What to Do if Youre Marrying Someone from Another Country

It’s called a “fiance” visa, and it has specific requirements—the sponsor must be a US citizen with an income higher (125%) than the poverty line and the relationship must be genuine . The latter is the main reason for most green card applications being denied. As a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you’re free to marry a foreign national or non-citizen immigrant – but you’ll need to consider immigration laws to move your new spouse to the U.S. permanently. Most people get U.S. citizenship between nine months and two years after obtaining a green card. Once you successfully obtain a green card, you can live for three years as a permanent resident and apply for United States citizenship. Marriages for the purpose dating Brazilian women of evading U.S. immigration law are considered fraudulent. If the real reason you’re getting married is so that your spouse can become a permanent resident of the United States (“green card marriage”), seriously consider the consequences.

  • If the spouse is a Lawful Permanent Resident and not yet a citizen, officials will also consider deporting them.
  • Recognition of the validity of marriages performed abroad depends on the laws of the place in which the marriage is to be recognized.
  • Even though we’re almost the same age and speak the same language, the historical and entertainment moments we consider important are completely different.
  • Ukraine has a fast track naturalization process for foreigners married to Ukrainian citizens, reducing the timeline to citizenship from five years to only two.
  • If you have an interest in workingwith us on case processing, please complete ourfree consultation form, and we’ll give youpersonal attention.

If in doubt, ask the religious representative who is going to perform your marriage whether he/she is authorized to do that. Constitution means that many religious groups exist in the U.S., each with a right to establish the terms under which it will perform marriages.

However, two years of living in Poland should help you learn some of the language. If your spouse is from Ireland and you’re willing to live there for a couple of years, you can apply for a passport after three years of marriage or civil relationship. However, those married to a Portuguese citizen, or even in a relationship with one can apply for naturalization after three years of marriage or cohabitation. Israel has somewhat complicated laws when it comes to living there and becoming a citizen as a spouse of a Jewish person, but they still have a lot to offer passport-wise.

Marriage to a Foreign Spouse

You also need to be accurate and avoid any delay that could prevent you from getting citizenship. Depending upon a state’s regulations, ARAG’s legal insurance plan may be considered an insurance product or a service product.

Of note, however, should be the slow speeds at which many citizenship applications are processed. As always, the quoted timelines are the requirements to APPLY, not to be approved and handed your new passport. Similar to Ireland’s program, Poland allows those with a Polish spouse to become a naturalized citizen after three years of marriage and two years of uninterrupted residence in the country. Unlike Ireland, Poland is a conservative country that does not recognize gay marriage or civil unions, so you will need to be legally married. There are two types of marriage fraud from a citizen’s point of view. They went into the marriage knowing it wasn’t legitimate, or they were unaware of the intention of the foreign spouse.

What an Immigration Lawyer Can do For Me?

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🎁 VIDEO BONUS: How a US Citizen Can Sponsor a Spouse Abroad

You will also not be bound by U.S. state laws on marriage, but rather will have to abide by laws and customs of the country you have married in — such as eligibility, parental consent, and divorce rules. Marriage does not automatically re-title property owned by either spouse into the spouses’ names jointly. However, state and federal laws give married people many different rights in their spouses’ real and personal property, pensions, and insurance policies in the event of divorce or death. Further, most property acquired during the marriage, including retirement savings and pensions, are treated as marital property in the event of a divorce. With a relatively unpublicized residency by investment program, Brazil offers foreigners a bureaucratic, yet straightforward process if you have some money to invest in the country.

Over here, Simon has never managed to find bread that he says tastes like the stuff from home. I think that makes a larger point about English food in general. You see, America goes to the games and wins a lot of medals. We’re a ridiculously competitive country with the population and the sporting infrastructure to be great. Britain goes and gives it a good old college try; they really do. But my husband had to explain to me that for his country, the honor is in taking part. In 1984, the British ice dancing duo Torvill and Dean won gold and the country has literally not stopped talking about it since.