Marriage Green Card: Spousal Visa

For couples who aren’t yet married, but wish to live together in the U.S., there are two important immigration paths to be aware of: K-1 fiancé visas and CR-1 spousal visas.

Historically, the K-1 visa process was faster than applying for a spousal visa, making it the preferred option for many couples who just wanted to reunite in the U.S. as soon as possible. Recently, as government processing times shift, this has started to change. Currently, the K-1 visa and CR-1 spousal visa have roughly the same processing times. In some cases, K-1 visa applications are actually taking even longer to be approved.

Overall, the spousal visa application is also more affordable than the K-1 process — around $1,200 in government fees for the spousal visa and $2,025 total for the K-1 visa. Applying for a K-1 is also about to get a lot more expensive, with the government’s new fee structure proposal that could go into effect as early as May 2023.

Therefore, as processing times shift and the fee increase looms, more couples who may have opted for the K-1 in the past are choosing to go the spousal visa route.

Boundless can help your entire family apply! We have over 10 years of experience helping thousands of applicants apply with their children and get their green cards together as a family. You can include any unmarried children age 18 or under on your application.

Our fees include $450 per child’s application, plus $1149 for the beneficiary’s application. These are one-time fees that include total guidance through the process for you and your children, from forms to legal review to interview prep.

“Consular Processing” is the immigration process for those individuals who are applying for immigrant visas from outside of the United States.

Consular processing is the immigration process for the following visa types:

• CR1/IR1 spouse and the accompanying CR2/IR2 child when the sponsor is a U.S. citizen
• F2A category (F21 spouse; F22 child) when the sponsor is a legal permanent resident (aka green card holder)

Please note that consular processing can also be used to apply for employment-based, humanitarian, and diversity visa lottery green cards.

You may have heard that COVID-19 led to delayed CR-1 Spousal visa processing in many countries. The good news is that U.S. embassies and consulates have now been authorized to prioritize CR-1 and IR-1 visas again. Learn the current status of CR-1 and IR-1 visa processing by country in our blog post. Please check this page regularly for updates. We’ll continue to update the blog post as we receive new information from immigration agencies.

It is also important to note that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is currently accepting and processing Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative). Even if you’re concerned about possible delays during the second, embassy stage of the CR-1 / IR-1 visa process, applicants are encouraged to apply for their spouse visa now, in order to jump-start the process.

If you and your spouse have been married for less than two years at the time your spousal visa is approved, the green card that is issued will be a CR-1 “conditional” green card and only valid for two years. The letters “CR-1” on the physical green card stand for “conditional resident.”

After two years, you’ll once again need to prove that your marriage is real and complete a process called “Removal of Conditions”. You’ll then be able to get a “permanent” green card, or an IR-1, valid for 10–year renewable periods. The letters “IR-1” on the physical green card stand for “immediate relative.”

Every spousal visa applicant who has been married for less than two years receives a conditional green card. Practically speaking, a conditional permanent resident has the same rights and privileges as a permanent resident.

Getting a CR-1 visa has nothing to do with how much proof of a valid relationship you and your spouse provided, or how convinced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is that you have a genuine marriage. It does, however, mean that there is one more step to becoming a permanent green card holder. Luckily, Boundless secures your account information for seamless help on the next stage of the process, when it comes time to file for a permanent green card!

Our marriage green card service is $1149 and covers your complete application package — including legal and customer support. You can also pay our fee in monthly installments with our payment plan provider, Splitit. If you choose a payment plan, your base rate will be $1290 total. In addition to the Boundless fee, there are fees paid directly to the U.S. government when you file. Boundless lets you simplify the payment process and pay your Boundless fees and government fees at the same time. We’ll help you calculate your exact government fees and when it comes time to file, we’ll write the check to the government for you.

If your application is denied by the U.S. government, we will refund 100% of our service fees, minus independent attorney fees. (Certain exceptions apply.) Learn more about our money-back guarantee.

Boundless’ affordable payment plan options let you get started on your application now and pay as you go. You can also opt to simplify the entire payment process and pay the government fees on your payment plan*. Boundless will write the check for you when it comes time to file with the government, eliminating any risk of payment mistakes that can cause delays. Create your account to explore all of your payment options and calculate your exact government fees at checkout.

*Please note that if you choose to pay your Boundless fee using a payment plan, your base cost will be $1290. $1149 is the cost for paying the Boundless fee upfront. In addition, if you choose to pay your USCIS fees over time using Splitit’s payment plan, a service fee will be included in your total cost. The service fee included in your total cost is to account for our team writing the check to USCIS on your behalf. To see the exact service fee for your specific application and your total costs, please explore the checkout page or reach out to our team at help@boundless.com.

Your success is our top priority. Boundless covers all interest charged by Splitit so you don’t have to worry about extra costs.

You will not be charged any interest on any of your installments — including any amount held — for the entire duration of your payment plan.

Please note that if you choose to pay your Boundless fee using a payment plan, your base cost will be $1290. $1149 is the cost for paying the Boundless fee upfront. In addition, if you choose to pay your USCIS fees over time using Splitit’s payment plan, a service fee will be included in your total cost. The service fee included in your total cost is to account for our team writing the check to USCIS on your behalf. To see the exact service fee for your specific application and your total costs, please explore the checkout page or reach out to our team at help@boundless.com.

Bundling Boundless’ service cost and your government fees saves you time and effort later on in the process. Boundless helps you calculate your exact government filing fees and lets you pay them over time with monthly payment plan options. When it comes time to file, our team will write the check to the government for you so you can apply stress-free. Bundling the costs eliminates the risk of fee payment mistakes that can cause significant delays or application rejections.

In order to maintain such a high success rate for our customers, we review your application 4 separate times for errors or mistakes to ensure it’s ready to file:

1. We review your forms with you to make sure they’re complete and accurate.
2. We help you upload all of your supporting documents and then review each of them to make sure they meet U.S. government requirements and standards.
3. We run a thorough quality assurance check to cross-reference your forms to your supporting documents, ensuring everything matches up.
4. Lastly, we pass your application to an independent attorney in our network who reviews your entire application package one last time to check for any potential legal issues and make sure we didn’t miss anything.

Once your spousal visa application is ready to file, we print and assemble it in exactly the way that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) prefers and ship everything to you.

To check your eligibility and get started on your Boundless application or to continue making progress, follow this link.

Simply answer the questions in our online questionnaire at your own pace. We’ll take it from there!

With Boundless, you get an experienced independent immigration attorney who will review your entire spousal visa application for your best chance of success — all at an affordable price upfront, with no surprise fees.

We can deliver this extraordinary value for a fraction of what it would cost to engage an attorney on your own. Our technology streamlines the application process, allowing the independent attorneys in our network to focus exclusively on what they are trained to do: provide outstanding legal services.

We have established a network of top-rated independent immigration attorneys who respond quickly, treat each client with empathy, and have successfully served many other clients in your position. Learn more about the attorneys in our network.

After a comprehensive quality review by a Boundless application guide, an independent immigration attorney conducts a thorough legal review, providing written feedback on your application.

If the attorney finds anything they have questions about, they’ll reach out to you for more information. You’ll work with them to update any last pieces of your application before we print and ship it to you. At this point in the process, you’ll be able speak with your independent attorney to go over any and all immigration questions you may have before filing. Ultimately, your attorney is there to identify and address anything in your application that may slow it down, so that you can file quickly and apply for a spouse visa with confidence.

If you have specific legal questions and would like to consult with an immigration attorney before proceeding with Boundless, you may be interested in our Ask My Attorney (AMA) service. AMA is a subscription service where subscribers pay $49 to get 30-minute consultations with Boundless-affiliated independent immigration attorneys. Learn more about Ask My Attorney.