Every year thousands of Americans get married with non U.S. citizens and they have to go through the process of petition to bring their new wife or husband to the U.S.  To be able to get an immigrant visa for your spouse from outside of the U.S. you must file a petition, have an appointment with a consul in the nearest U.S. Consulate, fulfill all eligibility requirements, then the foreign national could receive a conditional temporary resident status that allows him to travel, work and live in the United States, if the couple have been married for 2 or more years then the green card will be permanent.  In some cases if the marriage occurs inside the U.S., the non-citizen may be able to adjust his immigration status from a tourist visa or other non-immigrant visa to an immigrant visa that will allow him to stay and live in the U.S.  The U.S. government has several rules and steps that must be fulfilled.  The immigration aspects of the marriage to a United States citizen can be complex an it is better to obtain Legal Advice and ask your questions to a U.S. Immigration Lawyer.  To obtain a green card, the husband or wife must first be accepted on a temporary resident status "Temporary evidence of Lawful admission for permanent residence" until the USCIS can determine that the marriage is valid and grant a permanent resident card (green card).  If a foreign national husband/wife married to a U.S. citizen becomes a U.S. green card holder (permanent resident), then he or she must wait a few years before being eligible to apply for the citizenship of the United States.  If the spouse gets divorced before applying for the citizenship, then must wait five years from the date of becoming a permanent resident to be eligible to apply for the United States citizenship, but if they are still married then the green card holder can apply for the citizenship after 3 years of becoming a permanent resident.  There are several requirements to keep a green card valid and to obtain the citizenship.  If a green card holder moves out of the united states to live in a foreign country it is very possible that he will loose his green card, especially because the green card is an immigration status designed for people to immigrate to the US, to permanently live in the U.S., and if the person moves to another country then his status changes from an immigrant to a non-immigrant alien, with a few exceptions of temporary travel and the application to Preserve Residence or Re-entry permit to keep the permanent resident status.  Besides several requirements, the USCIS reviews and requests dates of your U.S. physical presence during the years that you were a us resident. Applicants for the citizenship must pass the citizenship test with civic questions and an English test, and for males that became residents before 26 years old, they must have been registered with the Selective Service System of the United States during ages 18 through 25 years old.  Before processing and submitting your case to the United States Immigration Department or consulate, it is recommended to consult with a U.S. Lawyer first. There are several immigration laws, rules, types of applications and immigration status that could apply to you, there are several eligibility requirements.  It is important to make sure you are submitting the right application together with the proper U.S. Immigration forms.  Green Card and Marriage is one of the most common immigration topics where people usually have several doubts and questions about how to process their immigration application, if you have questions ask a lawyer now.

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