Immigration and Marriage usa

Immigration and Marriage

Immigration and Marriage

Immigration - you get married in France

Immigration - you get married in the USA

Green card request by marriage

 

 

Pay close attention to the process. The slightest mistake can be fatal

Do not hesitate to take a good lawyer

 

 

 

Marrying a green card holder does not give you any right to immigrate, except after a few years.

 

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We are talking here for the convenience of an American and a Frenchwoman but these are the same rules, of course, for the reverse couple.

 

IMPORTANT note: marrying a green card holder does not give you any right to immigrate, except after a few years.

You often have to wait until your spouse becomes a U.S. citizen.

 

You are going to marry an American citizen and you intend to live in the United States.

You have to be careful about the steps and trips you are going to take, because a misstep can have serious consequences.

 

For many French people living in the United States, marriage to an American opens the doors to legal immigration to the United States.

 

This is true, but yet the pitfalls abound.

 

It remains, however, one of the most popular and easily obtainable green cards, something that has become more difficult since the Law of 96.

 

This category of green cards does not fit into the quota system and is issued as a priority.

 

USCIS will do everything to verify that your marriage is true and, if it is, you should be okay.

 

It is the American citizen (e) and he alone who can apply for a green card for his wife (s).

His wife must of course accept and sign.

 

You will first get a provisional green card for 2 years and then you and the US citizen will need to apply for the final green card.

 

You cannot do it alone except under certain very narrow conditions of "extreme hardship" and by proving the good faith of this marriage (very difficult).

 

You must apply for this definitive green card within 90 days of the end of the 24 months following obtaining your provisional, "conditional" card.

 

As you can suspect, this can give rise to some blackmail ...

Without this request, your provisional green card is lost and you immediately become "removable" from American soil.

What can you do practically to live legally in the United States if you intend to marry an American citizen?

 

A new law in the United States, implemented from December 19, 97, requires that the American citizen, your future husband, sign an "affidavit of support" by which he undertakes before the American government to ensure your material life until you become a US citizen yourself or for 10 years or until you leave the United States permanently or ... until your death.

 

Divorce does not break this obligation.

 

Getting married to a foreigner is therefore a double commitment!

The American citizen must prove that he earns 125% more than the poverty line. see the amount.

 

Another American, and only an American, can make this guarantee.

If you are, for example, a student, and your income is low, your family can support you.

 

For the details of the wedding whose celebration takes place either in France or in the US, see our article on the wedding where everything is detailed.