I’m a green card holder — if my partner comes to the U.S. on a tourist visa and we get married, can I apply for her legally ?
Hi everyone, I really need your help.
I’m a green card holder living in the U.S. Now I want to get married, but my partner is outside the U.S. She already has a valid tourist visa and can come visit me.
What’s the best way to bring her here and make her my wife in the U.S.? Can I file for marriage and adjustment of status if she enters the U.S. on a tourist visa?
Thank you!
A Lawful Permanent Resident (holder of a "Green Card") may marry a foreign national who has entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection so that she may apply for a Green Card. The sponsorship would be in the family-based second preference (F2A) visa category. Note that, as shown in the official monthly Visa Bulletin (see: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2026/visa-bulletin-for-october-2025.html), there is a significant backlog for visas in the F2A category, and your wife would not be able to apply to adjust status until a visa became "immediately available" based upon her Priority Date (date of your filing Form I-130 Petition for Relative Alien). With her visitor's visa, your wife would not be authorized to remain in or be employed in the U.S. the entire time needed to wait for a permanent visa to become available (although, of course, that visa would authorize her to remain in the U.S. for a limited designated time). Some of these considerations would be different if you were to successfully apply to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. It would be wise for you and your fiancée to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant details about you, your fiancée, your plans, etc., then could provide specific legal advice to achieve your immigration-related goals.
[Note: Consistent with Avvo policy, this communication is intended as general information and not specific legal advice, and this communication does not create an attorney-client relationship.] David N. Soloway
As a green card holder, the safest path is marrying abroad and petitioning for her while she waits in her home country. It requires patience but avoids serious legal risks. Otherwise, If USCIS believes she entered with intent to stay, both of you could face serious consequences including: Denial of all immigration benefits.
Permanent bar for misrepresentation.
Potential criminal charges for visa fraud.
If my answer is the "BEST ANSWER" and/or "HELPFUL" please mark it accordingly. Fluent in 7 languages. Board Certified Specialist in U.S. Immigration Law, The State Bar of California...
Generally, a green card holder — may surprise their partner who comes to the U.S. on a tourist visa, marry, and apply for her legally.
Please acknowledge my answer as "BEST ANSWER" and/or "HELPFUL"? If you think so. Mr. Smith has 25 years of successful U.S. immigration law experience with cases just like yours. Still, his response is general in nature, as all the facts are unknown to him, and cannot be construed as legal advice. Please retain immigration counsel to analyze your particular situation in order to receive specific advice. Specific answers requires knowledge of all the pertinent facts of your case. Any answers offered by Mr. Smith on Avvo are of a general nature only, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
