The Voice - Student Newspaper

Green card marriages in the United States

By Ashley Toland
Reporter, The VOICE

Individuals convey that if one is married to a United States(U.S.) citizen, they should earn a green card through marriage.

Every year "over 450,000 thousand U.S. citizens" marry foreign-based individuals and petition for them to obtain a permanent residency, or in other words a green card in the U.S.

Going through this course of action is very important in order to avoid staying in the U.S. illegally.

Loads of people consider this the easier option, although if the individual is caught living in the U.S. illegally, they will be sent back to their former residence.

The process of completing and submitting a request for a Green Card through marriage to a U.S. citizen can become both costly and confusing. However, the individual should go through the proper steps to live in the U.S. legally.

This is not always the case; there are multiple steps one needs to take to earn their green card.

Every step needs to be followed because the non-U.S. citizen cannot reside in the U.S. without their confirmation of a green card.

Continuing to live illegally in the U.S. does not end in the best terms, typically resulting in "three to ten years" behind bars.

The individual must enter the U.S. legally, and be inspected by an officer of the U.S patrol at the border or port entry such as on an airplane, seaport, or the bus station.

There are several options for marrying a U.S. citizen that an individual can take.

The individual must apply for the fiancé visa and it is available only to the fiancés of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. Then the individual must wait until their fiancé becomes a U.S. citizen.

Once waiting until spouse is a U.S. citizen, they are considered an immediate relative and there is no priority date, annual quota or big waiting period.

It is not a good idea to wait until the spouse is a U.S. citizen to begin the green card process.

It is better to get started as soon as possible, especially when the petition is filed for the green card.

Also, if the petitioner becomes a U.S. citizen, it is easier to upgrade the petition.

It is important to get in the lineup as soon as the individual can, then complete the paperwork and the individual is filed as a U.S. citizen via a green card.

Taking the correct steps to earning a green card through marriage is the legal approach to being able to live in the United States.