How to get a CR1 Marriage Visa for USA
If you are a US citizen married to a foreign man or woman, be you of the same sex or the opposite sex, your spouse can apply for a CR-1 Visa (the Spousal Visa) to come to the United States. This particular visa is for couples that have been married for less than two years. If you’ve been married for longer than that, your spouse would apply for the IR-1 Visa.
Both of these spousal visas come with a green card (unlike the fiancé(e) visa, which requires you to file an Adjustment of Status after you’ve gotten married).
Same-sex marriage was legalized throughout the US in 2015, with gay immigration rights to match, so your marriage will be recognized in the US and the visa process will be the same for you as it would be for any heterosexual couple. Your same-sex marriage will be recognized in every US state, and you’ll have the same rights as opposite-sex couples, including the right to make medical decisions on your spouse’s behalf if he is unable to do so, the right to benefits and insurance from your spouse’s work, the right to inherit your spouse’s assets, and the right to shared responsibility of your children. (Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender couples and individuals are allowed to adopt children in the United States, but each state has its own laws regarding these adoptions. Check this list of states and their particular laws about gay adoptions.)
You could choose to take on the visa process on your own, but we’d have to ask: why? Hiring us relieves stress for you and allows you to focus your energy on setting up your new life with your spouse in the United States.
Related Topics of Interest for You:
CR-1 Visa Process
You, the US citizen, must file the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) for your foreign spouse. This makes you the sponsor, and your spouse the beneficiary. After a few weeks, you will get notice that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has received the petition. At that point, it could take several months for the office to process your application. You will receive notice if they need more supporting documents and information, or when the petition is denied or approved.
There are a variety of reasons why your spouse’s visa application could be denied. Fortunately, most of them are fairly obvious and we can probably spot them before you even start your application process. However, the USCIS can deny the petition for any reason they see fit, and some of those (such as if they don’t believe your marriage is genuinely for reasons of love and relationship) can’t be predicted. These grounds for denial include:
File the CR-1 Visa Petition
You, the US citizen, must file the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) for your foreign spouse. This makes you the sponsor, and your spouse the beneficiary.
After a few weeks, you will get notice that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has received the petition. At that point, it could take several months for the office to process your application. You will receive notice if they need more supporting documents and information, or when the petition is denied or approved.
There are a variety of reasons why your spouse’s visa application could be denied. Fortunately, most of them are fairly obvious and we can probably spot them before you even start your application process. However, the USCIS can deny the petition for any reason they see fit, and some of those (such as if they don’t believe your marriage is genuinely for reasons of love and relationship) can’t be predicted. These grounds for denial include:
• Criminal Convictions for Drug Trafficking, Human Trafficking, or Money Laundering
• Multiple Criminal Convictions
• Previous Immigration Violations
• Certain Mental and Physical Medical
• Conditions and Communicable Diseases
• Your Inability to Provide Sufficient Financial Support for You and Your Spouse
• Permanent Ineligibility for Immigration to the US
If you are approved, you’ll have some more forms to fill out to continue the process.
Paying Your Fees and Filing the CR-1 Visa Application
After the Petition for Alien Relative is approved by the USCIS, your case will be sent to the National Visa Center.
You will need to pay the required fees, after which you will be instructed to complete the visa application. This includes an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864).
You must have a residence in the US in order to complete the Affidavit of Support. This affidavit shows that you have the financial means to support yourselves in the United States and that you do not intend to rely on the US government for help.
Your spouse will need to get a medical examination from an authorized physician, as there are certain diseases and mental conditions that could disqualify your spouse from receiving the CR-1 Visa. Vaccinations may be required.
Your spouse will then complete the CR-1 Visa application. To do so, he will need the following documents and materials:
• Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application
• Passport
• Affidavit of Support (proving you have the financial means to care for yourselves)
• 2 Passport-Sized Photographs (2×2 inches)
• Civil Documents (these include birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce or death certificates if either of you were previously married, police certificates, and more, such as court or prison records, as applicable)
For more details, visit the following pages for related information on Marriage and Fiance Visas:
How to get Married in Colombia?
How to get Married at a Colombian Notary?
How to get Colombian Marriage visa?
How to get USA Marriage Visa (I-130)?
How to get USA Fiancee VIsa (I-129F)?
USA Embassy Medical Appointment?
USA Visa Interview?
USA Tourist Visa?
USA Visa Turista?
Moving to the United States with a CR-1 Visa
Congratulations! If your spouse is awarded a CR-1 Visa, you can make your travel arrangements to move to the United States. He will need to do this within six months of receiving the CR-1 Visa. You can travel with him, but it is not required. Within a few weeks of arrival in the US, your spouse will have his green card and be legal to work and travel in and out of the country at will.
The CR-1 Visa Interview
At this point, your case will move to the US embassy in the country where your spouse currently lives. This is where she will go for her CR-1 Visa interview.
First, she will be instructed to get her medical exam. This must be performed by an authorized physician. The results will be sent to the embassy, or they will be given to your spouse in a sealed packet which she will take with her to the interview.
The purpose of the interview is to rule out any suspicion of immigration fraud. As long as your marriage is real (and not a sham put on in order for your spouse to receive a visa), it is nothing to worry about. Your spouse will be asked a few questions, which could be about you and your life and interests, your relationship history, your family, why you’re choosing to move to the US, and so on.
Related Articles of Interest: Colombia Visas
|
CR-1 Visa Requeriments
Your foreign spouse will need to gather documents, fill out forms, and attend a CR-1 visa interview, but none of that is possible without you. Before anything else happens, you, as the US-citizen spouse, must file the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) to start the CR-1 Visa process.
To do so, there are certain qualifications that must be met. These qualifications are the same for same-sex couples as they are for heterosexual couples. We can help you determine whether or not you fulfill all the requirements.
Are You a US Citizen?
You will be the sponsor for your foreign spouse to receive the CR-1 Visa, and as such you must be a US citizen. It is also possible for your spouse to apply for a CR-1 Visa if you are a green card holder, but the process will take more time.
Do You Have a US Residence?
Part of the CR-1 Visa application process involves a form called the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) (a document that shows you have the financial means to support yourself and your spouse). In order to complete this form, you must have a legal US residence where you intend to live after your spouse arrives in the US.
Are You at Least 18 Years Old?
In order to have the legal residence required on the Affidavit of Support, you must be 18 years old.
Are You Legally Married?
A religious ceremony is not enough. You must have official proof (as in a marriage certificate) showing that your marriage is legal and valid in the country where the marriage took place.
Keep in mind that common-law marriages can qualify your spouse for the CR-1 Visa, depending on the laws surrounding these civil unions in the country where it took place. Simply living together does not count as a marriage.
Gay marriage has been legal in all 50 US states since 2015, so you can rest assured that your same-sex marriage rights will be recognized no matter where you choose to live in the US. The spousal visa application process is the same whether you are a same-sex couple or an opposite-sex couple.
Do You Have Means of Financial Support?
This will have to be proven via the Affidavit of Support and supporting documents, such as tax returns and proof of income.
The exact amount of income you need depends on the state in which you intend to live.
If you don’t make enough money to meet this requirement and support yourself and your foreign spouse, you may be able to use assets such as Real Estate in Colombia , life insurance, or a savings account. Without that, you still have the option of getting a joint sponsor: a US citizen who meets the income requirements and agrees to be held responsible for the financial needs of your foreign spouse.
Each CR-1 Visa case is different. Laws in your spouse’s country could affect your application process. We examine each case to first help you determine whether you are eligible to petition for a CR-1 Visa for your foreign spouse, consider whether your spouse is a likely candidate for approval, and then to prepare your application as thoroughly as possible to ensure the best chance for approval. We’re confident in our ability to make this process go smoothly for you and help you bring your spouse to the US.
Related Topics of Interest for You:
Our Story
James Lindzey founded the website ColombiaVisas.com, which is constantly updated with new information explaining visa resolutions, procedures, and laws in Colombia to expats. James has worked as a private investigator and paralegal in the United States through the 90s until he moved to Colombia in 2005. James arrived in Colombia in 2005 and started doing visas for expats, but currently works as Director of Legal Services for Visas by James, and Colombia Legal & Associates SAS since June of 2023.
Colombia Legal & Associates acquired the brand name Visas by James as it became a more familiar and easy way for foreigners to remember the business, than the previous Visas y Tramites Internacionales.
While MedellinLawyer.com focuses more on legal issues for expats, ColombiaVisas.com focuses more on visas, and holds the trademark Visas by James. ColombiaVisas.com is the oldest website and provider of visa information for expats in Colombia. We are proud to be the first and always on the cutting edge of providing interactive website content to our visitors.
In addition to our visa services our agency offers a full range of legal and accounting services to our clients. We are able to assist better in document collection services in the United States because of James previous legal experience in the United States.
What We Can Do For You
We fill out all the government forms for you. All you need to do is approve and sign. This way, we can ensure the forms are being filled out properly and completely, helping you to avoid unnecessary and costly delays or even denial of your parent’s visa.
We’re here to support you throughout the entire IR-5 Visa process, from the filing of the Petition for Alien Relative to the day your parent arrives on US soil.We are clear about what we do from the get-go. You’ll pay one fee to us, one time, and you can contact us at any time with questions about the visa process. We’re so confident in our ability to help reunite you with your parent in the United States that we offer a money-back guarantee.
Call us and we’ll get you started on the IR-5 Visa process. Your parent will be here with you before you know it.
Translations, Apostilles & Legalizations:
Our company can help out with translations, apostilles, and legalizations. This services are additional and not included in our legal services. Quotes can be provided for these services as needed. Documents are not accepted without being properly legalized.
What’s included with our visa services:
We prepare your complete immigration package, documents, online application, and finally your cedula application *foreign resident id card. Most foreigners choose common law unless for religious reasons a religious marriage is required.
The common law, or civil union is much faster and normally requires less documentation from overseas. However, if you are already married overseas, then we can assist with the legalization of foreign marriages in Colombia.
Please see these webpages for more information:
http://colombiamarriagevisa.com/
http://colombiamarriagevisa.com/colombia-civil-union/
For USA Visa Processes: we accept payments via Zelle, Capital One Bank, Bancolombia, or in the office in cash. To begin the process we require 50% payment for services. If you are ready to get started we will prepare an official quote and contract for services. I would like to hear your feedback regarding our services. Please let me know when we can talk. We have the USA and Colombian numbers. For Colombian Marriage Processes: The Legal fees may be paid as mentioned above but government or notary fees should be paid in person in Colombia.
Our main office is located in Medellin, Colombia near Parque Lleras in El Poblado. We have representation in Bogota, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. Our main office address is Cra 39#5A-95, Oficina 709, Edificio Avangarde. We accept walk in appointments but its always nice if you can let us know ahead of time so we can schedule a time. Areas codes in Colombia have changed. To reach our office please call (57) 604-444-6634.