Family-Based Visas
Family-Based Green Cards
Many people become permanent residents (get a green card) through family members. The United States promotes family unity and allows U.S. citizens and permanent residents to petition for certain relatives to come and live permanently in the United States. You may be eligible to get a green card through a family member who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
There are two distinct paths through which you can get your green card. Many family members who are already in the United States may qualify for adjustment of status to permanent residence in the United States, which means they are able to complete their immigrant processing without having to return to their home country. Those relatives outside the United States or those who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States may be eligible for consular processing through a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad that has jurisdiction over their foreign place of residence.
For more information about Family-Based Green Cards, click here.Fiancee Visas (K-1)
The fiancée K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen fiancée of a United States citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancée to travel to the United States and marry his or her U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. The foreign-citizen will then apply for a Green Card with USCIS (see: Family-Based Green Cards ). Because a fiancée visa permits the holder to immigrate to the U.S. and marry a U.S. citizen shortly after arrival in the United States, the fiancée must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.
For more information about Fiancee Visas, click here.
Visas for Filipino and Filipina Fiancé/Fiancée of U.S. Citizens (K-1) and Derivative Children (K-2)
If a U.S. citizen plans to marry a Philippine citizen, the most important advice we can offer is to begin the preparations early to bring the new spouse to the United States. Depending on the circumstances, and on what type of visa is best, processing time can take as long as several months. What follows is the assumption that the U.S. citizen is marrying a Filipino, though much of this advice also applies to the marriage to anyone who is not yet a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident.
For more information about Visas for Filipino and Filipina Fiancé/Fiancée of U.S. Citizens (K-1) and Derivative Children (K-2), click here.