Marriage
Whether your spouse lives in the United States or abroad, the marriage-based immigration process requires careful documentation and strategic planning. Haranlaw guides you through every step:
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Adjustment of Status (Green Card Inside the U.S.)
If your spouse is already in the United States, we prepare and file Form I-130 and Form I-485 together, along with applications for work authorization and advance parole. Attorney Haran would personally guide you in gathering relationship evidence and carefully prepare your filing to avoid Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and represent you for the marriage based interview.
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Consular Processing (Green Card from Outside the U.S.)
If your spouse is abroad, we file the I-130 petition and guide you through NVC processing, DS-260, fees, civil documents, and the immigrant visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate.
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Marriage-Based Cases After Entry on a Visa
Haranlaw assists in cases involving overstays, changed status, or complex travel histories. Immigration law is federal, and Haranlaw represents clients nationwide.
Spouses of citizens, permanent residents, and non-immigrant visa holders are eligible to accompany or join their U.S.-based spouse to live together. Same-sex marriages are recognized for immigration purposes, and same-sex spouses can now lawfully immigrate.
Marriage Bonafides
Married couples are eligible for permanent residence only if they have a bonafide or genuine marital relationship.
Immigration through marriage treats every marriage with suspicion and requires evidence of real marriage to grant approval. Many marriage-based cases are approvable but are poorly filed and suffer a finding of fraud, and Marriage-based green card filing must therefore be well documented for support.
Any suspicion of fraud or misrepresentation leads to higher USCIS scrutiny. Denials are mostly based on marriage fraud or misrepresentation. Denial can be reversed in Appeal.
Permanent residence status based on marriage within two years is approved for two years. A foreign national spouse gets a conditional green card, and in the last ninety days of green card expiry, they must apply for removal of condition. Foreign national spouses can have a green card with ten-year validity upon approval of the application to remove the condition. Read more...
Divorce, separation, and, to some extent, the death of the citizen's spouse present complex issues. While the surviving spouse can seek reinstatement of pending or approved petitions filed by her deceased spouse. In case of divorce or separation, it would be great to coordinate the work between the family lawyers and immigration lawyers.