Love knows no political borders. If you’ve found your special someone, then the Bains Law Offices offers its heartfelt congratulations to you and yours. At our law firm, we represent a number of family law areas of practice, including the visa process of making your foreign spouse a legal resident of the United States of America.

The marriage visa process is complicated and long, with multiple applications and extended wait times. There are many hoops to jump through in order to meet the legal requirements for a spousal visa for your wife or husband. One false step can slow down the process or make things more difficult, so good legal representation is highly recommended to make sure this happy time is less stressful.

Do I Want an IR-1, CR-1, or K-3 Visa?

The IR-1 and CR-1 marriage visas are immigrant visas with one small difference separating them. The CR-1 is known as the Conditional Resident visa and is given to the foreign spouse if the union has been legally married for two years or less. The IR-1 is the Immediate Relative visa issued to foreign spouses who have been married to their American citizen for more than two years.

The K-3 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows for temporary residence in America for a foreign spouse while they await the approval of the marriage visa. K-3 is available only for foreign spouses of US citizens. Legal permanent residents, however, cannot benefit from the K-3.

How Long Does it Take to Get a Marriage Visa?

Like most matters pertaining to immigration, the process can feel unbearably slow. One should expect for the process to take anywhere from seven months to a couple of years or more. The time largely depends on individual circumstances, such as whether you are a permanent resident or a US citizen (the process can be slower for permanent residents and green card holders), the state you are applying in (states with larger immigrant populations understandably have more applications), and which country your spouse hails from.

It doesn’t make it any easier to hear, but the wait time can vary wildly and is largely out of your control or the control of your lawyers.

How Can a Lawyer Help Me?

A marriage visa is an immigration visa that allows for the spouse of an American citizen or legal US resident to legally immigrate to the United States and live out their lives together. Though one wishes that this was a simple matter of the heart, many laws, applications, and eligibility requirements must be taken into consideration before it can be made legal.

Experienced family law professionals like the Bains Law Offices can help you through this long, complicated process and take some of the weight off your shoulders. With the assistance of our law firm, you and your loved one can look forward to your future together with fewer questions and less stress.