Helpful Tips for Obtaining a U.S. Visa for Your Spouse

 Posted on January 27, 2022 in Immigration

Obtaining an Immediate Relative (IR) visa for your foreign spouse can be a challenging process. Typically, the waiting time to receive an IR visa is very short, but there is the potential for something to go wrong. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) scrutinizes every spousal application, requiring both partners to provide a great deal of personal information. If the application or documents are not filled out correctly, this can put the visa application and your future happiness in jeopardy. To avoid any bumps in your road to marital bliss, be sure to follow these straightforward tips:

1. Provide Clear Proof That Your Marriage Is Legitimate

Unfortunately, foreign nationals sometimes do use marriage as a pretense to gain entry to the United States. As such, the U.S. State Department sets a high standard for documents that authenticate your marriage. Among the most trusted documents to use as validation of your wedding is an official marriage certificate from the United States, Canada, the Commonwealth of countries that are former territories of the British Empire, or the European Union. Many couples, if they are married in a foreign country, will get a marriage license in the United States before beginning the application process for the visa.

2. Present Evidence That Your Spouse Is Not a Security Concern

With rising national security threats, the United States has begun requiring all visa applicants to submit all social media accounts, email addresses, past travel history, and all the addresses in which they have lived going back five years. Additionally, spouses seeking to live in the United States have to provide information about their family and close contacts. This extra scrutiny has made the process much more difficult. To demonstrate that your spouse is not a national security risk, be sure to gather all relevant information. Provide information even on accounts not currently used. Also, provide an official police record from every country in which your spouse has lived throughout the past several years.

3. Prove Your Spouse Is Healthy

Controlling the spread of disease is a top concern for U.S. immigration officials, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To prove your spouse is healthy, you can make sure they receive an examination from a U.S. physician authorized by USCIS. In addition to providing records of an examination and other relevant medical records, you will also want to gather and submit records showing that your spouse has received all required vaccinations.

Contact an Orlando Immigration Attorney

The immigration process can seem intimidating. A spouse who is hoping to join his or her loved one in the United States needs to complete an application for a visa as one of the first steps. The best way to ensure that your spouse obtains legal admission to the United States is to talk to a knowledgeable immigration attorney. The caring Orange County immediate relative visa lawyers at Vasquez Law Firm, PLLC have experience in handling all kinds of immigration cases. For inquiries or to schedule a consultation, please contact our offices at 407-955-5000 today.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/us-visa-application-social-media.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2019/07/20/how-to-speed-up-your-spousal-us-immigration-case/#15851fad67c5