without the need to apply for a Student Visa.

4. Social Security Number

Your spouse will be able to receive a Social Security Number.

5. Driver’s License

Your spouse will be eligible to apply for a US Driver’s License.

6. Eligibility to Apply for US Citizenship

One of the major benefits of a Green Card is that a Green Card opens the door to applying for US Citizenship. Generally, the foreign spouse may apply for US Citizenship 3 years after receiving a Green Card.

When applying for a Green Card as the Spouse of a US Citizen, there are 2 main requirements:

1. You must be legally married.

A legal marriage is one that is officially recognized by the government of the state or country where you got married. A government issued “marriage certificate” showing that the marriage is official proves your marriage is legal. Keep in mind, you do not need to get married in the United States. Getting married in another country also works.

2. Your marriage must be “bona-fide”.

What is a bona-fide marriage? A bona-fide marriage is a marriage where the spouses got married for the purpose of forming a family and living like a family. In more simple terms, you cannot get a Green Card, if you only got married to get a Green Card.

There are two different ways to apply for a foreign spouse’s Green Card. Option #1 is used when the foreign spouse already lives in the US. Option #2 is used when the foreign spouse lives outside the US.

Option #1 – Foreign Spouse Lives in USA

When the foreign spouse already lives in the USA, the Green Card application process is done entirely inside the USA. The legal name for this process is “Adjustment of Status.”

The Green Card process for a foreign spouse that currently lives in the United States is as follows:

Step 1: Document Checklist

The first thing our Immigration Lawyer will do is provide you with a detailed checklist of the documents needed to prepare your spouse’s Green Card application. This checklist is the most important part of the application because it lays out exactly what will be needed to apply for the Green Card.

Step 2: Prepare Green Card Application

Once you and your spouse have provided our office with the required documents, the Immigration Lawyer will prepare and submit the Green Card application to the US Government (USCIS).

Step 3: Work and Travel Permit

Once your spouse’s Green Card application has been submitted, your spouse may be eligible to receive a work and travel permit. With this permit, your spouse can receive a Social Security Number and work legally in the US while the Green Card application is pending. After the work and travel permit is issued, then we wait for USCIS to schedule an interview appointment for both spouses.

Step 4: Green Card Interview for Spouse

The last step of the process is the Green Card interview. The purpose of this interview is for a US Government Officer to review your Green Card application and to confirm that you really are married with the intention of living as a family. This interview is done inside the USA at a US Government (USCIS) office. Prior to your appointment, the Immigration Attorney will prepare you and your spouse for the Green Card interview.

Option 2 – Foreign Spouse Lives in USA

When the foreign spouse lives outside the USA, the Green Card process includes 2 separate applications. Application #1 is filed inside the USA. Application #2 is filed outside the USA, at the US Embassy in the country where the foreign spouse lives. The legal name for this process is Consular Processing.

The Green Card application process when the foreign spouse lives outside the USA is as follows:

Step 1: Document Checklist

The first thing our Immigration Attorney will do is provide you with a very specific checklist of the documents needed to prepare the foreign spouse’s Green Card application. This checklist is the most important part of the application, because it lays out exactly what will be needed to apply for the Green Card.

Step 2: Prepare and Submit Application # 1

Once you and your spouse have provided our office with the required documents, the Immigration Attorney will prepare and submit Application #1. Then, we wait for an approval of Application #1 before moving forward.

Step 3: Prepare and Submit Application #2

Once Application #1 is approved, we start Application #2. Our Immigration Lawyer will prepare and submit Application #2 to the National Visa Center (US Embassy). Then we wait for the US Embassy to schedule an interview appointment for the foreign spouse. This interview will be held at the US Embassy in the country where the foreign spouse lives. The US Citizen spouse is not required to attend the interview at the US Embassy.

Step 4: Green Card Interview at US Embassy

Application #2 ends with a Green Card interview for the foreign spouse. The purpose of this interview is for a US Government Officer to determine that the application is complete and to confirm that the foreign spouse and the US Citizen spouse are really married with the intention of living as a family. This interview is done at the US Embassy, outside of the USA, in the country where the foreign spouse lives. Prior to this interview, our Immigration Attorney will schedule an appointment to prepare the foreign spouse for the Green Card interview.