I’m a permanent resident (Green Card holder) and I want to petition for my spouse, is it possible?

I’m a permanent resident (Green Card holder) and I want to petition for my spouse, is it possible?

If you have any questions related to immigration in San Diego, California, call us today at (619) 746-8879

US permanent residents, also known as Green Card holders, may petition certain family members to immigrate to the United States to become permanent residents. If this is your case, you may petition your spouse, unmarried children under 21 years of age, and/or unmarried children of any age too.

How do you apply? As a Green Card holder who wants to petition one of the family members mentioned above, you must do the following:

1. File Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
2. Provide proof of your status. You must demonstrate that you are a permanent resident.
3. Submit evidence of the qualifying relationship—birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce decree, etc.
4. If you have had your name changed, you must submit proof of this. The same occurs if one of your family members changed their name legally.

If you are a Green Card holder and your spouse is lawfully living in the US

If this is your case, you must file Form I-130 and wait until the priority becomes current. This wait can take for up to two years on average. After this occurs, a visa number will be available to your spouse, and he or she would have to fill our Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status to finalize the process.

One condition is that your spouse must have continuously maintained lawful status in the country to be eligible to adjust status.

If you are a permanent resident and your spouse is overseas

In this case, you must file Form I-130. Once approved, the National Visa Center (NVC) will notify you and provide further processing information. “The NVC will forward your petition to the appropriate US consulate when a visa becomes available, and your relative will be notified about how to proceed. This process is referred to as Consular Processing”, you can read in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, website.

As for members of the US military, they may have special circumstances related to their application.

Family member’s preference category

There are different family members’ preference categories, which will determine how long they will have to wait to receive an immigrant visa number. You can check your petition’s status online to see the progress on the Check My Case Status page.

These are the preference categories that may apply:

• First preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of US citizens. (Adult means 21 or older).
• Second Preference (2A): Spouses of Green Card holders, unmarried children (under 21) of permanent residents.
• Second Preference (2B): Unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents.
• Third Preference: Married sons and daughters (any age) of US citizens.
• Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult US citizens.

If you have any questions about the immigration process for petitioning your alien spouse, please contact an immigration attorney today in San Diego, California. We are ready to help at Kannan Law.