A common question that marriage visa applicants ask is: Can an American citizen petition for his or her foreign national spouse while living outside of the United States? Many couples living overseas assume that they cannot apply for the foreign national spouse’s permanent residency until the U.S. citizen spouse is living in the United States.
Fortunately, that is not the case. Couples living overseas can apply for permanent residency while the U.S. citizen is living outside the United States. This means that a couple that is planning to live in the United States, but is currently living overseas, can start the marriage visa process and get many of the immigration hurdles out of the way before coming to the United States to permanently live.
However, the exact procedure for applying for a marriage visa while overseas will vary based on the unique situation of the couple living overseas. To more fully learn how you can start the marriage visa process while overseas, please contact a marriage visa lawyer.