United States

Immigrant Visas

Spouse and Fiance(e) of an American Citizen

Immigrant Visa (IR1 or CR1)

The first step is to file a Petition for Alien Relative, FormI-130 for your spouse (husband or wife) to immigrate to the United States. You file the petition with the Department of Homeland Security's, Bureau of Immigration and Citizen Services (BCIS) immigration Field Office in the United States that serves the area where you live. For instructions on how to file a petition see Petitioning Procedures: Bringing a Spouse (Husband of Wife) to Live in the United States.

Sometimes a U.S. citizen living abroad can file an immigrant visa petition at an U.S. embassy or consulate (post). To find out whether you can file a petition at a specific post abroad, you must ask that post. For information on how to contact the post, please select U.S. embassy or consulate abroad (http://travel.state.gov/links.html)

Spouse: A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration, but only if the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs recognizes common-law marriages and grants them all the same rights and obligations as a traditional marriage. In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration.

There is no minimum age to file a petition for a spouse for immigration. However, you must be 18 years of age and have a domicile in the U.S. before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for an immigrant visa for spouses and other relatives of U.S. sponsors.

You must have a domicile (residence) in the United States before we can issue an immigrant visa to your spouse. This is because a U.S. domicile is required to file an Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for all Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR-1) immigration cases.

A child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition. This is different from the family second preference (F2) petition. A child is included in his/her parent’s F2 petition. A child is not included in his/her parent's IR petition.

If you are a U.S. citizen, you must file separate immigrant visa petitions for each of your children. If you upgrade a family second preference (F2) petition for your spouse and you did not file separate petitions for your children when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you must do so now.

Remember that children born abroad after you became a U.S. citizen may qualify for U.S. citizenship. They should apply for U.S. passports. The consular officer will decide whether your child is a U.S. citizen and can have an passport. If the consular officer decides your child is not U.S. citizen, the child must apply for an immigrant visa if he/she wants to live in the U.S.