Can I apply for an American citizenship if I marry a girl who is an American citizen? 12 Answers as of October 28, 2011

You can apply for lawful permanent residence after your marriage to your girlfriend, if you plan on living in the United States, through the immigrant visa process. You are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship once you have been a lawful permanent resident for 3 years and have resided in the U.S. for at least 50% of the 3 years immediately preceding your citizenship application. Your U.S. citizen spouse would file an I-130, which would initiate the process to verify your marriage for the purpose of your immigrating to the U.S. You would then be contacted by the Department of State to start the process of being interviewed at the U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

Once you are married, your wife can file an immigrant petition for you. Your case will be processed at the U.S. consulate in Nepal. You will be asked to attend an interview. If your case is approved, you will be granted conditional permanent residency in the U.S. After 3 years of residency, you will be able to apply for citizenship.

If you marry a US citizen, she can then petition for your permanent residence. She would file the I-130 relative petition and after approval, you would file for your immigrant visa at the US Embassy in Kathmandu.

If you decide to marry and then wish to move to the US, then your wife would have to file a petition for you (I-130) to start your immigration process. You can find the instructions of this process on the website of the US consulate and at www.uscis.gov. If you have additional questions after reading the instructions, please hire an experienced immigration lawyer.

She can petition you for permanent residency. It takes about 1 1/2 years. After 3 years with residency status, you can apply for citizenship.

Your girl friend needs to petition for you. As far as the process goes, you should retain a lawyer to help you because merely a marriage certificate is not sufficient to prove your case and you have to burden to prove your case.

More information is needed. How long has your fiancé lived in Nepal? If she have lived in Nepal for more than 180 days, then the U.S. Embassy should process the petition, but it can take time. Mistakes can be made, since the process can get complicated. Some need additional help from family in the U.S. to complete processing.

If you marry a US citizen in Nepal, she will need to file an I-130 visa petition for you and you will then apply for an Immigrant visa at the US Consul in Nepal. If both are approved, you will be able to enter the US as an immigrant, but will need to wait at least 3 years to apply for US citizenship.

Once you marry, your wife can file an immigrant visa petition on your behalf. This petition requires submission of the requisite form, supporting documents, and payment of filing fee.. Once the immigrant visa petition is approved by USCIS, the package is sent to the National Visa Center for additional processing. The case will then be sent to the U.S. Embassy handling cases in your area of Nepal. You will be interviewed. This process will take about 1-1.5 years depending upon delays in processing. If everything goes fine, the visa will be issued and you will enter the U.S. as an immigrant and receive a green card shortly thereafter. The U.S. Embassy can however deny your visa application. You can only become a U.S. citizen after being a lawful permanent resident for (3 or 5 years depending upon certain circumstances). After you have been a resident for the requisite time, you may file an application for naturalization if otherwise eligible.

Once you are married, your spouse can petition for you. The process begins with the filing of an I-130 immigrant visa petition in which you must establish the bona fides of the relationship. Once the I-130 is approved, the case is sent to the National Visa Center which is the hub for consular processing around the world. The National Visa Center will send your U.S. Citizen spouse forms that he or she must complete on your behalf, including the affidavit of support. The affidavit of support is to demonstrate that your U.S. Citizen spouse has sufficient income to prevent you from obtaining welfare. After your spouse completes the forms and sends them to the National Visa Center, you will be scheduled for an interview at the consulate. There, they will determine if there is anything in your past that would prevent you from immigrating such as crimes, immigration violations, etc. If everything goes well, you will enter as a permanent resident. Once you have had permanent residence for three years, you can apply for citizenship if you are still living in marital union with your spouse.