Where to go, what documents to obtain, and more information about immigrating to the U.S. from Jamaica as the spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
If you are marrying someone from Jamaica, and would like to sponsor your new husband or wife for a U.S. green card (lawful permanent residence), keep reading, for some important legal and practical guidance, covering:
- basic eligibility for a U.S. visa based on your relationship, and
- application procedures.
This is a general overview of how the U.S. immigration process works for most people. Your situation might present complications or qualify for exceptions; see an experienced attorney for a full analysis.
Immigration Eligibility Based on Engagement or Marriage
First, a little background on U.S. immigration law. Marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident provides foreign-born persons a direct path to U.S. immigration. Contrary to popular rumor, however, the foreign national does not immediately or automatically receive the right to immigrate, nor U.S. citizenship.
If you are a U.S. citizen, your new spouse becomes your "immediate relative," and may receive a green card as soon as the two of you successfully complete the application process. This can take several months.
If you are not yet married and your fiancé is still in Jamaica, you can, if you are a U.S. citizen, petition for your fiancé(e) to enter the U.S. on a K-1 visa in order to get married in the United States. After the wedding, your new spouse can apply for a green card, if desired, through the "adjustment of status" procedure. Upon approval, your spouse would become a lawful conditional resident, on the way to permanent residence.
You can also choose to get married first in Jamaica or another country, and then apply for an immigrant visa with which to enter the U.S.; the equivalent of a green card.
If you are a lawful permanent resident, your new spouse becomes a "preference relative," in category F2A. That means your spouse can obtain permanent residence in the U.S. only after a "visa number" (space for another permanent resident) has become available. At that time, he or she can apply for an immigrant visa (and enter the United States. Because of annual limits on the number of people who can get permanent residence in category F2A, a waiting list often develop, based on one's "priority date." The wait often takes between two and five years.
U.S. permanent residents cannot petition for fiancés. You would need to get married, then apply for an immigrant visa.
Overview of Obtaining a Green Card Based on Marriage
The application process for a green card based on marriage involves multiple steps, such as submitting forms and documents and attending an interview with U.S. immigration authorities. The purpose of all this is to prove:
- the status of the U.S. petitioner (as a citizen or permanent resident)
- that a valid marriage has occurred (or will occur, in the case of a fiancé visa)
- that the marriage is bona fide (not a fraud or sham to get a green card), and
- that the immigrant is not inadmissible to the U.S. for medical, criminal, financial, or other reasons. (See Inadmissibility: When the U.S. Can Keep You Out for details.)
Procedurally, there might exist more than one option as to where and how you apply, as described below.
Procedures When Applying for a K-1 Fiancé Visa
If you and your intended (who lives outside the U.S.) have not yet married—or have held an informal ceremony that does not count as an official marriage in the location where it was held—you can apply for a temporary (90-day) visa with which your fiancé can enter the U.S. and hold the wedding.
The U.S. citizen starts this process by filing a visa petition on Form I-129F with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). After USCIS approves the I-129F, it will transfer the case to the U.S. consulate in Kingston, Jamaica. Your fiancé will apply for a K-1 visa through the consulate. This involves submitting forms and documents and attending an interview with a consular official. You, the petitioner, are allowed to attend this interview, though it is not required.
After your marriage in the U.S., your new spouse can apply to USCIS for a green card, through a process called adjustment of status. The two of you will attend a green card interview at a local USCIS office.
Procedures for Your Spouse to Come From Jamaica on an Immigrant Visa
If you and your husband or wife have already married, and your spouse is currently in Jamaica, you will start the green-card application process by filing Form I-130 with USCIS.
(See Preparing an I-130 Visa Petition for the Immigrating Spouse of U.S. Citizen or Preparing an I-130 Visa Petition for the Immigrating Spouse of a U.S. Permanent Resident.)
After USCIS approves the I-130, spouses of U.S. citizens can continue forward with visa processing.
Spouses of permanent residents can obtain permanent residence in the U.S. only after space in category F2A becomes available based on "priority date." The good news is that by the time you receive approval of the I-130, some, if not all, of the wait time will have passed.
USCIS will next forward your file to the NVC, which will tell you when it's time for you to move forward with consular processing for an immigrant visa. The notification from the NVC will introduce you to the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC). After you and your spouse submit all the appropriate paperwork through the online CEAC system, the NVC will transfer the file and schedule the immigrating spouse for an interview at a U.S. consulate. (The U.S. petitioner may attend, but is not required to.) For details on this part of the process, see What Happens Between I-130 Approval and Consular Interview.
Upon approval, your spouse enters the U.S. on an immigrant visa, instantly becoming a lawful permanent resident (or lawful conditional resident, if your marriage was less than two years old at that time). Assuming you've paid the immigrant visa (green card production) fee to USCIS, the green card arrives in the mail several weeks later.
At Which U.S. Consulate in Jamaica the Interview Will Be Held
The U.S. currently has only one embassy in Jamaica, which is located in Kingston and handles both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. You will be given instructions (and eventually, an appointment notice) when your case is transferred to the embassy in Kingston.
If your spouse happens to be living in another country than Jamaica, the consulate there would likely be the one to handle the case.
Procedures If Your Spouse Is Already in the U.S.
If your spouse initially came to the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa (such as a fiancé, student, or tourist visa), and either you are a U.S. citizen or your spouse is still in valid status, the immigrating spouse can apply to adjust status in the United States. The main form for this is USCIS Form I-485. The two of you will attend an interview at one of USCIS's field offices.
Information about USCIS locations or service centers can be found at its website, www.uscis.gov.
Just be sure your spouse didn't commit visa fraud by using the nonimmigrant visa specifically to enter the U.S. and apply for a green card--see Risks of Entering the U.S. as a Tourist, Then Applying for Marriage- Based Green Card for details.)
If you're a U.S. citizen, it doesn't matter if your spouse is in legal status in the U.S. when you apply to adjust status. But if you're a permanent resident, your spouse must be in legal status.
There is one other major consideration for spouses of permanent residents wishing to adjust status: before applying, you must reach the front of the waiting list we mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, the government might not tell you when your wait is over—you'll likely have to figure it out yourself. USCIS has a web page that explains how.
If, however, your spouse entered the U.S. without inspection or by using a fake visa, or you are a permanent resident rather than a citizen, your situation is more complicated than this article can address. You might have difficulty obtaining a green card for your spouse, though it is not impossible. See an immigration attorney for details or if you have any questions about whether you qualify to adjust status.
Entering Into a Legally Valid Marriage
No matter where you marry, you will need to obtain a certificate that convinces the U.S. immigration authorities that it was legally recognized in the state or country where it took place. Below are some tips on doing that.
Obtaining Documentation of a Valid Marriage in Jamaica
If you have married, or plan to get married in your fiancé or spouse's home country, you will first need to look into Jamaica's requirements for legal marriage.
According to information provided by the U.S. consulate, Jamaican marriages require both the U.S. citizen and the Jamaican to be in the country for a period of 24 hours before holding the ceremony. You will also need to:
- contact a wedding planner or the Registrar General's Department approximately two weeks before the wedding, and get ready to present:
- both parties' birth certificates, each of which show the father's name or information substantiating paternity
- photo identification such as a passport or driver's license
- your occupations (both bride's and the groom's)
- if either member of the couple was married before, certified final divorce papers or death certificate of the deceased spouse, and
- the relevant fees.
After the ceremony, the wedding officiant will give the bride a signed marriage license. With that in hand, you will be able to get an official marriage certificate through the Jamaican Registrar General's Office.
The certificate of that marriage is critical for purposes of U.S. immigration. The U.S. government keeps track of what documents are considered legally valid from each country, Jamaica included, and will reject yours if it doesn't come from the proper source, namely from the Registrar General's Department (RGD). Check the State Department's list of Civil and Reciprocity Documents by Country to get further details on what documents from Jamaica it considers valid.
Obtaining Documentation of a Valid Marriage in the United States
If you will hold your wedding in the U.S., you need to follow the laws of the state where you marry. You will need to obtain a marriage certificate from a local government office. A church certificate, for example, is not enough.
Getting Legal Help
Talk to an experienced attorney for a full analysis of your case's potential, any reasonable strategies that might help you apply for speed things up, and help preparing the paperwork and monitoring the case until it's approved.
