gametime

Hi there, new to the forums
my wife and I want to move back to the states. We will be married for 2 years from the start of April next year. We were looking to file the I-130 application to move back to the states but I didn't want to be issued with the 2 year Green Card because we haven't been married for 2 full years yet.
I was wondering if you have to be married 2 years before the visa is APPROVED or 2 years before the green card is ISSUED?

Basically I don't want to put my application in now and get it approved before April and end up with a 2 year green card.
Once you enter the country do you then convert your visa into a green card?

S Folinsky

The two dates are: 1) date of marriage and

2) date of admission to lawful permanent residence status.

[I am using legal terminology to avoid possible confusion].

In OP's case, the relevant date for determining status is the date one enters the U.S. as an immigrant. [Often called "activation" in these forums. An inaccurate term, but the one that is used.]

It should be noted that the immigrant visa is valid for six months from the date of the medical exam. So, lets say the visa is issued a month before the second anniversary of marriage, the same visa can support EITHER a conditional CR admission or a non-conditional immediate relative admission. Do note that there are sometimes problems in such situations where the admitting officers fail to catch that no condition should be imposed.

Rete

The Visa issuance date is irrelevant. It is the date that you enter the US on the approved Visa that determines if your status is Conditional Permanent Resident or Legal Permanent Resident. Since we are entering December tomorrow and what we call direct consular filing can take from 1 month to 6 months depending on hiccups and/or your desire to delay the process, you can easily postpone entry to the US until after your second wedding anniversary if the Visa is approved prior to the anniversary. It is the date of entry which will determine what your status will be. So enter after your anniversary and be sure that the agent at the POE knows you have been married for a full two years (if your Visa was approved prior to the anniversary date).

S Folinsky

General comments:

"Visa" is a term defined in the US Immigration & Nationality Act. It is often misused, even by the courts. A "visa" is a document issued by a U.S. Consular Officer, usually outside of the United States. All it is is permission for its bearer to travel to the United States [and for the carrier ship or airline to bring the person] to a port of entry to apply for admission to the United States.

The term "green card" doesn't exist in the law, but it refers to "Lawful Permanent Residence." LPR status is defined as having been accorded the right to reside in the United States, such status not having changed. The "green card" is evidence of having been accorded LPR status. It is NOT the same as the status, but in common usage is treated as if it is.

So, the consular section of the US Embassy in London will issue an "immigrant visa." This is permission to come to a US port of entry to apply for "admission" as a "lawful permanent resident." If the inspector at the POE admits the newly minted LPR, their passport [and under current system, their visa] will be endorsed with temporary evidence of permanent residence.

By and by, the form I-551 card will arrive in the mail. This is the "green card."

When I was in practice, I would often remind clients that "there is no magic in the green card." It is evidence of LPR status and nothing more. If your wallet is stolen with the I-551 in it, you remain an LPR. If your ten-year card expires without being renewed, you remain a LPR.

As an aside: the "Immigrant Visa" is good for one entry. When you have that visa, it is quite "active" in the sense that one can use it. Once you enter as a LPR, the visa is not longer valid. The status of LPR has come to life, and in that sense the status becomes "active," but the visa is no longer valid.

If one is an LPR, possession of a "reentry permit" acts like a visa for return to the United States. The I-551 card [or stamp in passport] serves as a re-entry permit for return within a year of departure. If one is going to be out for a longer period, there is a two year book form re-entry permit.

Please note that these comments are general in nature and are in no way exhaustive. An exhaustive essay would be beyond the scope of a forum answer.

gametime

These answers are a fantastic help. I appreciate it. We'll start the process immediately and keep the potential travel date until after the anniversary. I'll take some time to scour through this forum a little more and try to absorb as much as I can!
Thank you again!

rpjs

If you haven't filed yet, then it is most likely that you won't have the visa in hand until after the two years mark has passed anyway.

As to the mechanics of getting the actual Green Card; when you get your visa you'll be given instructions on how to pay the card production fee. Once you've paid this AND you've entered the US on your immigrant visa the production of the actual card will be triggered and it should arrive within six months maximum (in practice usually more like six weeks).

In the interim, your immigrant visa will bear the annotation "UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR." The endorsement is the stamp that the Customs and Border Protection officer who admits you puts across or next to the visa in your passport. "I-551" is the form number of a Permanent Resident Card ("Green Card") so your visa in your passport becomes a temporary Green Card that you can use until the actual card arrives.

Rete

You can subscribe to this thread re: timelines for consular filing in the UK. Lots of help info in there.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/marri...e-only-843594/