Immigrant Spousal Visa (if Married to a US Citizen or a Permanent Resident) (CR1, IR1)

Imagine this – you have met your life partner who just happens to be a US citizen. As a couple, you have decided that the best move for your new life is to move to the US and live with your spouse (imagine TLC’s reality show, “90 Day Fiancé”). But now you face the daunting task of figuring out which is the “fastest” option to reunite and live in the US permanently with your spouse.
You have read through countless Redditt threads, social media posts, listserves, Facebook groups, attorney websites, and the consensus seems to be that having your spouse interview abroad will take more than 3 years! There is no way that you want to wait this long! So what do you do now?
I’m Married! How Can I Permanently Move to the US?
We understand that “speed” of getting to the US to begin your life with the love of your life is of the utmost importance, but, there are a few other crucial factors to consider such as:
- Let’s say that you either have or can obtain a nonimmigrant B1/B2 tourist visa. It is your absolute intention to use this visa to enter the US and then remain in the US so you can apply for your green card. You have read about how Customs and Border Patrol Officers are denying entry based on “preconceived intent”, so what do you tell the Officer upon arrival? Obviously, you cannot lie.
- Once you arrive in the US, how soon will you need to work?
- Once you arrive in the US, how quickly will you need to travel outside of the US for any reason, such as to resume your job abroad or care for a loved one?
As you can see, apart from “how fast can I get to the US,” these are all very important considerations that should be taken into account when deciding on which approach is best for you and your new family.
If you have already married your US citizen love, and wish to move to the US to build your life together, you have three possible options: 1) the CR1/IR1 spousal immigrant visa; 2) the K3 spousal nonimmigrant visa; and 3) in some circumstances, adjustment of status. So how do you choose?
Below we have described the steps involved with the first option mentioned above, the “spousal immigrant visa.” This option is the “best bang for your buck.” Why? Because you go through the immigration process only one time; at the end of it, you receive your immigrant visa, can enter the US and begin working right away. Plus, your green card is mailed to you within 90 days of arrival. So what’s the drawback?
There are two main reasons this is an unfavorable option for some. First, many inexperienced attorneys dislike this option because the last step involves dealing with the consulate. Attorneys cannot attend the consular interview and it appears that many do not offer a “consular prep session.” But have no fear, we can assist you with your consular interview so this is not a good reason to cross off this option.
Second, a misconception is being spread across the internet (and sometimes by inexperienced attorneys) who state that the processing time can be 3 or more years. In our experience of practicing complex immigration cases for more than 15 years, we have only seen this extended processing time for Adam Walsh Act (AWA) cases. In all previous administrations, not a single spousal immigrant case took longer than 3 years; in fact all of ours were approved with an average of 1.5 years and a maximum of less than 2 years (if it did take longer than 2 years, the foreign national would have received a 10 year green card!).
So we propose that you seriously consider the spousal immigrant visa option. What are the other benefits of this visa?
- Although you deal with 3 different government agencies (USCIS, the National Visa Center, and the US Consulate), you receive notifications from each of them to ensure your application is not “lost”
- During the process, you can continue to work abroad in order to earn and save money (which maybe
- Upon entry into the US, you do not have to worry about the Consular Officer determining “preconceived intent” (immigration fraud) and refusing your entry
- You do not need to file anymore applications to obtain a green card. Upon arrival, your green card and social security card is mailed to you. A social security card (taxpayer ID) is very important! You can start to build your credit history (so that you can later apply for a car loan or mortgage), obtain your state ID or driver’s license, get added to your spouse’s bank account, file joint taxes, get on a joint medical insurance plan (maybe for a little one that might come along or if you have health concerns)
- Unlike with the adjustment of status process, you do not need to worry about applying for a work or travel permit. Once you receive your green card, you can depart the US. You are able to work with your immigrant visa
- While the process is pending, your US spouse can travel to come and visit you. If you have a nonimmigrant visa, you may use it (or visa your waiver) to enter the US to spend time with your spouse (as long as you convince Border Patrol that you intend to depart the US after your trip)
What Are the Steps to Obtaining an Spousal Immigrant Visa?
This is a 3-step process that begins with submission of the marriage petition to USCIS. The couple must be married before this process can be started since the marriage certificate must be submitted. The filing must be extremely thorough to avoid a Request for Evidence (RFE), a document that requests more proof of the marital relationship. To give you an idea, our petitions often exceed 200 pages and are approved on the shorter end of USCIS’ published processing times (between 1 and 1.5 years). There should not be an interview for this step – if you received an interview, USCIS has “flagged” your case and you should contact our law firm immediately. Note: For those who have been placed into removal proceedings (or have an order of removal), the legal burden is much higher and they must submit a waiver with their petition.
After the marriage petition has been approved, the file is transferred to the National Visa Center (NVC); this entity is the “middleman” who collects all of the documents before an interview is scheduled with the consulate. In this second step, the applicant must submit the immigrant visa application and upload required civil documents and well as financial documents. Once the documents are “qualified,” NVC will email the couple (and the attorney of record) that it will “work with the consulate” to schedule an interview.
The third and final step is the consular interview. Once an interview is scheduled, an email is sent with the interview day and time. At this point, the couple needs to prepare additional documents, and the applicant should schedule the medical exam (COVID vaccination is required).
The last step is the interview where the applicant presents additional proof of the marital relationship and answers marital questions. If all goes well, the Consular Officer will take the passport and return it (either by mail or via pick up) with the immigrant visa. The applicant will then pay an immigrant visa fee (using the information on the visa) and may then board a plane to be reunited with his/her spouse in the United States! An immigrant visa is usually valid for 6 months. During this time, the spouse must enter the US. Upon arrival into the U.S., the visa is “activated” and the production of the green card is triggered. Usually the green card arrives within 90 days of arrival in the US.
How Do I Know if I will Receive a 2-year Green Card or a 10-year Green Card?
When you receive your immigrant visa, or your green card, there is a 3-digit alphanumeric “class of admission” that summarizes the circumstances by which you got your green card. So when you read about “CR-1” or “IR-1,” (the class of admission that appears on your green card) this means “conditional resident” or “immediate relative,” respectively. A conditional resident code is given to a foreign national who obtained their green card through marriage and has been married for less than two years when the green card is issued. They will receive a two-year conditional green card and will need to apply to have their conditions removed. Alternatively, a foreign national who obtained their green card through marriage and has been married more than two years when the green card is issued is considered an immediate relative and is given a 10-year permanent resident card. They are done with the immigration process, unless they wish to naturalize.
A CR-1 visa is issued when the couple has been married for less than two years at the time the green card is approved. This means the green card is “conditional” and is only valid for two years, after which the foreign spouse MUST apply to “remove the conditions” in order to receive a 10-year green card.
An IR-1 visa is issued when the couple has been married for two years or more at the time the green card is approved. This means the green card is valid for 10 years, and the foreign spouse will not need to apply to remove conditions.
The Consulate Has Denied My Spousal Visa. What Can I do Now?
Sadly, this is a question that we always seem to get from callers who chose not to use an attorney for the 2nd and / or 3rd steps. Unfortunately, we have to tell them that a Consular Officer’s (CO) decision is final – there is no option to appeal; the CO has “unreviewable discretion.” It is also our belief that prior to the case being denied, a supervisor has already reviewed the case and agreed to the denial.
From our years of experience receiving calls like this, we have determined that the denials have always arisen from the applicant not answering the CO’s officers persuasively to make the CO feel comfortable that the marriage is legitimate. Usually, the answers are too vague and often inconsistent.
What Can I Do to Make Sure My Immigrant Visa Gets Approved?
It starts with the submitting an extremely thorough relative petition that not only contains the proof of a legitimate marriage, but also discloses and explains anything that the government could deem as problematic (a red flag). All too often, a foreign national puts in all the “good stuff” (photos, joint lease, joint accounts) and is feeling super confident when the relative petition is approved. But the problem arises at the consular interview, when the foreign national is asked difficult questions at the interview. Since the relative petition did not address the problems within the case, the first time that these issues surface is at the consular interview. But it’s too late because the foreign national is not only unprepared to provide detailed and persuasive testimony, but s/he also does not have the appropriate documentation to address the Officer’s concerns.
The second thing you can do is overprepare when it comes to relationship documents that you intend to present at the interview. Definitely go with “quality” over “quantity.” Since our relative petition filings are so complete, usually the Officer does not ask for more proof of the relationship.
The last thing you can do is answer the Officer’s questions to his/her satisfaction. In order to do this, you need to “think off the cuff,” which comes from practice and knowing the types of questions that the Officer will ask. Although an attorney is not allowed to attend the consular interview in person (a spouse is also unable to attend the interview unless required by the CO), to help those avoid this terrible outcome, we have come up with a helpful solution. We offer a 1-hour “Consular Prep Session” (via Zoom) so that an applicant can go into the consular interview fully prepared to answer the CO’s questions and to provide any document that the CO might want. Please heed our advice that “prevention is better than cure.” For this reason, we “overprepare” our client in terms of both providing accurate testimony and thorough documentation. The “proof is in the pudding”- since the creation of our law firm, not a single client has been denied an immigrant visa!
Are you considering the spousal immigrant visa? Contact us via email or chat to see how we can help!