The top goal for a lot of immigrants is simply to make sure that the whole family is not split up during the process. To do this, they look into family-based visa petitions, which can include related family members and which, to some degree, help keep the family together.
The problem is that the family is not always going to be denied or approved as a unit, as individual background checks are also done. If one person raises a red flag, they could be stopped even if everyone else is approved, and the whole situation can grow very complicated. Even if they do not raise red flags, though, they could be split up for a time.
One way for the family to get into the United States is for one member to get a green card, meaning that they have status as a resident of the country. They can then file an immigration form that asks for their spouse to be allowed to enter the country as well.
One of the most important things for people to know in this situation is that, contrary to what many people think, the spouse may be able to legally move to the United States before being given their own green card. To do this, they need to put in for a K-3 visa. This is temporary approval to work and live in the United States while waiting to see if the paperwork for the full, permanent immigration is all going to go through.
Would you like to find out more about how these laws work in Arizona? If so, you may want to check out our page on family immigration, which contains a lot of valuable information.
Source: Law Offices of Alice Vacek Aranda PLLC, “Family Immigraration” Sep. 03, 2014
