FAQs about the Marriage Petition

A marriage petition is valid as long as the persons remain married.

After the marriage petition is filed, the USCIS will issue a receipt notice. At the interview, the USCIS officer will question you and your foreign spouse in detail with respect to the specifics of your marriage in order to determine its legitimacy. Further, you and your foreign spouse will be required to provide documentation demonstrating… Read More

A marriage petition is termed a Petition for Alien Relative (form I-130). At present, the filing fee is $420. We have provided a complete list of fees applicable to the permanent residence (based on marriage) process on our pernmanent residence (based on marriage) fees page (this is a link).

Yes. The petitioner and foreign spouse must be legally married at the time of filing.

Yes. There is no USCIS requirement that the petitioner be employed in order to file a marriage petition. However, in order for the USCIS to issue permanent residence, evidence must be presented that the petitioner is able to financially support a foreign spouse. If the petitioner is unemployed at the time of the USCIS interview,… Read More

Yes. If the petitioner is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident s/he can file a marriage petition on behalf of their same-sex foreign spouse. The eligibility to file a marriage petition for a same-sex foreign spouse and the same-sex foreign spouse’s admissibility as an immigrant will be determined according to the immigration laws applicable to… Read More

Yes. However, the foreign spouse of a permanent resident (as opposed to a U.S. citizen) is not considered an immediate relative. An immediate relative is the spouse, child (unmarried person under 21 years of age) or parent (if a U.S. citizen, must be at least 21 years old) of a U.S. citizen. There is no… Read More

The petitioner must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. You and your spouse must be legally married. You and your spouse have a genuine relationship and bona-fide marriage.

A marriage petition is filed by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident on behalf of their foreign spouse with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If filed by a U.S. citizen on behalf of a foreign spouse that entered the United States on a non-immigrant visa (i.e. fiancé(e) visa, visitor visa, student visa,… Read More