Spousal Visa Processing Time
By Brian in Visas and Green Cards | on 2024-03-23 08:35:51
A spousal visa or CRI spousal visa is a green card that allows someone from another country to live in the United States with their spouse. The spouse should be married to a U.S. citizen or someone with permanent residency status.
You can obtain a CR-1 visa (conditional resident) if you’ve been married for less than two years. Alternatively, you can get an immediate relative (IR visa) if you’ve been married for over two years.
The visa is granted on a conditional basis, which means the U.S. citizen and the beneficiary can apply for the removal of the conditions after two years.
CRI Spousal Visa Processing Time
The longest wait time for a spousal visa is approximately 9.3 months. Even so, it is much longer for foreigners married to green card holders. The processing time might also be longer depending on the service center where you submitted the form I-130.
CR1 Requirements
You should submit the CRI/1R1 spouse if the sponsor is a U.S. citizen. Alternatively, submit the F21 if the sponsor is a green card holder or permanent resident.
A CR1/IR1 visa allows a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their foreign spouse to come to the United States.
Here are the requirements for obtaining the visa:
- The sponsor should be a permanent residence or U.S citizen
- The couple should be legally married and provide a valid marriage certificate
- You should establish the authenticity of the marriage through photographs, flight itineraries, joint bank accounts, or a life insurance cover that lists the other partner as the primary beneficiary.
- The sponsor must pledge to support their spouse financially and file an affidavit confirming the financial support. The sponsor should also be able to support the household up to 125% of the federal poverty level. However, the sponsor can use a joint sponsor if they fail to meet income requirements.
- The sponsor should also have a U.S. domicile, meaning they must either live in the United States or demonstrate they plan to return to the United States with their foreign spouse.
How a Spousal Visa Attorney Helps
The U.S. immigration system allows lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens to apply for spousal visas for their foreign national spouses, allowing them to immigrate into the country. If your spouse is applying from abroad, they will go through “Consular Processing,” allowing them to apply for the green card in their home country at a U.S. consulate.
The process is handled by the U.S. Department of State rather than USCIS and is often complicated and occasioned by long wait times. A skilled spousal visa attorney can apply their skills and experience to make the consular processing as painless as possible.
Filling out erroneous or misleading information is one of the main reasons for rejected applications. Regarding spousal visa attorneys, they rarely make mistakes when making CRI visa applications.
An immigration attorney understands the necessary paperwork and ways to comply with the requirements to facilitate a seamless process. Subsequently, consular processing culminates with an interview at the U.S. consulate in your spouse’s home country.
