It’s Easy for Me to get a Green Card by Marrying My U.S. Citizen Boyfriend or Girlfriend, Right?

(Click on Top Banner to Return to the Blog Home Page from Any Blog Article)

Note: The Law Offices of Larry L. Doan in Los Angeles, CA, provides the following blog article and other information on this site, including our responses to comments, for the purpose of legal information only; it is NOT legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.

This is probably the most common question we get asked by people who are here in the U.S. and want a green card. While most people might have heard from the media and common knowledge that marriage to a citizen is the fastest way to obtain a green card, or permanent residence, the answer may surprise you: Yes, you can, but it may be very hard depending upon how you came to the U.S. and what you’ve done since.

The reason for this is that U.S. immigration law has changed so many times over the years. Each time it changes, the process gets more complicated. So, yes, a foreign person can ALWAYS be petitioned by his or her US citizen spouse. But, petitioning is only the first step. It simply is a finding by the immigration authorities that the couple is indeed validly married to each other. What about the next step?

If the applicant came to the U.S. with a visa or was inspected in some way at the border or airport, then that’s the best situation. They can file to adjust their status to get a green card at the same time that their U.S. spouse file a petition for them, rather than having to wait for the spousal petition to be approved first (which could take a year or more) and then filing for the green card. There is no waiting period for a visa to become available. The only waiting would be the processing time U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) takes to decide the application, which is about six months, for example, in Los Angeles, and in most USCIS offices throughout the country.

This is all done without the applicant having to leave the U.S. to finalize the process. It does not matter how long the applicant has been in the U.S., even if they have been out-of-status for a long time on the visa  they used to enter the U.S.  Finally, as long as the applicant does not have reasons that prevent them from being admitted to the U.S. such as criminal convictions, previous overstay in the U.S. followed by departure, drugs, health/mental problems, or other specified problems under the law, their case is approved. This is the easy green-card situation that many people hope for.

Unfortunately, there are a large number of people who came to the U.S. illegally by crossing the border, especially from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and sometimes China. They were never inspected upon entry. Those are the hard cases we mentioned at the beginning. In fact, they can be extremely hard! That will be dealt with in our next post.

Copyright © 2009-2012 Law Offices of Larry L. Doan

Any action you take or rely upon after reading the information on this blog is your own responsibility and the Law Offices of Larry L. Doan bears no responsibility or connection to such action. For an analysis of your detailed and specific questions related to your individual immigration situation or problem, there is no substitute for a “live” meeting with an attorney. This can only be done during a paid consultation between the Law Offices of Larry L. Doan and you.  To get started with a consultation, please contact us: paidconsult@guruimmigration.com.