ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS ("GREEN CARD")

After your love one has been admitted to the United States as a Fiance(e) and you have married her within the 90-day time limit, you are now eligible to adjust your status to permanent resident with your local USCIS office*.

NEW: Applications I-485, I-765 and I-131 should be mailed directly to the Chicago Lockbox instead of submitting them to their District Office at the following address:

U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120 or

EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THE FOLLOWING STATES:

DECEMBER 1, 2004
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
APRIL 1, 2005
Alaska, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

For more information, click here

A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the United States. If you want to become a lawful permanent resident based on the fact that you have a relative who is a citizen of the United States or a relative who is a lawful permanent resident, you must go through a multi-step process.

You and your now-spouse must file the following MAIN items with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:

Application for Alien Relative (I-130) (not necessary for K-1 applicants);
Application to Register Permanent Residence (Form I-485);
Biographical information (Form G-325);
Medical Exam Sheet is not required, if your Spouse has had a medical exam based in K-1 visa;
Two color photos taken within 30 days;
Evidence of inspection, admission or parole into the United States (Form I-94, Arrival Departure Record);
Affidavit of Support (Form I-864 with supporting documents);
Authorization for employment (Form I-765)
Travel Parole (Form I-131)

Travel permission that will allow her to depart and re-enter the U.S.

WARNING: The important thing to remember about the travel document is that the recipient cannot depart the U.S. until she receives the actual approved document. She cannot apply for it, depart the U.S., have someone send it to her while she is still outside of the U.S. and then return to the U.S.

In this situation, she would be denied re-entry to the U.S. and would have to remain outside of the U.S. while her American spouse filed for a spousal visa (K-3).

The first "Green Card" received will be a temporary card that makes the Spouse a Conditional Permanent Resident of the United States. She must file an application to remove the "Conditional" status during a 90-day period prior to the two-year anniversary of the issuance of the Conditional Green Card

Once she received her permanent resident "Green Card" (which is valid for ten years), she must still apply for naturalization if she wants to become a U.S. citizen. She can do this:

if she is still married to the U.S. citizen who originally sponsored her for her Fiancee visa, 3 years after the issuance date of her permanent residency (Green Card);
if she is not married to the U.S. citizen, who sponsored her Fiancee visa, she can apply for naturalization in 5 years after the issuance date of her permanent residency (Green Card).

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Home Fiancee visa  - Visa Service  - What is a Fiancee visa (K-1)?  - Requirements for K-1 visa
Children of Fiancee - K-2 visa  - Adjustment of Status ("green card")  - Fiancee visa (K-1) vs. Spousal visa (K-3)
Tourist visas as an alternative to K-1 visa  - Fee schedule  - Questions you might have