Green Cards for Spouses and Children
In this article, our US Immigration Lawyers offer guidance on securing a Green Card as a spouse or for a child.
If you need US immigration legal advice on how to apply for a Green Card as an immediate relative under USCIS rules, then our US Visa Lawyers in London can help.
US Immigration and Green Card Lawyers UK
For US immigration and Green Card advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online. Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or online consultations and at our offices in London.
Immediate relative Green Cards
USCIS and the immigration rules say that an ‘immediate relative’ with a family connection can apply for a Green Card if they meet the complex eligibility criteria as a relative.
Our London-based US Immigration Lawyers know that every family is different. For example, you may have been in an unmarried relationship for over 30 years with a person with a US Green Card or be the stepchild of a US citizen. However, under USCIS rules, an immediate relative is defined as a person who falls within one of these three categories:
- The spouse of a US citizen.
- The unmarried ‘child’ under 21 years of age of a US citizen.
- The parent of a US citizen if the US citizen is age 21 or older.
There are special Green Card application provisions if you are a widow or widower of a US national.
Family members of those with immediate relative status cannot tailgate a Green Card application. They must apply for their own Green Card and be assessed on their status and relationship to the US citizen. For example, the stepchild of a non-US citizen cannot tailgate onto their parent’s Green Card application.
Applications for Green Card status can be made from within the US or outside it. Making an application from within the US is called an adjustment of status application. Some spouses are barred under the immigration rules from applying for an adjustment of their status. If you are worried that you may fall into that category because of your immigration record, arrest or criminal conviction, it’s best to speak to an experienced US immigration attorney.
Unmarried partners and Green Card applications
Many countries, such as the UK with their Unmarried Partner Visa, allow those in committed but unmarried relationships to reunite through a Family Visa application. In the UK, a Spouse Visa can lead to UK settlement with Indefinite Leave to Remain status (the UK equivalent of the US Green Card).
Unsurprisingly, our US Visa Lawyers in London are asked by people looking to join family in the US about Green Cards for unmarried partners. In the States, you won’t qualify for a Green Card as an immediate relative if you are not legally married to your US partner. That rule applies whether you have been in a cohabiting relationship for two years or twenty years.
If you are in an unmarried relationship and marriage isn't an option, our US Immigration Lawyers can advise on your visa alternatives to a Green Card. These include a Work Visa, such as the L1 Visa or H1B Visa, or a Visitor Visa, such as the B1 Visa.
Sponsorship may not be the most romantic reason to marry, but some couples in loving relationships elect to get married to further their reunification plans. Getting married in the US to a US citizen may be possible through a Fiance Visa. In the States, this is called a K-1 Visa. Once in the US on a Family Visa, you can apply for an adjustment of status to secure a Green Card. However, if you have been married for less than two years at the date of your Green Card application, you will only qualify for a Conditional Card. This is referred to as Conditional Permanent Residence status.
If you are a cohabiting couple or in an unmarried relationship with a US national, it is best to speak to our London-based US Immigration Lawyers about your visa options and route to permanent status in the US.
Green Card applications for children
In 2025, families are often blended through marriage, so many Green Card applicants worry that their child won't count as an ‘immediate relative’ under Green Card rules.
Whether a child is a ‘child’ of a US citizen or a person with a US Green Card can require careful consideration. The decision can rest on the child’s age and parents’ marital status at the time of the child’s birth or afterward.
If a child’s parents were married at the time of the child’s birth, the child is said to have been born in wedlock and is classed as the child of both parents until the child is 21 or gets married, whichever is earlier. If the parents get a divorce, the child is still considered to be a child of both parents.
The situation is a bit different if a child was born out of wedlock or to parents who were not married to one another at the time of the child’s birth. In this scenario, all mothers are classed as parents, and the child is their immediate relative. A father of a child born outside marriage and where a marriage subsequently did not take place is only classed as the child’s immediate relative if the father or child can establish there was a parent-child relationship before the child reached 21 or got married. Evidence could be contact arrangements, custody, or the payment of child support.
Step-children are classed as children provided the marriage between the biological parent and step-parent took place before the stepchild turned 18.
The rules are different again for adopted children. An adopted child is a child under the US immigration rules if the child was adopted before reaching the age of 16 (or before their 18th birthday, if certain circumstances described on the Adoption-Based Family Petition Process or Adoption-Based Form I-130 Process page apply). The adoptive parent must satisfy a two-year legal custody and joint residence requirement.
If you are in any doubt about whether you, as an older child or your dependent child qualifies as an immediate relative for a Green Card application, it is sensible to take immigration legal advice from a Green Card Lawyer.
Spouse and child Green Card applications made from outside the US
Applying for a US Green Card based on marriage or a parent-child relationship is a two-stage process involving the completion of Form 1-130 and consular processing. The evidential paperwork depends on the status of the applicant. A married applicant cannot simply rely on their marriage certificate. They need to demonstrate that the relationship with their spouse is genuine. Equally, a stepchild or a child born out of wedlock will need additional evidence, depending on the exact circumstances.
Green Card Lawyer UK
Whatever your family circumstances and whether you are making your application from within the US, the UK or elsewhere in the world, our top US Visa Lawyers in London provide expert legal assistance for US immigration.
We will help you understand the eligibility criteria for a Green Card, the process applicable to your family circumstances and the evidence you need to prove you meet the USCIS immediate relative criteria. Our US Immigration Lawyers will then carefully guide you through the application to enable your family to settle permanently in the US with all the safety and security a Green Card offers.
US Immigration Lawyers for Green Cards in London
For legal assistance for US immigration, call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online. Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or online consultations or at our offices in London.
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