Back to Marriage Green Card Eligibility & Admissibility Screener

Is your spouse a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident?

In short

**Marriage to a U.S. citizen** = immediate-relative case under INA § 201(b)(2)(A)(i). No wait, no priority date, no F2A backlog. **Marriage to an LPR** = F2A preference case under INA § 203(a)(2)(A) — the bulletin moves between *current* and a 12-month wait depending on the month, and the spouse cannot file the I-485 in the U.S. until the priority date is current.

Context & Examples

Real example — Maria & Daniel, Sacramento. Daniel was an LPR when they married in 2022 and naturalized in October 2024. We watched the timing: the day Daniel became a citizen, Maria's case converted from F2A to immediate-relative, the Visa Bulletin became irrelevant, and we filed I-130 + I-485 + I-765 + I-131 concurrently the same week. Result: work permit in 90 days and green card interview at the Sacramento USCIS field office in 11 months.

Why this matters: If we had filed during the LPR period, we would have used the wrong forms, miscalculated the wait, and Maria would have lost the ability to file the I-485 from inside the U.S. The petitioner's status check is question one for a reason.

Sources

Legal Citations

INA § 201(b)(2)(A)(i) — Immediate relativesINA § 203(a) — Family-sponsored preferences