When you want to come to the United States and are already married to your spouse, you should be able to in most cases. This is because the majority of visas allow family members, particularly spouses, to come to the United States with their approved spouse. If your spouse is a citizen, then it should be even easier.
However, there can be a catch, and that is that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services needs to believe that your marriage is real. A marriage strictly for the purpose of getting a green card is unlikely to be approved.
How do you show evidence of a real marriage?
To show evidence of your marriage, you should provide documentation for the USCIS such as:
- Your marriage certificate
- Photographs of you and your spouse before, during and after your marriage
- Letters from family and friends discussing your relationship
- Shared bank account statements
These are just a few examples of the documents you should provide.
Remember, the goal here is to provide a good overall explanation of your relationship over time. If you only send photos of your wedding day and nothing else, that likely won’t be enough to convince the USCIS. However, if you have photos of you and your spouse in college together, on vacation a few years later and then a marriage certificate a year or so after that, then you’re more likely to get your marriage-based green card approved.
What happens if you don’t live together?
There are times when people don’t live together but have gotten married. For example, you may have met in one country before you went back home, and so you may not have much physical evidence of your relationship. If you explain honestly your living arrangements, how you met and why you got married, then having an unusual living arrangement in and of itself is not necessarily going to ruin your chances of getting a green card.
This process can be tough for some couples, but putting together the right information can help you stay together in the United States as a married couple.
