Petition For A Spouse: Bringing Your Husband Or Wife Home

TL;DR:
Petitioning for a spouse starts with Form I-130 and proof that your marriage is real. A U.S. citizen files in the immediate relative category, with no visa wait, while a green card holder files under F2A, which has a wait. If your spouse is in the U.S. and entered lawfully, you may file the green card application concurrently. Married less than two years means a conditional green card you must renew later.

Bringing your husband or wife to live with you in the United States is one of the most common immigration journeys, and one of the most personal. It is built around two things: proving your relationship qualifies, and proving your marriage is genuine. Here is how a spousal petition works and what shapes your path.

Talk To Our Immigration Attorneys About Your Spouse Petition

How To File A Petition For Your Spouse

The petition begins when you file Form I-130 to establish your marriage, and where the case goes next depends on where your spouse lives. If your spouse is abroad, the approved petition travels to the National Visa Center and then to a U.S. consulate for an interview, called consular processing. If your spouse is already in the United States and entered lawfully, they may apply for the green card here through adjustment of status. Either way, the foundation is the same: a complete petition backed by solid proof of a real marriage.

Citizen Vs. Green Card Holder: How The Wait Changes

Who you are decides how fast this moves. A U.S. citizen petitions for a spouse as an immediate relative, with no annual visa cap, so the wait is essentially the processing time. A lawful permanent resident petitions under the F2A preference category, which has limited visas each year, so even after approval the case may wait for a visa number to become current. If you are a green card holder and later naturalize while the case is pending, your spouse can move up to the immediate relative category, which often shortens the road.

Proving Your Marriage Is Real

This is the heart of every spousal case. A marriage certificate shows you are legally married, but the government also wants to see a shared life, and current guidance asks you to include that evidence with the petition. The strongest proof is documentary: joint bank accounts, a shared lease or mortgage, joint tax returns, and insurance policies naming each other. Photos over time and affidavits from people who know you as a couple help round out the picture. A few strong, consistent documents do more than a thick pile of weak ones.

Conditional vs. Permanent: The Two-Year Marriage Rule

How long you have been married when the green card is approved changes what your spouse receives. If you have been married less than two years at that point, your spouse gets a conditional green card valid for two years, and before it expires you must file together to remove those conditions and prove the marriage is still genuine. If you have been married two or more years, your spouse receives a regular ten-year green card with no conditions. Same process, different result, based only on the length of your marriage.

Filing For A Spouse Already Living In The United States

If your spouse is in the U.S. as an immediate relative of a citizen and entered lawfully, you may be able to file the I-130 and the green card application together, a step called concurrent filing. This can save months, and it lets your spouse request a work permit and travel permission while the case is pending. This option is generally not open to F2A cases until a visa is available, one more way a citizen petition tends to move faster.

What It Costs & The Affidavit Of Support

A spousal case carries the I-130 filing fee, currently $625 online or $675 by paper in 2026, plus later fees for the green card stage. You, as the petitioner, must also sign an Affidavit of Support, promising to support your spouse at or above 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. If your income falls short, a qualifying joint sponsor can sometimes help.

Ready To Bring Your Spouse Home The Right Way?

A spousal petition rests on proving something deeply personal, that your marriage is real, and weak evidence is where good cases stumble. If you want your petition filed cleanly the first time, we can help. Schedule a confidential evaluation with Lincoln-Goldfinch Law today, and we will build your case with care and explain exactly what your path looks like, just as we would for our own family. You will leave knowing exactly where you stand. We’ve got your back.

About the Author: Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch

I am the managing partner of Lincoln-Goldfinch Law. Upon graduating from the University of Texas for college and law school, I received an Equal Justice Works Fellowship in 2008, completed at American Gateways. My project served the detained families seeking asylum. After my fellowship, I entered private immigration practice. My firm offers family-based immigration, such as green cards and naturalization, deportation defense, and humanitarian cases such as asylum, U Visa, and VAWA. Everyone at Lincoln-Goldfinch Law is bilingual, has a connection to our cause, and has demonstrated a history of activism for immigrants. To us, our work is not just a job.