You’ve already said your “I do’s”. You’ve celebrated with your new family. All the appropriate civil, cultural, and religious rites are complete. Now it is time to bring your spouse to the U.S. How do you proceed?
CR-1 and IR-1 spousal visas allow foreign spouses of U.S. citizens to permanently reside in the U.S.
Successfully obtaining a spousal visa involves filing the proper paperwork, undergoing background checks and medical exams, and successfully passing an interview by proving the marriage was entered “in good faith” and not for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefits.
Successfully bringing your spouse and children to the U.S. relies on careful preparation at the outset with the initial petition filing with Citizenship and Immigration Services. Improperly completed forms or missing supporting documents can result not only in visa denials, but permanent damage to their U.S. immigration record. Because a visa is typically the first step in the immigration process towards permanent residence or U.S. citizenship, it is crucial to get it absolutely right from the start.
We work with clients in preparing their initial petitions. We advise on the required supporting documents and ensure forms are filled out correctly. We support our clients through the entire process including communication with government agencies and preparing our clients and their families for the necessary medical exams and visa interviews.
Certain circumstances can make it challenging for spouses who wish to marry to be physically together for a legal marriage ceremony. This is occasionally the case with many active members of our U.S. military. In these situations, two other options may be available: proxy marriage and marriage by video call.
Proxy marriages–in which the marrying parties are represented in-person by proxies–are currently allowed in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, and Texas.
Marriages by video call are currently performed in Utah.
Whether the marriage is by proxy or video call, after certain requirements are met, both types of marriages are legally recognizable for immigration purposes. For more information on this, please contact our office.
Sometimes a U.S. citizen spouse dies before the foreign national has immigrated to the U.S. This can make it challenging for the surviving spouse to do things like receive survivor benefits or manage the deceased spouse’s property, which can feel like insult to injury. But there is still hope for surviving spouses. We can help foreign national widows and widowers get through this difficult time.
Thank you so much for everything. You guys are the reason i came to the US and finally became a citizen, i was told by the USICS officer that they wish everyone came this prepared to the interview, the credit goes to you people especially Melanie and Yvonne. I will highly recommend you to my family and friends, i actually did, you are also working on my wive's cousin case.
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