getting married and the interview

yes, i think i will cover for my hubby-to-be. my question is my visa fee bill was paid before i sent my ds-230. i thought petitions for spouses should be done before completion of ds-230 so they should be included in the petition. is it possible that i can add my hubby-to-be on my ds-230 which is to be resent as per requirements of NVC? i sent my ds-230 last year sept 2006 but right now NVC is asking updated ds-230's before processing. is it possible i can add my hubby-to-be and pay for the visa fee after the interview or should it be done before the interview in order for them to be included in the ds-230?

hope you understand my question. thanks in advance.

Hi Leis23 and freeandsingle!

How are you? I’ll try to answer your questions:

It is very important to plan ahead and take proper steps. There are persons whose employment based immigration petition is pending that are unmarried and would like to get married at some point and would like to get their spouse to US as soon as possible.

There are many reasons why they don’t want to get married at this point: from one partner with Family F2B pending petition (which marrying right now will demote the petition to a longer wait category) to purely personal reasons.

Don’t worry as long as you follow this maxim: You only become a permanent resident the moment you enter the US with an immigrant visa and had that I-551 stamped on your passport. Until then, you are not permanent resident, even after you get immigrant visa.

If you get married any time before you become a permanent resident, you may bring your spouse (and children below 21 years old) almost immediately as a derivative of the petition filed for you by your employer. They will fall under the same classification and PD. However, if you get married after you become permanent resident, you can only bring your spouse based on Family Based Immigration category F2A which may take many years.

There are several scenarios for getting married while your employer’s petition is pending. In your case, you may follow any of these.

1) Marriage after I-140 approval, but before filing for consular processing:

Include spouse (and any children) name in Visa Fee Bill as a dependent who will be accompanying you. Also, complete second DS-230 Part I for your spouse. You, your spouse and any children will be have the same embassy interview date once generated.

2) Marriage after returning the documents to NVC/consulate, but before the interview:

You will attend your interview as planned. Bring a certified copy of your marriage certificated and completed DS-230 Part I for your spouse to the interview. Please let the officer know that you recently got married and ask them to schedule an interview for your spouse. Interview will be scheduled approximately within two to three months. You can either wait for your spouse to go through consular processing and get immigrant visa, and both of you go together, or you can go now US with your immigrant visa and your spouse can enter US later as an immigrant once he/she gets immigrant visa which will be issued once interviewed.

Just make sure when informing the consul to speak nicely and truthfully. Consuls are known to get easily irritated by cases like these. But do not worry; they are bound by law to follow regulations.

3) Marriage after the immigrant visa interview, but before entering US as an immigrant:

You must get married and register your marriage before you can enter US as an immigrant. If possible, go to consulate with your immigrant visa, a certified copy of your marriage certificate, completed DS-230 Part I for your spouse and ask them to schedule an interview for your spouse. Interview will be scheduled approximately within 60 days.

As always, make sure to inform your attorney on record of your plans. They will say the same things as I did.

I hope I was able to help you.

Marie

A very enlightening post MariaTheresa.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answering the queries comprehensively!

I have a question; you seem to be very informed about immigration procedures, and it has led me to thinking, have you ever worked with an immigration law firm or a consular post? :)

Are you a lawyer or have studied at a law school?:)

Hi Leis23 and freeandsingle!

How are you? I'll try to answer your questions:

It is very important to plan ahead and take proper steps. There are persons whose employment based immigration petition is pending that are unmarried and would like to get married at some point and would like to get their spouse to US as soon as possible.

There are many reasons why they don't want to get married at this point: from one partner with Family F2B pending petition (which marrying right now will demote the petition to a longer wait category) to purely personal reasons.

Don't worry as long as you follow this maxim: You only become a permanent resident the moment you enter the US with an immigrant visa and had that I-551 stamped on your passport. Until then, you are not permanent resident, even after you get immigrant visa.

If you get married any time before you become a permanent resident, you may bring your spouse (and children below 21 years old) almost immediately as a derivative of the petition filed for you by your employer. They will fall under the same classification and PD. However, if you get married after you become permanent resident, you can only bring your spouse based on Family Based Immigration category F2A which may take many years.

There are several scenarios for getting married while your employer's petition is pending. In your case, you may follow any of these.

1) Marriage after I-140 approval, but before filing for consular processing:

Include spouse (and any children) name in Visa Fee Bill as a dependent who will be accompanying you. Also, complete second DS-230 Part I for your spouse. You, your spouse and any children will be have the same embassy interview date once generated.

2) Marriage after returning the documents to NVC/consulate, but before the interview:

You will attend your interview as planned. Bring a certified copy of your marriage certificated and completed DS-230 Part I for your spouse to the interview. Please let the officer know that you recently got married and ask them to schedule an interview for your spouse. Interview will be scheduled approximately within two to three months. You can either wait for your spouse to go through consular processing and get immigrant visa, and both of you go together, or you can go now US with your immigrant visa and your spouse can enter US later as an immigrant once he/she gets immigrant visa which will be issued once interviewed.

Just make sure when informing the consul to speak nicely and truthfully. Consuls are known to get easily irritated by cases like these. But do not worry; they are bound by law to follow regulations.

3) Marriage after the immigrant visa interview, but before entering US as an immigrant:

You must get married and register your marriage before you can enter US as an immigrant. If possible, go to consulate with your immigrant visa, a certified copy of your marriage certificate, completed DS-230 Part I for your spouse and ask them to schedule an interview for your spouse. Interview will be scheduled approximately within 60 days.

As always, make sure to inform your attorney on record of your plans. They will say the same things as I did.

I hope I was able to help you.

Marie

hi marie,

thanks for the long post. it really made sense.

hi marie,

thanks for the long post. it really made sense.

You are welcome!

A very enlightening post MariaTheresa.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answering the queries comprehensively!

I have a question; you seem to be very informed about immigration procedures, and it has led me to thinking, have you ever worked with an immigration law firm or a consular post? :)

Are you a lawyer or have studied at a law school?:)

You are welcome john!

I am not a lawyer, case manager, nor paralegal for that matter. I am not affiliated with any directly or indirectly. You can view my profile to understand why I seem to know a lot about immigration. What the? I am a nurse! And I’m also good about cross-stitching too!

Thank you john!

Marie

As Anna mentioned, if they are not included in the actual DS-230, they will not be getting a visa to accompany you. The only exception to this rule is a baby, they can get added if they are delivered after the DS-230 was submitted. But no one else can be added.

So, if they were not already added, then they will not be able to join you for minimum of two years, more than likely longer.

Hello again Suzzane, May I ask when is the best time to get married so as I can include my husband in my immigration application? My USCIS Receipt# is March 16, 2007. Thank you very much!

Hello again Suzzane, May I ask when is the best time to get married so as I can include my husband in my immigration application? My USCIS Receipt# is March 16, 2007. Thank you very much!

the best time to get married is before your DS230 documents are requested

the best time to get married is before your DS230 documents are requested

If I get marry before submitting the DS230 form, do I need also to change my name in my certificates? like Visa screen, cgfns cert, US license,passport and etc.? Again Thank you very much for replying!

You are welcome john!

I am not a lawyer, case manager, nor paralegal for that matter. I am not affiliated with any directly or indirectly. You can view my profile to understand why I seem to know a lot about immigration. What the? I am a nurse! And I'm also good about cross-stitching too!

Thank you john!

Marie

Hehe, I see...Wow, very talented.:)

It's good to see more nurses helping their fellow nurses for free...:welcome:

May God bless you and your family!

Hehe, I see...Wow, very talented.:)

It's good to see more nurses helping their fellow nurses for free...:welcome:

May God bless you and your family!

Thank you, John, for that nice comment.

I just happen to know a thing or two. Yup, I am still a nurse and a pinoy who just happen to be holding two passports.

God bless you too.

Marie

Thank you, John, for that nice comment.

I just happen to know a thing or two. Yup, I am still a nurse and a pinoy who just happen to be holding two passports.

God bless you too.

Marie

You're welcome Maria Theresa!

You are very humble.

Thanks!

Hope someday I could also achieve my American dream...