Marriage Green Card Lawyer in Houston

The Six Stages of a Marriage Green Card

1. Sponsor status · route

   Confirm the sponsor’s status and the spouse’s location

   Two facts set the strategy: whether the sponsor is a citizen or a resident, and whether the spouse is inside the United States after a lawful entry or outside it. A spouse who entered without inspection, or who has prior immigration violations, may need a waiver before any green card can issue. We settle these questions at the first meeting, before a single form is filed.

2. Form I-130 · I-130A

   File the petition with proof of a genuine marriage

   The U.S. spouse files Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with Form I-130A, the supplemental information sheet for the beneficiary spouse. The packet includes the marriage certificate, proof that every prior marriage ended, proof of the sponsor’s citizenship or residence, and evidence that the couple shares a life: joint accounts, a lease or mortgage in both names, insurance, tax returns and photographs across the relationship.

   USCIS assigns a priority date when it receives the petition. For spouses of citizens the date does not matter for the wait. For spouses of residents it fixes their place in the F2A line.

3. Form I-485 or DS-260

   Adjust status in Houston, or process at the consulate

   Adjustment of status. A spouse who is in the United States after a lawful entry files Form I-485 with the I-864 affidavit of support, the I-693 medical exam from a USCIS civil surgeon, and usually the I-765 work permit and I-131 advance parole applications. Spouses of citizens can file all of it together with the I-130. Immediate relatives may adjust even after overstaying a visa, as long as the entry itself was lawful.

   Consular processing. A spouse abroad waits for USCIS to approve the I-130 and send it to the National Visa Center. The NVC collects fees, the DS-260 immigrant visa application and civil documents, then schedules an interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate. Spouses in Mexico interview in Ciudad Juárez. The visa is issued as CR-1 if the marriage is under two years old and IR-1 if it is older. We prepare both routes and advise on which is faster for each couple; read our comparison of adjustment of status and consular processing.

4. Form I-864

   The affidavit of support

   The sponsoring spouse must show household income at or above 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, counting the immigrating spouse. Recent tax returns, W-2s and pay stubs go in the file. A sponsor whose income falls short can add a joint sponsor, a citizen or resident living in the United States who meets the requirement on their own. The affidavit is a legally enforceable contract that lasts until the immigrant works 40 qualifying quarters, becomes a citizen, leaves permanently or dies.

5. Biometrics · Interview

   Biometrics and the marriage interview

   USCIS takes fingerprints and a photo at a Houston Application Support Center a few weeks after filing. Adjustment cases are then interviewed at the USCIS Houston Field Office, 810 Gears Road, where both spouses attend and may be questioned separately about how they met, daily life, finances and family. Consular cases are interviewed at the embassy, usually without the U.S. spouse present. We prepare every couple with the questions officers actually ask and the documents to bring, and an attorney from our office attends the Houston interview with you. See our guide to marriage green card interview questions.

6. Approval · Form I-751

   The green card, and removing conditions two years later

   If the marriage is less than two years old when the case is approved, the spouse receives a two-year conditional green card. The couple must file Form I-751 in the 90-day window before it expires, with fresh evidence that the marriage is ongoing. Spouses approved after the second anniversary receive the ten-year card directly. We calendar the I-751 window for every conditional client; details are on our removal of conditions page.