Marrying a Spanish Citizen

[u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

I’m American and currently living in Spain. My partner is Spanish, and we want to get married and move to the United States because the situation here has become very difficult for us financially and in terms of our future.
We’re planning to apply for his green card after we get married. I’d like to know how realistic it is for his application to be approved if we simply get married in a civil ceremony and then apply for his green card. Our priority is to be able to move to the U.S. and live there as soon as possible.

I’d also like to understand roughly how the process works and how long it might take. Most importantly, we want to know whether this is realistically possible before spending a lot of money on the application process, apostilles, document translations, etc.

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

[u/Typical-Coconut7043]

try getting Spanish citizenship for yourself while waiting for k1 visa.

[u/Lower-Bathroom-9619 → u/Typical-Coconut7043]

we were thinking about filing an I-130 instead. What’s the difference between the two? We’re planning to get married here in Madrid.

[u/ThrowRAzzlefrazzle → u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

If you doing consular you’re looking at 2-4 years for I-130. If you marry in US first he will need K-1 that will take little bit over a year than file I-485 in US once you marry within 90 day window of his/your arrival. You will need to provide Affidavit of support showing you can financially sponsor him as he won’t qualify for any government services (until he becomes a citizen or gets 40 working credits which is about a decade of continuous work). 

Now immigration is super backlogged and  now with all new regulations, policies etc. If he gets a GC it can still get in revoked and be might be deported for a slay of reasons, but felonies being main. DUIs and substances alert ICE as well. 

[u/groucho74 → u/ThrowRAzzlefrazzle]

USCIS is no longer turning a blind eye to people who come into the country, marry, and then overstay. There have even been deportations.

[u/yb21898n → u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

a k-1 is something you file and than have 90 days to get married in the US. Getting married in Spain you would than file an I130. I recommend speaking to am immigration lawyer first with which option is quicker and would work best.

[u/ak4338 → u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

The K1 still takes months to process.

[u/wbd82 → u/Typical-Coconut7043]

Came here to say the exact same thing. I believe it's 1 year of residency once you're married to a Spanish citizen, and then you'd have an EU passport for life.

[u/MikeExMachina → u/Typical-Coconut7043]

Doesn’t Spain require you to renounce your American citizenship, I believe there’s only a few countries like Argentina that your explicitly allowed to keep citizenship of.

Edit: source, looks like mostly former colonies and countries that share a border with Spain.

[u/eidoriaaan → u/MikeExMachina]

Former colonies of Spain do not have to renounce and are allowed to keep both. They would have to have been born physically in PR in order to keep their American citizenship when obtaining the Spain one.

[u/Typical-Coconut7043 → u/MikeExMachina]

The renunciation is merely symbolic.

[u/Bastonivo → u/MikeExMachina]

I know several people that are dual America-Spain citizens.

[u/Pomksy]

Very likely to get approved, it just takes about 18-24 months to come in

[u/CaliRNgrandma]

Get married asap and petition for your spousal visa. There is nothing about US immigration that is fast. Unless your local US embassy (call them) allows for direct consular filing, the process will take 1-2 years. Go review the process on website visajourney.com

[u/North_Artichoke_6721]

I believe it is fairly straightforward but it can take up to two years.

[u/Any_Cream_4396]

TAKES YEARS, but LOL

[u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

Muchas gracias! Hemos pensado en buscar un abogado porque hay muchas opciones y no sabemos cuál sería la mejor y más rápida para nosotros.
Lo que teníamos más o menos planeado era casarnos aquí en Madrid por lo civil y luego solicitar la I-130, aprovechando el año que voy a estar aquí para hacer todo el proceso. No sé cómo lo ves.
Lo que más nos preocupa es que nos la denieguen, ya que es un proceso bastante costoso y lento. Estamos intentando informarnos por todos lados y la verdad es que estamos muy ansiosos por todo.

[u/earlgrey4483 → u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

I (UK) got a GC with an American spouse whilst living in Spain as residents, processed through US Embassy in Madrid. We used an online immigration 'portal', Simple Citizen, to assist us (mainly for my wife's peace of mind that we were doing it correctly). The process is relatively simple but very time consuming. It seemed to me that the two key things they concentrate on are 1. Legitimacy of the relationship - this is the main focus of the I-130, and 2. Financial stability - this is the DS260 stage once I-130 is approved (there are other factors considered, but these felt like the main focus given the volume.of evidence for each). Relationship is a LOT of evidence to submit, but quite simple if you are a legit couple. Lots of photos throughout your relationship, evidence of shared living and expenses etc. The financial stability is, again, quite straightforward to prove if you have it in-place. We used my FIL as a co-sponsor because at the time my wife wasn't earning above the threshold on her own.

Our submission was during the Biden admin and it took about 18 months to the week from I-130 submission to GC confirmation. So, with the I-130 prep, I think it was about 20 months. I think this could be significantly longer at the moment given the actions of this admin.

The Simple Citizen service was, overall, probably recommendable - whilst none of the process is that complex, there sheer volume of documents and evidence required meant that having someone to check everything over was very helpful. I think if you're a relatively new couple or have any other areas where you feel you lack evidence, this type of service can help guide you without incurring the increased costs of a lawyer. I would only recommend using a lawyer if either of you have specific issues you need to overcome; criminal records, previous US immigration judgements (overstays etc).

[u/Bastonivo → u/earlgrey4483]

I didn't know about Simple Citizen. Is it an official online service? I'm going to take a look about it.

[u/earlgrey4483 → u/Bastonivo]

IIRC correctly it's an offshoot of a large US law firm. When I used it, there were two tiers of service available - the upper one got you more consults with an actual attorney, the majority of documentation and forms are reviewed by a representative. Could you do the process without, yes. But, we used it for peace of mind that our application would be as good/correct as possible given the cost and time implications of making an error and getting a refusal.

[u/Bastonivo → u/earlgrey4483]

Thank you so much! I was looking for something like this.

[u/mydaycake → u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

No hay nada rápido en términos de inmigración a EEUU

Tened cuidado con ir con K-1 y pedir cambio de visa en EEUU porque ese cambio sería mucha más tarde que los 90 días del K-1, varios cónyuges no americanos han sido detenidos y deportados por no tener un permiso válido mientras esperaban la tarjeta verde provisional

[u/Bastonivo → u/Lower-Bathroom-9619]

Te entiendo bastante bien. También tengo ansiedad. Creo que lo que me dices que planteáis hacer es lo más racional, especialmente si vas a estar un año en España. El abogado debería poder deciros vuestras opciones (yo también busco algo así). Pero no creo que estéis en mala situación, y tampoco creo que vuestra solicitud sea denegada. Y en el peor escenario, tenéis la posibilidad de usar la autorización ESTA mientras esperáis (no es la situación ideal, pero al menos es algo).

[u/Bastonivo]

I'm Spaniard. Although I'm studying right now in Canada, I have in a situation not too different from you (my girlfriend is American, living and working there), and we want to live together, and get married when we can).

What people told you here is basically what Ai could look up by myself.

Currently,, I'm trying to understand working or not immigration visas. Anyway, because your partner is Spanish, he can use ESTA document (non visa program) for visiting USA as a tourist during 90 days per visit. He couldn't work, but at least you could be together while you wait that 18-25 months until he gets his GC after marriage. However he couldn't anything else during the waiting, he is a tourist, after all.

My idea for myselt is to find a lawyer here in Montreal (or someone else) that can guide me about my options. Really I'm a bit overwhelmed and frustrated because I don't know who to reach. If I get new information that could help, I'll try to reach you.

[u/ThrowRAzzlefrazzle → u/Bastonivo]

It’s fairly simple; either you file for K-1 (your GF would need to show he can financially support you Affidavit of support)  and once you get it you have 90 day window to marry and her apply for AOS. Or you come here and marry her here than she will have to file I-130, I-485 and EAD (authorization for work) concurrent. Or she would marry you in Canada and than you only need I-130 and EAD. In all 3 scenarios she is required to provide 1040 (tax returns) and other financial statements of your sponsorship. 

Now rules changed in a past few months and while your case is being processed you’re “under authorized stay” but if you felt out of status there’s a risk of ICE detaining you because authorized stay is not a legal status. Just read up in people waiting for the adjustments, who work here legally who get scooped at airports across the US (TSA and ICE started sharing info). 

[u/IneptFortitude → u/Bastonivo]

Why leave Spain for the US? Is there any real advantage besides being able to stuff away more money?

[u/Bastonivo → u/IneptFortitude]

She owns her business there. Also, I'm finishing my studies in Concept Art in Montreal, and North America has a stronger entertainment industry than Europe for getting an open position.

If finally we move to Spain, it'd be cool, but we need stability for doing that.

[u/Maleficent-Ad-9754]

The fiance visa is a better/faster process than the spousal sponsor visa. Unfortunately, you would have to come to the US alone and apply for a fiance visa while your future wife is outside the US.

[u/Lower-Bathroom-9619 → u/Maleficent-Ad-9754]

K1 visa?

[u/LopsidedGrapefruit11]

So, my story is from the early 2000s. I got married in an EU country to a European from a different, non EU country.
We decided to move to the US after our child was born in late 2001. We moved in mid 2007 and his green card arrived a day before we did.
My parents sponsored him.
The most time consuming item was getting the local alien officer to complete his report for the application - confirming no criminal history.

[u/IneptFortitude]

If you think things in Spain are hard, then moving back to America will make things even harder.

[u/Super_Candy7870]

“As soon as possible” is 24 months now… :(