Immigrant Visas

U.S. Citizen - Foreign National Marriages

General information on marrying foreign nationals from the State Department.

Marriage in the United States: Fiance(e) Visa. To petition for an alien fiancé(e), U.S. citizens must file an I-129F petition with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services office serving the citizen's residence in the U.S. A citizen exercising this option must remain unmarried until the arrival of the fiancé(e) in the U.S., and the wedding must take place within three months of the fiancé(e)'s arrival. Note that the alien and U.S. citizen must have met personally at least once in the two years before the petition was filed.

More information about fiance(e) visas.

Marriage Abroad: Alien-Spouse Visa. If a U.S. citizen marries as alien abroad, an I-130 petition must be filed with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services after the marriage to begin the immigration process for the alien spouse. For marriages in India, such petitions may be filed with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services office at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi if the U.S. citizen resides in India; otherwise, the petition must be filed with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services office serving the citizen's residence in the U.S.