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Sham Green

How to Get Your Spouse a Green Card

 

As a Miami-based family immigration lawyer and a founding partner at the law offices of Duque & Hammond, PA, Jeff Hammond explains that if you are a United States citizen who is married to someone who is a native of a different country, then you have a couple of different options for getting your new spouse a green card.

 

In my experience, the option that will work best for your particular situation will depend on where your new spouse is currently living, since there are two different processes for people who already reside in the United States and those who do not.

 

When Your Spouse Lives in the U.S.

If your spouse has already legally come to the United States, and you just need to take the next step in the process by helping him or her gain permanent residency, then all an attorney will need to do is to adjust the immigrant's status.

 

In such cases, there are a number of forms that must be submitted with proper documentation to prove that the marriage was valid and that the proper residency steps have been taken. The government needs to see these forms, but the forms don't mean anything without the right kind of supporting documentation. A family immigration lawyer in Miami should be able to help his or her clients fill out the correct paperwork in a timely manner to expedite the legal process.

 

The government is looking to make sure the immigrant spouse entered the country legally, and this person does not have any prior criminal record that would prohibit him or her from gaining permanent residency. Even more important than that, though, is being able to prove that the marriage is real. This is the most important element when trying to help a spouse gain permanent residency, since the government requires a generous amount of proof or evidence that the marriage in question is not a sham before it will allow the immigrant spouse to be granted a green card.

 

When Your Spouse Lives Outside of the U.S.

If your spouse is still living in his or her home country outside of the United States, then there is a different process that has to be followed when looking into getting a green card. Different forms need to be filed by the immigrant and his or her spouse, and these forms need to be filed at different times than those forms filed by partners who already live in the United States. There is an important first form submitted here, and then once that gets approved, the form is submitted to the consulate office. From that point, there are "many more" forms and applications that need to be filed, each requiring its own documentation and supplemental evidence.

 

Getting a green card is a complicated matter for anyone who is not a legal expert. I frequently see people get themselves into trouble simply because they wanted to save a few dollars on attorney fees. Unfortunately, deciding against hiring a family immigration lawyer in Miami and instead trying to file the correct forms on your own can have consequences that are quite severe. If you don't have the right evidence, or if you miss a form or a deadline, then there can be delays or denials from the government. That is why we always suggest that people look into representation from an immigration attorney.

 

In addition, I also see couples that try to handle the immigration process on their own but end up coming to us for help after they run into trouble. Unfortunately, trying to file papers on your own can end up having consequences that can affect you down the line—even if you do decide to hire an attorney to take over the process later on.

 

Therefore, instead of waiting until trouble comes up, I recommend that couples start looking for an immigration attorney to represent them from the very beginning, once they know that they have an immigration goal that they would like to reach. Whether the goal is to gain permanent residency, authorization to work, or anything else, it's a good idea to go and sit down with an immigration attorney. In Miami, many family immigration lawyers do not even charge for consultations, which means your first appointment could be completely free and you have nothing to lose by checking it out.

 

This article is for informational purposes only.  You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.  Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.

 

 

About the Author

Jeffrey Hammond is a writer for Yodle, a business directory and online advertising company. Find a<a href="<a href="http://local.yodle.com/articles">http://local.yodle.com/articles">lawyer</a> or more <a href=" http://local.yodle.com/articles/topics/legal-services/">lawyers</a> articles at Yodle Consumer Guide.

My husband only married me for his green card?

I patitioned for my husband and his two kids to get their green cards. We were married for nearly 4 years when INS officers came to our home. I told my husband who freaked out and called his exwife. A few days later her told me his parents were ill and he had to return to Peru. Soon after that, I recieved COBRA papers (that you usually recieve after you leave your job) and I also received a phone call for a unually high activity on our joint credit card. This is when I discoved that my husband and his exwife fled back to Peru. I am now stuck trying to divorce him, but I have no idea how to start and no idea how to get proof that this was obviously a sham marriage. I tried to get his file from the INS as his patitioner but they told me to request the info through the freedom of information act. (which usually takes several months if not a year or so) is there a better way of divorcing my husband? (Note: I have no money for a lawyer even through legal aid...already tried.)

Try getting a pro bono lawyer or a lawyer in Peru. Maybe get the marriage annuled?

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 11:06 am and is filed under bedding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.