A foreign national may also obtain a green card through marriage to a permanent resident of the United States. As is the case with marriage to a United States Citizen, the husband and wife here will also prove physical contact within two years of the filing of Form I-130. The Form I-130 must be filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Upon approval, the approved petition will be forwarded to the Department of States for further processing.

The major issue is that visa is not immediately available and the parties must wait for visa availability. The visa may not be available for many years. It may take four to five years for visa to become available. In the meantime, the foreign national will not derive any immigration benefits as a result Form I-130. Assuming that the foreign national is residing in the United States, he or she will not be saved from deportation or removal from the United States. The foreign national will not be issued a work permit.

If, on the other hand, the foreign national resides overseas, he or she will not be eligible for non-immigrant visa pending the availability of immigrant visa. The foreign national’s children will not be eligible for any immigration benefits as well. It is probably better for a foreign national to wait for the United States permanent resident to naturalize before getting into marriage.