Our firm provides immigrant visa services for a spouse of a U.S. citizen.  The immigrant visa IR1 or CR1 would grant a permanent residency for your foreign citizen spouse to lawfully reside in the United States.  Like other non-immigrant fiancé or spousal visa, this immigration visa process also begins by filing a Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130 with the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS in Los Angeles.  In some cases when a U.S. citizen is living abroad, he or she can still file an immigrant visa petition outside the U.S. There are certain eligibility requirements for the U.S. citizen spouse such as being the age of majority (18 years) and maintaining a domicile in the U.S.  Living in the U.S. is required for you to file the Affidavit of Support (I-864 or I-864EZ).

Once your petition is approved, it is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC).  Then NVC will assign a case number for the petition and send the Choice of Address and Agent form to the applicant, if you are hiring an attorney like our Los Angeles immigration attorney.  You will then pay appropriate fees to NVC to start processing your case. You will further be required to provide the immigrant visa documents including the Affidavit of Support, application forms, civil documents, and more.

If your foreign citizen spouse is already in the United States under a nonimmigrant visa, addition to the I-130 petition, we will file an additional application to adjust the status of your spouse to permanent resident (I-485) at the same time.

If your foreign citizen spouse is outside the United States, he or she will be required to attend a visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate where the applicant will be interviewed for a visa.

Remember, USCIS has the discretion to investigate a marriage if they suspect the marriage is a “sham marriage.” For the purpose of this investigation, the USCIS officers may visit the suspect couple at their residence or visit their neighbors to investigate your living situation. The USCIS officers may also arrange interviews with the couple at their residence or at USCIS offices.  They may ask questions regarding all details of your marital relationship.