Immigrant Visas
Foreign Spouse Visas
Q: How Does My Spouse (Husband/Wife) Get an Immigrant Visa?
A: A: The first step is to file a Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130 for your spouse (husband or wife) to immigrate to the United States. You file the petition with the Department of Homeland Security's, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) immigration Field Office in the United States that serves the area where you live. For instructions on how to file a petition for a spouse in the United States visit the USCIS website.
Q: What is a "Spouse?"
A: A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration. Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration, but only if the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs recognizes common-law marriages and grants them all the same rights and obligations as a traditional marriage. In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration.
There is no minimum age to file a petition for a spouse for immigration. However, you must be 18 years of age and have a domicile in the U.S. before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for an immigrant visa for spouses and other relatives of U.S. sponsors.
You must have a domicile (residence) in the United States before we can issue an immigrant visa to your spouse. This is because a U.S. domicile is required to file an Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for all Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR-1) immigration cases.
Q: What Does the National Visa Center Do?
A: After an Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office in the United States approves the petition, it sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC does the following:
- Assigns a case number
- Sends Form DS-3032 Choice of Address and Agent (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi_forms.html) to the applicant (your spouse). The applicant selects an agent. The agent can be anyone, including the applicant.
- The NVC will mail all future letters (except for the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864) about processing the immigrant visa case to the agent. Make sure the postal address is correct and is kept up-to-date.
- Sends the bill for the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support processing to the petitioner
- Sends the Form I-864 Package, Affidavit of Support to the petitioner after the petitioner pays the I-864 processing fee
- Sends the bill for immigrant visa (IV) processing fee to the agent after the applicant sends form DS-3032 Choice of Address and Agent, to the NVC
- Sends an instruction package to the agent after the agent pays the immigrant visa application processing fee, form DS-230
- Reviews information for technical correctness and completeness.
- Sends the petition to the embassy or consulate where the applicant will apply for a visa when the case file is complete.
Note: It is important to follow instructions from the NVC carefully. Send the NVC only those things that it asks for.
Q: How Do I Pay the Fees for the National Visa Center (NVC) Services?
A: When filing in the U.S., the NVC sends bills for certain fees at the appropriate time in the immigrant visa process. It sends bills for these services to the following people:
- Bill for processing the I-864, Affidavit of Support to the petitioner
- Bill for immigrant visa processingto the agent
- The NVC sends a correctly addressed, return envelope with the bills.
Remember these important things:
- It is important that you use the return envelope provided to you, when paying the fees.
- Don't forget to put the correct postage on the envelope
- Don't pay the bill until the NVC tells you to do so
- Don't send payments to the NVC at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- For further information see National Visa Center.
Upgrading a Petition
If you were an LPR and now are an American citizen
Suppose you filed a petition for your spouse when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR). Now you are an U.S. citizen. You must upgrade the petition from family second preference (F2) to immediate relative (IR). You can do this by sending proof of your citizenship to the National Visa Center (NVC). To prove that you are a U.S. citizen, you can send:
A copy of the biodata page of your U.S. passport; or A copy of your certificate of naturalization
Applying for a Visa
At the appropriate time, an appointment package is sent to the agent or the applicant. (See note below.) The appointment package gives the applicant an interview date and tells you the specific requirements of the visa. It includes instructions on where to go to have the required medical examination. In general, the following is required:
- A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.
- Birth certificate of immigrating Spouse with original and copy
- Divorce or Death Certificates, where applicable
- Marriage certificate
- Police certificate from all places immigrating spouse lived since age 16 fo more than 6 months (For information on obtaining police clearances from foreign countries, please visit the reciprocity tables.
- Medical examination of immigrating spouse (from US Embassy panel physician at the Doha Clinic). A letter addressed to the Doha Clinic and specifying what exam you will require will be given to you during the filing appointment. You must take this letter to the Doha Clinic in order to complete your exam.
- Evidence of financial support. A completed Form I-864 Affidavit of Support from petitioner/sponsor is required with accompanying certified tax returns for the last three years and original W-2 forms for these years. If the petitioner/sponsor's income does not meet 125 percent poverty guidelines, you will be required to have a joint-sponsor. The joint sponsor will fill out a separate I-864 with accompanying tax returns and W-2 forms. Click here for more information on the I-864.
- Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, Form DS-230, both Part I and Part II.
- Two photos of each immigrant visa applicant.
- Proof of the marriage and the husband/wife relationship. (For example: wedding albums, email and/or telephone records and any other proof that the marriage is genuine.)
- Immigrant Processing Fee, as explained below.
Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the immigrant visa interview. Original documents can then be returned to you. Documents in foreign languages should be translated.
The above documents can be submitted to the Embassy between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday without appointment. Once these documents are submitted, you will be called for the final interview. The length of time until the final interview will be approximately 2-3 weeks from the date all of the above documents are filed. If any of these documents are missing you will not be considered for an interview appointment.
Note: The National Visa Center sends appointment packages to the agent for applicants in certain countries when the petitions are filed in the United States. The embassy or consulate sends appointment packages to applicants in all other countries. It also sends appointment packages to all applicants whose petitions are already at the embassy or consulate.
Q: Fees - How Much Does It Cost?
A: Fees are charged for the following services:
- Filing an immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, form I-130, US $185
- Processing an immigrant visa application, for DS-230, US $335 plus a visa security surcharge of US $45.
- Fingerprinting fees, if applicable, US $85
- Medical examination (costs vary from place to place, in Qatar contact the Doha Clinic Telephone #432-7303)
- Other costs may include translation and photocopying charges, fees for getting the documents you need for the immigrant visa application (such as passport, police certificates, birth certificates, etc.) and travel expenses to go to the embassy or consulate for the interview. Costs vary from country to country and case to case.
Q: How Long Does It Take?
A: The length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances, and cannot be predicted for individual cases with any accuracy. Some cases are delayed because the applicants do not follow instructions carefully. Sometimes the petitioner cannot meet Affidavit of Support requirements. In addition, the consular section may need to get a security clearance for the applicant. Security clearances take time.
Q: What Can Be Done If the Petition Gets Lost?
A: We don't want this to happen, but occasionally it does. Files can get misfiled; shipments of visa files have been lost. Usually a misfiled petition can be located, but in an emergency an embassy or consulate can issue a visa from the computer record and an original Notice of Action approval (Form I-797) from the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Give the consular section time to locate the file, and it probably will. But all is not lost if the petition is really gone. Be sure to keep all correspondence you receive from the USCIS.
Q: What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa?
A: Certain conditions and activities may make you, the applicant, ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:
- Drug trafficking
- Having HIV/AIDS
- Overstaying a previous visa
- Practicing polygamy
- Advocating the overthrow of the government
- Submitting fraudulent documents
The consular officer will inform you if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. See Ineligibilities for more information.
Q: How Do I Find the Regulations about Immigrant Visas?
A: To read the relevant Department of State regulations on immigrant visas in 9 FAM 40.1 Note 1 and 9 FAM 42, select Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM).
General Questions
Before submitting your inquiry, we request that you carefully review this web site. Very often you will find the information you need. Often, the answers to questions are easily found on the internet, and this impacts our ability to help other persons in need of assistance. Due to the volume of inquiries, Visa Services cannot promise an immediate reply to your inquiry.
If your inquiry concerns a visa case in progress overseas, you should first contact the U.S Embassy or Consulate handling your case for status information. Select U.S. Embassy or Consulate , and you can choose the Embassy or Consulate internet site you need to contact.