Green Card for Spouse: Forms, Process, and Costs

To get a green card for your spouse, you file Form I-130 with USCIS to establish the marriage, then your spouse files either Form I-485 (if inside the United States) or the DS-260 immigrant visa application (if abroad), along with an Affidavit of Support and a medical exam. The green card for a spouse of a U.S. citizen can be done in under two years and often much faster; the green card for a spouse of a lawful permanent resident currently takes several years because of an annual visa cap.

Citizen Sponsor vs. Permanent Resident Sponsor

This one distinction shapes everything else about the case.

Spouses of U.S. citizens are classified as immediate relatives. Immigrant visas for immediate relatives are always available, with no annual cap.¹ A citizen can also file the I-130 petition and the I-485 adjustment application at the same time, which is called concurrent filing and cuts the total wait considerably.²

Spouses of lawful permanent residents sit in the F2A preference category, which is capped each year. When demand outruns supply, a backlog forms. As of early 2025 the F2A final action date for most countries was around January 2022, meaning applicants who filed then were just reaching the front of the line.³ Total waits of three to five years, sometimes longer, are common depending on country of origin. If the sponsor naturalizes while the case is pending, the beneficiary spouse becomes an immediate relative and jumps out of the backlog.

Who Qualifies and What You Have To Prove

Any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident can petition for their spouse.⁴ The marriage must be legally recognized where it was performed, and same-sex marriages are treated the same as opposite-sex marriages for immigration purposes.⁵ If either spouse was married before, you need proof each prior marriage ended by divorce, annulment, or death.

The Income Requirement

The petitioner has to show income or assets at 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size.⁶ For a two-person household in 2026 that comes out to roughly $27,050 a year in the 48 contiguous states. Active-duty military sponsoring a spouse only need to hit 100 percent of the guidelines. If your income falls short, a joint sponsor can co-sign the Affidavit of Support and take on the same obligation.

Admissibility

Even with an approved petition, the sponsored spouse can be denied a green card if a ground of inadmissibility applies. The main categories are health-related (communicable diseases, missing vaccinations, drug abuse), criminal (crimes of moral turpitude, controlled substance offenses, drug trafficking, or multiple convictions totaling five or more years), and prior immigration violations (past deportation orders, fraud on earlier applications, or unlawful presence). Some grounds can be waived; others cannot. Anything in the sponsored spouse’s history that touches these categories should be reviewed before filing, not after.

The Forms and Documents

The paperwork breaks into three jobs: prove the relationship, prove financial support, and file the green card application itself.

Form I-130 — Prove the Marriage

Form I-130 establishes the qualifying family relationship.⁴ Beyond the marriage certificate and divorce decrees from prior marriages, USCIS wants evidence that the marriage is genuine: joint bank statements, a shared lease or mortgage, insurance policies naming each other as beneficiary, children’s birth certificates, photos from different stages of the relationship, and sworn statements from people who know you as a couple. Variety matters more than volume.

Form I-864 — The Affidavit of Support

Form I-864 is a legally binding contract between the petitioner and the U.S. government promising financial support for the sponsored spouse.⁷ The obligation runs until the sponsored spouse naturalizes, earns 40 qualifying quarters of work, permanently leaves the country, or dies. Attach the sponsor’s most recent federal tax returns and W-2s.

Form I-485 or DS-260 — The Green Card Application

If your spouse is inside the U.S. and eligible to adjust status, they file Form I-485.⁸ If they’re abroad, they complete the DS-260 immigrant visa application online. Either path needs passport-style photos, a birth certificate with a certified English translation if applicable, and a medical exam.

The Medical Exam

Applicants inside the U.S. see a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, who documents the exam on Form I-693. For exams signed on or after November 1, 2023, the results are valid only while the associated application remains pending; if the application is denied or withdrawn, a new exam is required for any future filing.⁹ Applicants abroad see a panel physician appointed by the local U.S. embassy.¹⁰ Don’t schedule the exam too early.

Two Paths: Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing

Where your spouse lives dictates the route.

Adjustment of Status Inside the U.S.

Couples already living together in the United States usually adjust status. When the petitioner is a U.S. citizen, the I-130 and I-485 can go in as a single concurrent package to the USCIS lockbox for the applicant’s state.² USCIS mails an I-797C receipt notice with a case number, then schedules a biometrics appointment for fingerprints and photos.¹¹ The case ends with an in-person interview at a local USCIS field office. Both spouses attend. The officer asks about how you met, daily life, and living arrangements to confirm the marriage is real. If the case is approved at the interview, the green card typically arrives in the mail within a few weeks.

Consular Processing Abroad

When the sponsored spouse is outside the U.S., the approved I-130 transfers to the National Visa Center, which assigns a case number, collects fees, and processes civil documents through an online portal. The applicant schedules the medical exam with a panel physician and appears for an interview at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. If approved, the officer places an immigrant visa in the passport. On arrival at a U.S. port of entry, a Customs and Border Protection officer inspects the documents and admits the applicant as a permanent resident. The physical green card is mailed later, but only after the applicant pays the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online.¹²

The Unlawful Presence Trap

Read this section before booking any consular interview if your spouse has ever been in the U.S. without status. It’s where the process derails most badly.

More than 180 days of unlawful presence followed by a departure triggers a three-year bar on returning. More than one year of unlawful presence followed by a departure triggers a ten-year bar.¹³ Your spouse leaves for their consular interview and then cannot come back for years.

Form I-601A, the provisional unlawful presence waiver, exists precisely to prevent this. It lets the applicant get a preliminary approval while still inside the U.S., before traveling abroad for the interview. The applicant has to show that their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the waiver were denied.¹⁴ The filing fee is $795.¹² Anyone with meaningful unlawful presence should talk to an immigration attorney before leaving the country for any reason.

Working and Traveling While the Case Is Pending

Adjustment cases take many months. Your spouse can apply for an Employment Authorization Document on Form I-765, which grants permission to work while the green card application is pending.¹⁵ When a citizen files concurrently, the I-765 typically rides along with the I-130 and I-485.

International travel is different. USCIS generally treats a pending adjustment application as abandoned if the applicant leaves the U.S. without first obtaining advance parole through Form I-131.¹⁶ There are exceptions for certain visa holders including H-1B, L-1, and K-3 spouses of citizens, who can travel on their existing visas. Everyone else should have advance parole approved before booking any flight out.

Conditional Green Cards and Removing Conditions

If the marriage is less than two years old on the day the green card is approved, the sponsored spouse gets a conditional green card valid for two years instead of the standard ten. Miss the deadline to remove conditions and you can lose permanent resident status entirely.

Both spouses jointly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, during the 90-day window immediately before the conditional card expires.¹⁷ Filing before that window opens can lead to rejection. The fee is $750 by paper or $700 online.¹²

If the marriage ends first, the conditional resident can still file I-751 alone by requesting a waiver of the joint filing requirement. USCIS grants waivers when the marriage was entered in good faith but ended in divorce or annulment; when the sponsoring spouse subjected the conditional resident or their child to battery or extreme cruelty; or when removal would cause extreme hardship to the conditional resident (this last basis does not require proving good-faith marriage).¹⁸ Waiver requests can be filed any time before the conditional status expires, and there is no filing fee for waivers based on abuse.

What It Costs

Government filing fees below are from the USCIS fee schedule effective March 2026.¹² All fees are non-refundable.

Adjusting Status Inside the U.S.

Form I-130: $675 by paper, $625 online
Form I-485: $1,440
Medical exam: $200 to $500 depending on civil surgeon and any required vaccinations

Consular Processing Abroad

Immigrant visa application fee to the National Visa Center: $325¹⁹
Affidavit of support review fee: $120¹⁹
USCIS Immigrant Fee, paid online after visa approval and before the card is mailed: $235
Medical exam abroad: $200 to $500

Later or Situational Costs

Form I-751 to remove conditions, due about two years after approval if the marriage was under two years old at the time: $750 paper, $700 online
Form I-601A provisional waiver, if unlawful presence applies: $795
Certified translations of foreign-language documents: $25 to $50 per page

None of these figures include attorney fees, courier fees, or foreign government document charges, which vary by country and are hard to predict.

If the Sponsoring Spouse Dies

If the U.S. citizen spouse dies after filing the I-130, the case does not automatically end. The pending I-130 converts to a Form I-360, and the surviving spouse can keep pursuing the green card without filing a new petition.²⁰ If no petition was filed before the death, the surviving spouse can self-petition on Form I-360 within two years of the death, provided they were not divorced or legally separated at the time of death and have not remarried. Unmarried children under 21 may be included even if the deceased citizen never filed for them separately.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
3
U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for April 2025
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
5
Justia. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-485 – Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Changes Validity Period for Any Form I-693 Signed on or After Nov. 1, 2023
10
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
13
U.S. Department of State. 9 FAM 302.11 – Ineligibility Based on Previous Immigration Violations
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131 – Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6, Part I, Chapter 5 – Waiver of Joint Filing Requirement
19
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Widow(er) of a U.S. Citizen