How to Bring Your Filipino/Filipina Spouse to the USA

For Filipino/Filipina spouses of U.S.  citizens, www.MyFianceeVisa.com provides the following information on how to apply for an immigrant visa:

A spouse of a U.S. citizen is considered an immediate relative (IR) and is immediately eligible to apply for an immigrant visa under the IR category. The Filipino spouse must be the beneficiary of an I-130 approved by the USCIS. This petition must be filed at the USCIS office that has jurisdiction over the American spouse’s place of residence.

Children under 21 years of age and unmarried of the Filipino spouse are also eligible to apply for IR visas if individual petitions are filed on their behalf by the U.S. citizen spouse. Under U.S. immigration law, only children under the age of 18 at the time their natural parent married a U.S. citizen are considered “step-children” for immigration purpose. Children who were 18 years or older at the time of the marriage may not be petitioned as step-children. They may be petitioned by the Filipino parent after he/she becomes a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Once an I-130 petition is approved, the National Visa Center notifies the petitioner and provides guidance on how the Filipino spouse and children can apply for IR1 and IR2 visas respectively.

The NVC queues the applicant(s) for an interview and forwards the approved petition to the Embassy in Manila. The NVC will likewise notify the applicant(s) when they are scheduled to report for the medical examination and visa interview.

It takes 6 to 24 months from the date a petition is approved for the IR visa to be issued. If an investigation is required and if the applicant does not satisfy all application requirements, visa issuance may take longer. A U.S. citizen should not arrange to take the Filipino spouse back to the United States immediately following the marriage. No travel arrangements should be finalized until a visa has been issued.

Because of the time involved in processing the application for an immigrant visa, it is recommended that the petitioner and beneficiary gather the required documentation to submit with the visa application at the earliest possible time.

 For assistance with this type of application, contact us at www.myfianceevisa.com  Our law firm has assisted numerous US/Filipino couples reunite in the USA.

This entry was posted on 2. July 2009 at 18:34 and is filed under fiancee visa Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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