"I Married a U.S. Citizen So Its Easy For Me To Get My Green Card, Right?"

This is one of the most common questions I get asked by people who call my office or come do an initial consultation with me. Many “street lawyers”, immigration consultants and notarios, even many in the media, consider this “common knowledge”. 

The relationship to the U.S. citizen is only half of being eligible for a green card. The intending immigrant’s admissibility or inadmissibility is the other half.  Many, many times I have heard someone sit across from my desk and tell me that a friend or relative, or even someone they heard of, who was in the exact same circumstances as s/he is got a green card. You may be surprised how different admissibility can be between two seemingly similar applicants.

Often, the most critical admissibility matter is how the applicant entered the United States; many times it depends on when the application was made because the law has changed over the years. Petitioning is only the first step.  Even if your spouse is a U.S. citizen, you may not be eligible for permanent residence (“green card”).  Making a false assumption can be a one-way ticket home through immigration court.

Generally, unless the law is changed every intending immigrant or “green card” applicant must have made a lawful entry with a visa or entered after “inspection” at the U.S. border or port of entry by a DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer.  This is the best situation.

An immediate relative of a U.S. citizen over 21 years, defined as a spouse, parent or child, who is present in the United States can file an application to adjust status or Form I-485 with DHS/USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), at the same time the immediate relative’s petition is filed with DHS/USCIS.

There is no waiting period for an immediate relative.  The immigrant visa is immediately available. The only waiting would be the processing time (USCIS) takes to decide or adjudicate the application, which is about four to six months throughout most of the U.S., currently.

If the intending immigrant applicant has one lawful U.S. entry the application processing is all done without the applicant having to leave the U.S. to finalize the process. It does not matter how long the applicant has stayed in the U.S., even if the visa they used to enter the U.S. has long expired; provided s/he has one lawful U.S. entry and has not departed since and subsequently made an unlawful entry.

Finally, as long as the qualifying family relationship is not for the purpose of obtaining the “green card,” and the applicant does not have other inadmissibilities that reasons that him/her them from being admitted as a permanent resident (“green card”) such as criminal convictions, previous immigration problems, drugs, health/mental problems, or other specified problems under the law, the application is often approved and the “green card” issued.

Gerald Goulder is a North Carolina immigration lawyer who practices exclusively immigration law for North Carolina clients and for clients throughout the United States, and the world because immigration law is a federal law practice not limited attorneys in a particular state.

Gerald Goulder has been a licensed attorney and counselor at law for 30 years. His practice is exclusively immigration, visa and citizenship law.  He has broad experience with family sponsored green cards, naturalization and citizenship, employer sponsored green cards, employment and work visas like H-1B visas and other nonimmigrant visas, and I-9 employment eligibility and employer sanctions laws.

His broad professional background includes working as a special state prosecutor, owning and operating a business, serving on boards of non-profit organizations, religious organizations and private corporations, and taking political leadership roles.  Mr. Goulder has also worked as an Assistant Attorney General of Ohio, and Ohio Special Prosecutor in law enforcement and prosecution, and he was appointed Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the State of Ohio. Although his private practice initially involved commercial, business, and corporate/commercial real estate matters,

Gerald Goulder, managing partner of Goulder Immigration Law Firm, is a North Carolina immigration lawyer with clients throughout the world, guarantees personal service to every client. Clients receive one-on-one direct access to immigration attorney Gerald Goulder on phone calls, emails, or letters. If you are seeking guidance, experience and knowledge of immigration and visa laws involving family-based or employment-based permanent residence and green cards, visas, or citizenship, do not hesitate to contact Goulder Immigration Law Firm.