Marriage Green Card: How to Sponsor Your Spouse, Step by Step

A U.S. citizen or green card holder sponsors a husband or wife for a marriage green card by filing Form I-130, and the spouse then finishes on one of two routes. A spouse in the U.S. after a lawful entry usually applies here (adjustment of status), while a spouse abroad gets an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate (consular processing).

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your case, talk to a licensed attorney.

Key takeaways

• A citizen's spouse is an immediate relative with a visa always available; a green card holder's spouse waits for one in the F2A category.
• The I-130 costs $675 on paper and the I-485 $1,440; filing either online saves $50.
• Government fees on the consular route total $1,355 with a paper I-130, plus the medical exam.
• A marriage under two years old when the spouse becomes a resident brings a two-year conditional card, and the couple must file Form I-751 to keep the status.

Which marriage green card route fits you

Other routes are in our guide on how to get a green card. For a spouse, three questions decide the path, in this order.

1. Who is sponsoring? A U.S. citizen's spouse is an immediate relative, and a visa is always available. A permanent resident's spouse is in the F2A category and can't finish until the priority date (the day USCIS received the I-130) is current in the State Department's Visa Bulletin.
2. Where is your spouse, and how did they arrive? A spouse abroad goes through consular processing. A spouse in the U.S. can adjust only after being inspected and admitted or paroled (8 U.S.C. 1255(a)). Someone who crossed without inspection generally can't adjust, and leaving for a consular interview can trigger a 3- or 10-year bar, so see a lawyer before anyone files.
3. Has your spouse kept lawful status? For a citizen's spouse, an overstay, past unauthorized work or a Visa Waiver (ESTA) entry doesn't bar adjustment. For a permanent resident's spouse, each of those does (1255(c)(2) and (c)(4)), which usually means finishing abroad.

Meeting those rules doesn't guarantee approval. A USCIS policy memo dated May 21, 2026 (PM-602-0199) tells officers to treat adjustment as extraordinary, discretionary relief wherever consular processing is available, and calls a failure to depart as expected, or to follow the terms of the visa a person entered on, "highly relevant." A spouse who came as a tourist and married months later should be ready to explain what they intended at entry. A lawsuit filed Oct. 5, 2026 by the American Association of University Professors and others challenges the memo.

## Route 1: adjusting status inside the U.S.

1. The sponsor files Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with Form I-130A completed by the spouse. Include proof of the sponsor's citizenship or green card, the marriage certificate, proof that any earlier marriage of either spouse ended, two passport-style photos of each of you, and evidence of a real marriage, such as a joint lease or shared accounts. In Part 4, answer only one of the two route questions (61 or 62): the one for adjustment.
2. The spouse files Form I-485. A citizen's spouse can send it with the I-130 (concurrent filing) or any time after; a resident's spouse can file only once the F2A date is current on the Visa Bulletin chart USCIS designates, which is the Final Action Dates chart unless its filing-charts page says otherwise. Only the 09/18/26 edition is accepted. Include Form I-693, the medical exam from a USCIS-designated civil surgeon (sealed in the doctor's envelope if you mail it), and the sponsor's Form I-864 affidavit of support.
3. To work or travel before a decision, add Form I-765 (work permit) and Form I-131 (advance parole, Part 1, item 5.A), with the I-485 or later.
4. USCIS may call the spouse in for fingerprints and a photo, then schedules an interview at a field office.
5. The card arrives by mail. It's a two-year conditional card if you'd been married less than two years on the approval date.

To file online, the sponsor submits the I-130 from a USCIS online account and gives the receipt notice to the spouse, who includes it with an I-485 filed online or by mail. Before mailing anything, check the form's direct filing address page; USCIS moved the mailing addresses for the I-130, I-485, I-765 and I-131 on Oct. 7, 2026. USCIS posts current I-130 and I-485 processing times by office on its Check Case Processing Times page; check your form and office when you file.

Route 2: consular processing from abroad

1. The sponsor files Form I-130 with the I-130A and answers the consular question in Part 4. A sponsor living abroad can file online or by mail to USCIS's Chicago lockbox; filing at a U.S. embassy is allowed only in limited cases.
2. Once USCIS approves the petition, it sends it to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC). A permanent resident's spouse waits there until the priority date is current.
3. The NVC collects two State Department fees, $325 for the immigrant visa application and $120 to review the affidavit of support (22 CFR 22.1), plus the spouse's online DS-260 application, the sponsor's I-864 and the couple's civil documents.
4. The spouse has a medical exam with an embassy-approved panel physician, then an interview with a consular officer.
5. If the visa is approved, the spouse gets a sealed visa packet (don't open it) and pays the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online, ideally before traveling. The visa is valid for up to six months. At the port of entry, a Customs and Border Protection officer decides whether to admit the spouse as a permanent resident, and USCIS mails the card afterward.

The State Department's NVC Timeframes page shows how far along the NVC is in reviewing documents. Once a visa is available, the embassy or consulate schedules the interview.

What each form costs today

Form or fee	Who pays	Route	Paper	Online
I-130 petition	Sponsor	Both	$675	$625
I-130A supplement	Spouse	Both	No separate fee	No separate fee
I-485 adjustment application	Spouse	In the U.S.	$1,440	$1,390
I-693 medical exam	Spouse	In the U.S.	$0 to USCIS (doctor's fee extra)	n/a
I-864 affidavit of support	Sponsor	Both	$0 to USCIS	n/a
I-765 work permit (I-485 filed on or after April 1, 2024)	Spouse	In the U.S.	$260	$260
I-131 advance parole (pending I-485)	Spouse	In the U.S.	$630	$580
Immigrant visa application (DS-260)	Spouse (State Department)	Abroad	$325	n/a
Affidavit of support review	Sponsor (State Department)	Abroad	$120	n/a
USCIS Immigrant Fee	Spouse	Abroad	n/a	$235
I-751 to remove conditions	Couple	Both, later	$750	$700

USCIS amounts are from Form G-1055, edition 10/26/26, published Oct. 28, 2026; State Department amounts are from 22 CFR 22.1 as of Oct. 30, 2026. Neither schedule covers the exam itself, so ask the doctor. The advance parole entry also lists a $1,050 parole fee (Pub. L. 119-21) that CBP collects at the port of entry unless it finds an exception applies; one covers adjustment applicants returning from temporary travel, but CBP decides.

Added up, a citizen's spouse adjusting status pays $2,115 for the I-130 and I-485 on paper. With the work permit and advance parole it's $3,005, or $2,855 if the I-130, I-485 and I-131 go in online. Online, only an attorney or accredited representative can file the I-485 together with the I-130; filing on your own, the citizen files the I-130 online first, or you mail the forms together (USCIS: Forms Available to File Online). The consular route is $1,355 with a paper I-130 ($1,305 online), plus the panel physician. A conditional card means another $750 for the I-751, filed in the 90 days before the second anniversary of residence (8 U.S.C. 1186a(d)(2)(A)).

## The two-year conditional card

Under 8 U.S.C. 1186a, a spouse whose marriage was less than 24 months old on the day they became a resident gets conditional status. For an adjustment case that's the approval date; on the consular route it's the day CBP admits the spouse at the border. The card lasts two years, and the couple removes the conditions by filing Form I-751 together in the 90 days before the second anniversary of residence. File too early and USCIS may reject it; if no petition is filed, the statute ends the status on that anniversary. Our guide to removing conditions on a green card covers the evidence, the waivers for divorce or abuse, and the wait after filing.

The interview

Plan on one. USCIS interviews every adjustment applicant unless it waives the interview, spouses aren't on its list of categories where officers may waive it, and in family cases the sponsoring spouse generally has to come too (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 7, Part A, Ch. 5). The officer reviews the application with the applicant, who can correct answers that were wrong or have changed. Abroad, a consular officer interviews the spouse before any immigrant visa is issued.

Mistakes that slow a marriage case down

• Sending an outdated edition. USCIS rejects any I-485 other than the 09/18/26 edition if it's postmarked or e-filed on or after Sept. 18, 2026 (the revision follows a new public charge rule, and there was no grace period). Since Oct. 1, 2026, only the 08/24/26 edition of the I-864 counts, and an older one is treated as missing initial evidence.
• Leaving out the medical exam. The I-693 has to go in with the I-485, or USCIS may reject the package.
• Answering both route questions in Part 4 of the I-130, or neither. Moving an approved petition to consular processing later can take another form, the I-824.
• A credit freeze on the sponsor's file. The new I-864 authorizes USCIS to request the sponsor's consumer credit report, and a freeze can stall the review until it's lifted.
• Unsigned forms, which USCIS rejects, and retouched or mounted photos, which delay processing.
• Forgetting the children. A citizen files a separate I-130 for each stepchild, who qualifies only if the marriage happened before the child turned 18. A permanent resident can list the spouse's unmarried children under 21 on the spouse's petition.

When a spouse's case needs an immigration lawyer

Talk to one before filing if:

• your spouse entered without inspection, or has more than 180 days of unlawful presence and may need to leave the U.S.;
• your spouse arrived as a tourist or through ESTA and you married soon after, the pattern the May 2026 memo tells officers to weigh;
• you married while your spouse was in removal proceedings, which calls for clear and convincing evidence that the marriage is genuine (8 U.S.C. 1255(e));
• you're a permanent resident who got your own green card through an earlier marriage less than five years ago;
• either of you has an arrest, a past visa refusal or an earlier immigration case;
• your spouse is abroad and is a national of a country listed in Presidential Proclamation 10998, which suspends those nationals' entry as immigrants (for some countries since June 2025) and since Jan. 1, 2026 has had no categorical exception for spouses; it's being litigated (Thein v. Trump, among others), so check its current status.

A lawyer can tell you which route is open before you pay filing fees. Compare a few immigration lawyers near you by state and city. If you're not sure what kind of help to ask for, choose "Family petition" in our Immigration Lawyer Match for the type of lawyer to look for and a starter list of documents.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a sponsor need to earn to sponsor a spouse?

At least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for the sponsor's household. Under USCIS figures effective March 1, 2026, that's $27,050 a year for a household of two in the 48 contiguous states, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and $34,150 for three. Active-duty service members sponsoring a spouse need 100%, or $21,640 for two. Alaska and Hawaii are higher. A sponsor who falls short can count assets or add a joint sponsor with a separate I-864.

What happens if the green card holder becomes a citizen during the case?

The petition converts. Under 8 CFR 204.2(i)(3), on the date a permanent resident sponsor naturalizes, a pending or approved F2A petition for a spouse is treated as an immediate relative petition. The spouse then stops waiting on a priority date in the Visa Bulletin, because a visa is always available to an immediate relative.

Can my spouse work while the green card application is pending?

Only on the adjustment route, and only once the I-485 is filed. The spouse applies on Form I-765 under category (c)(9), in the same packet as the I-485 or later with a copy of its receipt notice. If the I-485 was filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024, the work permit costs $260, online or on paper.

Can my spouse travel abroad while the I-485 is pending?

Only after getting advance parole. Leaving without it generally means USCIS treats the I-485 as abandoned. Advance parole lets the spouse ask for parole at the port of entry on return. After the Board of Immigration Appeals decided Matter of Delcarmen-Lara on Aug. 13, 2026, USCIS treats a trip on advance parole after that date as a departure for both the 3- and 10-year unlawful presence bars, so a spouse who overstayed more than 180 days needs advice before booking.