There are two different processes for obtaining an immigrant visa: consular processing and adjustment of status (AOS).

The main difference between Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing is whether the foreign spouse is inside or outside the United States when he or she begins the application process. 

Adjustment of Status (AOS) is available only to certain applicants who are already in the United States on a temporary basis and were processed and admitted through a non-immigration visa. Adjustment of Status allows them to gain permanent residency status and receive a Green Card while staying in the United States throughout the adjustment process.

On the other hand, if the foreign spouse lives outside of the United States he or she must undergo consular processing.

Here is a quick overview of the Adjustment of Status process:

• Step 1: The first step involves the “concurrent” filing of the I-130/I-485 application package. The I-130 is filed and signed by the U.S. Citizen (also known as the “Petitioner”) on behalf of the foreign Spouse (also known as the “Beneficiary”). On the other hand, the I-130A and I-485 applications are filed and signed by the foreign Spouse. Those forms are submitted concurrently (at the same time) along with a Work Permit Applications (I-765), the medical examination by a USCIS Designated Civil Surgeon, filing fees, and other necessary evidentiary documentation.
  
• Step 2: Attend a Biometrics Appointment. Some time after you submit your application forms, USCIS will arrange a biometrics appointment. USCIS will run a criminal background in the FBI’s database.
• Step 3: Green Card Interview. USCIS may or may not schedule a green card interview at a local USCIS office. At the green card interview, a USCIS officer will ask questions related to your application and the answers and supporting documents you submitted.
• Step 4: USCIS Approves or Denies Your Green Card Application. At the end of the interview, or shortly after, USCIS will send you a decision on your application. If approved, you’d get your physical green card document in the mail a couple of weeks later. If the marriage is less than two years old, the approved residency is considered “conditional.” In this case, your immigrant spouse will receive a green card that is valid for two years, rather than 10. Before this conditional residency expires, the immigrant spouse must submit a request to remove this condition.

Here is a quick overview of the steps for Consular Processing:

• Step 1: The first stage in any family-based consular processing is the preparation and submission of the Petition for Alien Relative (I-130), which is filled out and signed by the petitioner (not the person seeking the green card).
  
• Step 2: Once the I-130 petition is approved, the case is automatically forwarded by USCIS to the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC).
• Step 3: The NVC creates an online account at (CEAC) -Consular Electronic Application Center- and emails the petitioner, the lawyer and beneficiary-applicant. This stage involves the payment of fees and the submission of various documents of the beneficiary-applicant, including police reports, personal information, and an affidavit of support (I-864) from the sponsor.
• Step 4: After the NVC has received, reviewed, and approved all the necessary documents, the case will be documentarily qualified, so the NVC will forward it to the U.S. embassy or consulate in their beneficiary’s home country.
• Step 5: The U.S. embassy or consulate will schedule a green card interview.
• Step 6: Attend the Consular Interview. If approved, the consular officer will give you a packet of information, known as a “Visa Packet”.
• Step 7: Enter The United States. Upon arrival in the U.S., you must give the “Visa Packet” to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the port of entry. After a CBP officer inspects you and finds you admissible, the CBP officer will put a temporary “I-551 stamp” in your passport which you can use to prove your immigration status until your green card arrives in physical form.

If you need our advice with the process of sponsoring your spouse for a permanent residency, contact us right now by WhatsApp at (619) 777-6796.

We can help you, no matter what State you reside in. We have immigration clients in different parts of the United States!

We offer a flat-fee on most immigration cases!

Whenever possible we try to offer a flat-fee for ‘typical’ cases which present no complicating factors.

Attorney Alex Monsalve
Member of the California State Bar Association
Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association-AILA

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