Green card through marriage

In general, this is the easiest way of obtaining a green card. However, you should know all the rules. Also, the INS will meticulously check whether your intention really is ‘love' or simply quick immigration. Of course, you may get married in the US or abroad.

Getting married in the US

In case the applicant already is in the US, has entered the country legally and then marries a US citizen, adjustment of status is possible and the applicant may stay in the US until the petition is approved.

In case the spouse is a green card holder, the waiting time for a green card may take several years and the applicant may want to wait these out abroad since he or she would not have a legal status in the US and would not be allowed to work there.

Getting married outside the US

What does it look like if you get married to a US citizen or a permanent resident abroad and then want to enter the US. In case the US consul knows of the marriage, it is unlikely that you will get a tourist visa, since the consul knows you are an intending immigrant and thus do not qualify for a non-immigration visa. The consul will expect you to wait outside the US until your petition is approved and the green card is issued (waiting time of some months for spouses of a US citizen and some years for spouses of a permanent resident, i.e. green card holder).

Fiancé(e) Visa

A Us citizen may apply for a visa allowing his or her fiancé(e) to come to the US and get married to the US citizen. This visa is called a K-Visa. The US citizen submits a petition to the INS, together with evidence that he or she intends to marry the beneficiary, that the beneficiary and the US citizen are allowed to get married, that the sponsor (applicant) is a US citizen and that the two have seen each other over the past two years (unless this has been prevented by reasons beyond your control).

The INS may then approve the petition and send it to the US consulate. The consul may interview the beneficiary. If everything turns out all right, the beneficiary may enter the US and marry the US citizen within 90 days. Then, the new spouse can apply to have the K-Visa adjusted to a green card. A K-Visa can only be issued to the fiancé(e) of a US citizen, if that fiancé(e) is outside the US. It takes about 6 months for a K-Visa to be issued. The fiancé(e) of a green card holder is not entitled to a K-Visa.

Conditional residence

If a person gets a green card based on a marriage that is not yet two years old, the green card will be issued on a conditional basis. The conditional residence is valid two years, after that, it expires. However, you can apply to have the condition removed after two years. If this is approved, you will become a permanent resident (not a conditional resident anymore) of the US. The petition to remove the condition must be signed by both partners. However, it is possible to have the petition signed by only the divorced spouse, if it can be proved that the marriage was real and not just a sham.

The INS will only approve a petition signed only by the conditional resident in case the marriage has ended in divorce or rest, in other words, a separated couple can only remove the condition in case they both sign it or get divorced.

Real marriage opposed to ‘green card marriage'

The INS will not recognize a marriage if you only get married to obtain a green card. If you try to obtain a green card by a fake marriage and the INS finds out about this, you will never be able to get a green card in any way.

The story of Michael will tell you what can happen if you try to obtain a green card through a sham marriage.

Example: Michael.

Michael ran away from home when he was 14. After he had struggled along in Berlin for a few years, he made his way to the US. He was hoping to find a job in the US. He was living with his friend John in Chicago. Despite his skills, it was impossible for him to find employment, because he had no work permit from the INS. Potential employers were afraid of the harsh sanctions against employment of people without a work permit.

John's friend Tiffany offered to marry Michael to help him get a green card.

When the two showed up for the green card interview, Tiffany was very nervous. When the officer asked her about the marriage, Tiffany broke into tears and admitted that she had only married Michael to help him get a green card. The INS rejected Michael's application.

Some time later, Michael got an invite to a hearing about his deportation from the US. At that time, he was already married to Sharon, a US citizen, who was pregnant with his child. Michael really loved Sharon, but since the INS had discovered his sham marriage to Tiffany, he could never again in his life get a green card, not through a petition by his wife Sharon, not through another relative and not through a US employer. Even participation in the green card lottery was made impossible by this!

Possible ways of proving that your marriage is ‘real'

To make sure that the INS accepts the petition, your spouse should prove that the marriage is a real one. Proof for that can be:

. Photos, either of the wedding, the wedding reception, or of you and your spouse after the wedding
. Proof of a joined bank account
. The lease agreement for your apartment, stating both your names
. Letters from third parties, addresses to both you and your spouse together
. Insurances for your and your spouse together
. Sworn declarations of friends, relatives, or the church that certify that your marriage is real
. Personal records, showing that your spouse is your emergency contact
. Joined tax return
. Joined credit cards
. Telephone and other bills that state both your names

Marriage Fraud Interview

In case both you and your spouse are living in the US, the INS may interview you about your life together.

This is called ‘marriage fraud interview.' Usually, the INS approves many such petitions (petition I-130) of US citizens and green card holders even without such an interview. You may bring a lawyer or another authorized person to this interview. During the interview, the INS officers may interview you in separate rooms, independent of each other. He may ask you, for example, whether you have met your spouse's relatives, what color the walls in your apartment are, when you first met, when and where you went on vacation together, whether you own a TV or computer. The purpose of these questions is to see whether you both give the same answers. No matter how well you are prepared, if your marriage is a sham, it will be difficult for you to answer these questions.

In case the INS inspector comes to the conclusion that your marriage is real, he will approve the I-130 petition. However, if he thinks the marriage is a sham he will reject the petition or ask the US spouse to revoke it. In both cases, the foreign spouse will not become a permanent resident.

It is also possible that the officer doesn't decide immediately, but decides that further investigation is necessary. An INS inspector may visit you at home several months after the interview. These inspections are not as frequent as widely assumed, but they do occur. The INS inspector will show up at the address you have stated in the petition and search the apartment for proof that you and your spouse are living together.

Proof may be men's and women's clothes, two toothbrushes, shaving foam, women's jewelry etc.

The inspector may also interview neighbors.

However, the inspector is, of course, not authorized to set foot in your apartment without your consent or official authorization.

On the other hand, you are responsible for proving that you are living together and thus qualify for a green card. If you don't admit the INS inspector into your apartment, the INS may reject your petition.