The minimum income for a household of 2 to sponsor a family member or spouse is $25,550 as of August 2024. Minimum income requirements are lower for active duty military members.
The average processing time for Form I-130 is around 12 months. This estimate is based on analysis by Boundless partner Track My Visa Now, who tracks wait times in real time, giving the most up-to-date estimates for Form I-130 petitions filed today.
The First Step Toward an Immigrant Visa: Filing the Petition The first step is to file a Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130, with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for your spouse (husband or wife) to immigrate to the United States.
Required Documentation Passport(s) valid for six months beyond the intended date of entry into the United States, unless longer validity is specifically requested by the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in your country. Affidavit of Support (I-864, I-864A, I-864 EZ, or I-864W, as appropriate) from the petitioner/U.S. sponsor.
Marriage to the U.S. citizen is the most common and fastest way of getting a green card for a foreign national. If a foreign national marries the U.S. citizen abroad, the foreign national becomes an immediate relative of the U.S. spouse regardless of the place where marriage took place.
The U Visa applicant can add their spouse at any time to their application. But timing is important. If the applicant gets married after the U Visa is approved they can add the new spouse to the U Visa by using form I-929.
Spouse Visa Summary The CR1 visa processing time is an approximate average of 12 months as of December 2024. The IR1 visa processing time is an approximate average of 17 months as of December 2024. The spouse visa application costs $1,220.
Below are the key steps involved: Meet all of the requirements. Marriage to a U.S. citizen: The applicant must be legally married to a U.S. citizen spouse who is over the age of 18. File the Petition (Form I-130) ... USCIS Processing. National Visa Center (NVC) Processing. Medical Examination. Consular Interview.