Immigrant Visas

U.S. Citizens Filing Petitions for Foreign Spouses

U.S. citizens who plan to marry or have married foreign spouses may bring their spouse to the United States using one of two types of visa:

Fiance(e) Visa - For those wishing to marry in the United States

To petition for an alien fiancé(e), U.S. citizens must file an I-129F petition with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) office serving the citizen's residence in the United States.  The U.S. citizen petitioner and the foreign fiancé(e) must have met personally at least once in the two years before the petition was filed.  A citizen opting for a fiancé(e) visa must remain unmarried until the arrival of the fiancé(e) in the U.S., and the wedding must take place within ninety days of the fiancé(e)'s arrival.  After the marriage, the foreign spouse must apply for lawful permanent residency.

More information about fiance(e)visas. 

Spouse Visa - For those who have already married abroad or in the U.S. 

If a U.S. citizen marries an alien abroad, an I-130 petition must be filed with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services after the marriage to begin the immigration process for the alien spouse.  For marriages in India, such petitions may be filed with the U.S. Citizenship &Immigration Services office at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi only if the U.S. citizen resides in India.  Please visit the USCIS New Delhi website for more details.  If the citizen does not meet the residency requirements to file in New Delhi, her or she must file the petition with the U.S.Citizenship & Immigration Services office serving the citizen's residence in the U.S.