4505 Las Virgenes Road, Suite 107 | Calabasas, CA 91302 | 1-818-914-6482
Immediate Relative Spouse Processing
Immediate relative Spouses of United States citizens are not subject to any quota restrictions and may immigrate
as soon as their immediate relative petitions (I-130) are approved.
If in the United States, and immediate relative spouse may file an application for adjustment of status (I-485.
concurrently with the US citizen spouse's filing of the I-130 immediate relative petition.
If outside the United States, the beneficiary will apply for an immigrant visa though an overseas US consular post
after the petition has been approved and initial processing of the immigrant visa has been done by the Department of
State's National Visa Center.
In both instances, the process involves the United States citizen petitioning spouse filing an immediate relative
petition (I-130). The petitioner must establish that he or she is a United States citizen and that he or she is the
bona fide spouse the beneficiary of the petition.
Before this process starts, the foreign national spouse needs to determine whether he or she will apply for immigrant
status through adjustment of status or
consular processing.
An important fact to remember is that unlike the case with immigrant preference petitions, there are no derivative
immediate relatives. That is, each immediate relative must have his or her own petition and no one may qualify as an
accompanying or following to join immediate relative.