Both a citizen of USA and an owner of the Greencard could submit an application for granting their spouse the status of a permanent resident of the country. The wives and children of citizens of the USA could enter the country without much red tape, while there are annual quotas for the entry of family members of those who possess the status of permanent residents.
Types of Visa
There is no doubt that the majority of women who look for an American husband through marriage agencies is not really obsessed by the yearning to find a loyal partner and to create a happy family. An American husband is a reliable way to obtain the status of USA resident. Although it is hard to determine the real proportion of the women who pursue selfish ends (who knows what the woman really wants!), the evident desire to exaggerate their own advantages and the readiness to marry any citizen of the USA, irrespective of his age and character, gives out the true intentions of the majority of the competitors. Statistics provides more evidence of their real motivation: the overwhelming majority of those women who married by mail terminated their marriage in 3 months (after they received a Greencard) or in 2 years (after receiving the status of permanent resident).
The immigration legislation on marrying foreigners contains a multitude of restrictions aimed at fighting abuse. For a foreign person who marries an American to receive the status of USA resident, the spouses need to wait for several months, to present a lot of papers and to pay a certain sum. In general this procedure could be reduced to the following. According to the immigration legislation, a citizen of the USA can bring into the country his fiancée who lives abroad only after he gets her the fiancée visa or the foreign spouse immigrant visa. Usually it takes less time to obtain a fiancée visa (several months), than to get a foreign spouse visa. The foreign spouse visa demands additional paperwork after entry to the USA if the pair plans to reside in America. The visa of the bride also demands additional paperwork that takes a lot of time.
Marriage contracted in the USA.
Fiancée visa.
Citizens of USA could submit an application (form 1-129F) for reception of K-1 fiancée visa. At the moment of the fiancée's arrival in the country the fiance should be unmarried. Wedding could be held within three months after the arrival of the bride. Unlike a citizen, a permanent resident legally living in USA could not submit an application to obtain a fiancée visa. He or she should marry abroad and submit the application (form 1-130) when the future spouse enters the country.
Marriage contracted abroad.
Visa of the foreign spouse.
If a citizen of the USA marries a foreign woman in the country of her residence, they need to submit an application (form 1-130) after the registration of their marriage to begin the immigration process. It could be submitted to the Service of Immigration and Naturalization in the USA or (upon certain circumstances) to an American embassy or consulate abroad. There are different rules for processing applications in different countries. Before he leaves the country, a citizen of the USA must contact the SIN or another office to find out, which documents he needs to draw up an application for his future spouse.
The 1-130 application submitted should prove that the marriage is based on love, not on the desire of the fiancée to receive a Greencard.