How can a green card holder petition for a non-US citizen spouse who is currently living outside of the US?

I am a green card holder. I just got married to a non-US citizen. My husband is not currently living in the US. I am planning to petition my husband for green card. I filed for I-130. I am new to this immigration thing. Could anyone tell me what the next step is, please. Your help is much appreciated. Thank you.

5 thoughts on “How can a green card holder petition for a non-US citizen spouse who is currently living outside of the US?”

  1. You can petition through the USCIS like any US citizen but you will have to wait much longer to get your petition approved (longer means several years).

  2. File the Form I-130 which you can find on uscis.gov. Since you are not a US citizen the visa will not be available immediately. If approved monitor the visa bulletin on the state department site to see if your priority date has come up. When it does become available your spouse can file the I-485 and hopefully get admitted to the US as a resident.

  3. why dont u get a lawyer,,coz i think u cant petition anyone unless ur a citizen..u do have green card right but still ur not a citizen..ask a lawyer wud be the best solution..

  4. Pretty much the same way as any citizen. the primary difference is the time frame. since you’re currently a green card holder, the petition you filed for your husband falls into the F2a family preference category, and those take about 5 years from the time they are filed before they are valid for use. Of course, if you become a citizen while you’re waiting, the petition would be upgraded to an IR-1 petition and that would be valid immediately. if that happens, be sure to tell USCIS about your petition as they won’t go looking for it unless you do.

    When your petition gets closer to being valid, you’ll be contacted by the National Visa Center for an Affidavit of Support. then, it will be sent out to the embassy or consulate handling immigrant visas where your husband lives. but for now, you’re in for a long wait.

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