Updated: May 15, 2008

Curse on all laws but those which love has made!
Alexander Pope, Eloisa to Abelard

Purpose of this Article
The Internet is replete with descriptions, accurate to a greater or lesser extent, of the procedure for obtaining permanent resident (‘green card’) status for a non US citizen spouse when the couple is living in the United States. However, there is not very much guidance available to Americans living in the United Kingdom as to how they can go about obtaining permission for their non US citizen spouses to settle permanently in the United States.

We therefore offer the following brief overview of the process, with the caveat that although all cases must go through the following steps, complications may arise and additional procedures may become necessary due to the facts of a particular case—perhaps the alien spouse has a criminal conviction, or necessary documents prove difficult to find.

Note: Although this article discusses the specific situation of sponsoring spouses, these procedures are also generally applicable to petitions filed by US citizens living in the United Kingdom who seek to sponsor other ‘immediate relatives’ such as an unmarried child under the age of 21 or a parent (if the US citizen is aged 21 or older). A UK-resident widow or widower of a US citizen may also file a petition on his or her own behalf if he or she was married to the US citizen for at least two years, files the petition within two years of the date of death, was not legally separated at the time of death, and has not remarried.

Filing the Forms, Collecting the Papers
If the US citizen half of a married couple is residing in the United Kingdom, the process of obtaining a US immigrant visa for the alien spouse begins with the filing of the US citizen’s ‘Petition for Alien Relative’ (with associated biographical forms and documents) with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office of the Department of Homeland Security at the US Embassy in London. This petition is often known by its government form number, the ‘I-130.’

When the US citizen spouse has filed the I-130 petition the alien spouse will be advised by the Embassy’s Immigrant Visa Unit to file his or her immigrant visa application (DS-230 Part I) and, when the required documents have been obtained, to file the Form DS-2001 ‘Notification of Applicant Readiness’. The DS-230 Part I requires a good deal of biographical information about the applicant, including the places (city and country) he or she has lived for more than six months since the age of 16.

Once the Immigrant Visa Unit receives the DS-230 Part I it advises the applicant as to how to obtain any police certificates that may be required. Applicants 16 years of age and older are required to furnish police certificates to cover all period of residence of twelve months or more since reaching the age of 16; the period of residence is just six months for the country of birth or of current residence. For some countries clearances are not available, and for others they must be obtained directly by the US Government rather than by the applicant.

Once the applicant has all the needed papers, taking into account the particulars of the case (for example, certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, police certificates, conviction records, deed polls evidencing name changes), he or she notifies the Immigrant Visa Unit by filing the Form DS-2001 ‘Notification of Applicant Readiness.’

Medical Examination
When the Immigrant Visa Unit has received the DS-230 Part I and the DS-2001 it will complete its administrative clearances, notify the applicant of the date for his or her immigrant visa interview, and request the applicant to schedule the required medical examination with the Embassy’s designated provider. The examination should be scheduled in enough time to allow the applicant to receive the medical examination results before the immigrant visa interview, as they must be filed with the required supporting documents on the day of the visa appointment.

The examination screens applicants for HIV (predetermined to be a dangerous communicable disease), and for certain types of communicable diseases of public health significance, such as syphilis and tuberculosis. The applicant will also be checked to ensure that he is immunised against certain types of diseases. The immunisation requirements, which vary according to the age of the applicant, and information regarding the scope of the medical examination may be found at http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/forms/Vachart.pdf.

Affidavit of Support
One of the documents that the applicant must take to the interview is the ‘Affidavit of Support’ (Form I-864) completed by the US citizen petitioner. In that Affidavit, required of all persons who sponsor family members for immigration to the United States, the US citizen spouse must demonstrate that he or she is able to support the alien spouse at an annual income of not less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level for a household of their size. The complex Affidavit of Support is the subject of a separate article on our website: ‘A Beginner’s Guide to the Affidavit of Support.’

The Interview
On the day and at the time appointed for the interview the applicant takes to the Embassy the required documents, including the results of his or her medical examination, and is interviewed by a consular officer. The applicant swears or affirms that the information given in the immigrant visa application is true, and signs it in the presence of the consular officer. Assuming that all has gone well, and that there are no last minute surprises, the applicant will be told that he or she will be issued the immigrant visa. The applicant then surrenders his or her passport to the Embassy so that the visa can be issued. The passport is returned with the visa and a packet of documents approximately two to three working days after the visa interview.

Becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident
The immigrant visa is valid for six months, during which time the immigrant must present it to an immigration officer at a US port of entry. At the port of entry the applicant will then be processed by the immigration authorities and will receive a stamp in his or her passport. When the processing is complete and the immigrant visa has been endorsed with the immigration authorities’ stamp the applicant becomes a lawful permanent resident. The endorsed visa serves as a temporary proof of that status; it is a temporary ‘green card.’ The permanent resident card, Form I-551, is then sent by post to the applicant’s designated address in the United States.

Conclusion
Shakespeare tells us that ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ Complex American immigration laws ensure that the course of emigration is likely to be similarly fraught.

We hope that this article has been a helpful overview of the procedures involved in obtaining an immigrant visa for the spouse of a US citizen and, by extension, in obtaining immigrant visas for unmarried children under 21 and parents of adult US citizens (aged 21 or older). However, it cannot possibly cover all permutations of the facts, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice tailored to the specifics of your situation. If you believe that legal advice would be helpful please contact us to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys.