How a U.S. citizen brings a spouse from abroad on a CR-1 visa: the petition, the visa center, Warsaw for residents of Russia, the interview and entry.
Reviewed by Ekaterina Fitenko, Esq. — Florida Bar #1064536. With 20+ years of experience in the legal field, she prepares spousal petitions for U.S. citizens whose husbands and wives live abroad, in English and Russian.
A U.S. citizen brings a spouse from abroad by filing Form I-130 with USCIS; after approval, the case moves to the National Visa Center, then to an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and the spouse enters the United States as a permanent resident. The spouse of a U.S. citizen is an immediate relative under INA § 201(b), so there is no annual cap and no wait for a visa number.
The CR-1 is that same immigrant visa for a marriage less than two years old. The spouse arrives as a conditional permanent resident under INA § 216, not as a visitor, and is not required to change status after arrival.
Two agencies run the process. USCIS decides whether the marriage qualifies. The Department of State decides whether the spouse receives a visa. An approved petition gives the spouse no status: USCIS says in 6 USCIS-PM B.5 that a petition accords no immigration status.
We do not give a number of months on this page. The current USCIS figure for Form I-130 is on the USCIS Check Case Processing Times page, and the National Visa Center schedules interviews according to what each consulate can take. Nine steps follow, then the 2026 rules that can stop a case for particular nationalities. If you are still deciding between this route and a fiancé visa, read K-1 versus CR-1 first.
A spouse receives CR-1 if the marriage is less than two years old, and IR-1 if it is older. INA § 216(h)(1) draws the line at a marriage entered less than 24 months before the date the immigrant obtains permanent resident status.
The difference is what happens afterward. A CR-1 spouse has a two-year conditional green card and must file Form I-751 to remove the conditions. An IR-1 spouse has an ordinary green card and files nothing of the kind. Under 8 CFR 216.1, a conditional resident otherwise has the same rights and duties as any permanent resident, including the privilege of residing permanently in the United States. Work is covered by 8 CFR 274a.12(a)(1).
The moment that counts deserves attention when the second anniversary is close. 9 FAM 504.10-3 tells consular officers to classify by the date of visa issuance in one paragraph and by the date of admission in the next, while the statute speaks of the date the person obtains status. If your second anniversary falls between issuance and entry, raise it with your lawyer before you book the flight.
Both visas run through the same nine steps. A green card holder who petitions for a spouse uses a different category, F2A, which depends on the Visa Bulletin, and that case is outside this article.
| Step | What happens | Who acts | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm the marriage counts for immigration | Couple | INA § 101(a)(35); 6 USCIS-PM B.6 |
| 2 | File Form I-130 and Form I-130A | U.S. citizen spouse | INA § 204; 8 CFR 204.2(a) |
| 3 | USCIS approves, the National Visa Center opens the case | USCIS, NVC | 9 FAM 504.4-2(B) |
| 4 | Pay the visa center fees | Couple | 22 CFR 42.67(a)(1) |
| 5 | Complete Form DS-260 | Immigrating spouse | 9 FAM 504.4-3(A)(2) |
| 6 | Submit Form I-864 and civil documents | Both | INA § 213A; 9 FAM 504.4-4 |
| 7 | Medical examination with a panel physician | Immigrating spouse | INA § 221(d); 22 CFR 42.66 |
| 8 | Interview with a consular officer | Immigrating spouse | 22 CFR 42.62 |
| 9 | Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee and enter the United States | Immigrating spouse | INA § 221(c); 22 CFR 42.72 |
The U.S. citizen files Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for a Spouse Beneficiary. It can be filed online or by mail, and as of November 2026 the mailing address is the one USCIS set on October 7, 2026, so an address copied from an old guide may be wrong. Check the Form I-130 page first.
The petition has to prove four things: the petitioner's citizenship, a legally valid marriage, the end of every prior marriage of either spouse, and a real relationship. 6 USCIS-PM B.6 states that the marriage must be bona fide from the beginning, meaning the couple intended to build a life together when they married.
Couples married online need to read one rule carefully. INA § 101(a)(35) does not treat as a spouse a person married at a ceremony where the parties were not physically together, unless the marriage was consummated. 6 USCIS-PM B.6 applies this to virtual marriages: the marriage must be valid where the certificate was issued, and the couple must consummate it after the ceremony if they were not physically together. Proof can include a child's birth certificate, or passports and tickets showing time together after the ceremony.
Premium processing does not exist for Form I-130: the USCIS page lists Forms I-129, I-140, I-765 and I-539. USCIS interviews are not routine for every standalone petition either. 6 USCIS-PM B.5 lists the situations that require one, such as insufficient evidence that the marriage is real or a prior petition for another spouse.
After approval, USCIS sends the petition to the National Visa Center, which collects the fees and documents for every immigrant visa post. Under 9 FAM 504.4-2(B) the NVC sends a Welcome Letter with the case number and invoice number and directs the applicant to its online system, CEAC.
Steps 4, 5 and 6 happen here. The fee is paid first; Form DS-260 is then completed, and under 9 FAM 504.4-3(A)(2) it cannot be submitted in any language other than English. Give a complete U.S. address on it, because DHS uses that address to mail the green card.
Form I-864 is signed by the petitioner, who must be at least 18 and domiciled in the United States under 8 CFR 213a.2(c)(1). A citizen who has been living abroad with the spouse has a domicile question to solve first. The income test is 125 percent of the poverty guidelines; for a household of two in the 48 states and D.C. that is $24,650 on the Form I-864P effective March 1, 2026. A joint sponsor can fill a shortfall. USCIS moved to the 08/24/26 edition of Form I-864 on October 1, 2026, so use the edition the NVC instructions name.
The document list comes from 9 FAM 504.4-4:
Police certificates follow a set rule: the country of current residence after at least six months there, the country of nationality after at least six months at any time, and any former country of residence after one year or more since age 16. They are valid for two years from issuance under 9 FAM 504.4-4(A). Civil documents typically do not expire. Which document counts in a given country is in the State Department's country instructions, which 9 FAM 504.4-4(A) requires the applicant to follow.
When the file is complete, the NVC schedules the interview and emails the appointment letter. Our NVC and DS-260 article goes through the screens one by one.
The general rule is the consular district where the spouse lives. Under 9 FAM 504.4-8(B), residence means the actual dwelling place, not nationality, so a Russian citizen living in a third country generally applies through that country's immigrant visa post, if it has one. An applicant can also apply where she is physically present if she can show she will be able to remain there for the time the process takes.
Residents of Russia do not interview in Russia. 9 FAM 504.4-8(E) lists Russia among countries with suspended or reduced visa operations and names Warsaw as the designated immigrant visa post for spouses; it also names Warsaw for Belarus. The NVC assigns such cases to the designated post. The Almaty and Tashkent entries in that list are marked IR-5, the category for parents of citizens, and do not cover spouses.
A spouse who cannot apply in the designated post can ask to transfer the case to another immigrant visa post, under 9 FAM 504.4-8(E)(2) and (E)(3). If the case is still at the NVC, the NVC changes the post code and places the case in that post's queue in first-in, first-out order. The post named in the list is what we read in the Foreign Affairs Manual in November 2026; embassy operations change, so confirm it in your own appointment letter.
The designation answers where the case goes, not how the spouse gets there. Entry into Poland is governed by Polish rules, which we do not advise on, and the spouse should settle that before the interview date arrives. See our consular processing page.
The medical examination comes before the interview and is done abroad. 22 CFR 42.66 requires it of every immigrant visa applicant, and 9 FAM 504.4-7 says it must be done by a panel physician designated by the visa-issuing post and may not be done in the United States. In no case is the examination valid for more than six months.
The interview is in person. 22 CFR 42.62 requires personal appearance before a consular officer, and 9 FAM 504.7-2 says the principal beneficiary must appear. The U.S. citizen's attendance is not what the rule requires. The officer reviews the application, the documents and the relationship. Once the application is executed, 9 FAM 504.11-2 says the visa must be either issued or refused; there is no third outcome.
A refusal under INA § 221(g) is not always the end of the case, but it starts a clock: 9 FAM 504.1-4(B) makes a case subject to possible termination under INA § 203(g) if the applicant fails to give evidence overcoming the refusal within one year.
The officer works from the file, so consistency among Form I-130, Form I-130A and Form DS-260 matters. Dates of marriage, prior marriages, addresses and past U.S. visas should read the same way in all three.
The immigrant visa is valid for no more than six months from issuance under INA § 221(c) and 22 CFR 42.72(a), and it may be shorter. Under 9 FAM 504.10-2 the officer may shorten it to match the passport. Read the expiry date printed on the visa and travel before it.
The consulate gives the immigrant a sealed packet. USCIS says not to open it. Pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee online before departure; a family member can pay it with the A-Number and DOS Case ID. The amount is on the USCIS Immigrant Fee page.
At the port of entry the packet goes to the Customs and Border Protection officer, who inspects the spouse and decides on admission. Once admitted, the spouse is a permanent resident. USCIS then mails the green card to the address given on the application, or to the new address given to the officer at entry.
For a CR-1, the two-year period starts on the date of admission. The couple files Form I-751 jointly within the 90 days before the second anniversary.
Check three separate things as of November 2026: the former 75-country immigrant visa pause, Proclamation 10998, and the public charge ground. They are different rules, and a mistake about one tells you nothing about the others.
The 75-country pause. From January 21, 2026 the Department of State paused immigrant visa issuance for nationals of a list of countries that included Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, the Kyrgyz Republic and Azerbaijan; Ukraine was not on the list. On August 21, 2026 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated the policy in Catholic Legal Immigration Network v. Rubio, No. 26-CV-00858.
That decision is on appeal. As of November 6, 2026, a Second Circuit judge has declined a temporary stay of the vacatur of the policy itself, while temporarily staying the part of the judgment that dealt with vacating and sending back individual refusals, and the motion is before a three-judge panel. The government told the court that a September 10 cable informed posts the policy is no longer in effect and barred new refusals under it. A spouse refused under the pause should have that refusal reviewed by counsel, because the review of old refusals is a separate process. We make no forecast about the appeal.
Proclamation 10998. As of November 2026 this proclamation, in force since January 1, 2026, suspends immigrant entry for nationals of Turkmenistan among the former Soviet republics, and names no other republic. It has no exception for spouses of U.S. citizens: the exception for immediate relatives in the earlier Proclamation 10949 did not carry over. It applies to people outside the United States on the effective date without a valid visa, and it has no end date. A couple from another listed country should read the proclamation's text, including the national-interest exceptions in Section 6.
Public charge. INA § 212(a)(4) applies to immigrant visas, and Form I-864 is required in a spousal case under 9 FAM 504.4-4(E). The DHS final rule at 91 FR 45324 applies to applications for admission made on or after September 18, 2026. As of November 2026, a sufficient I-864 is therefore more than a formality, and benefits history deserves a look with counsel before the interview.
The first is treating the visitor visa as a shortcut. Marrying in the United States after entering as a visitor raises different questions, covered in our article on the B-2 visa and the 90-day rule. A spouse already in the United States has a different route, and PM-602-0199 of May 21, 2026 makes that choice worth discussing before anyone travels.
The second is silence. The USCIS consular processing page says to contact the NVC if the address or marital status changes. Under 9 FAM 504.1-4(B), not applying within one year of the appointment letter, or missing the interview and doing nothing for a year, exposes the registration to termination under INA § 203(g).
The third is selling up early. A visa has not been issued until the officer issues it, and a refusal under INA § 221(g) can come with no warning. Hold off on giving up housing or a job until the visa is in hand.
The fourth is a sponsor problem found late. A petitioner abroad with no U.S. domicile, or one with a recent drop in income, should work out Form I-864 before the NVC asks for it.
Our initial consultation is $200 for 30 minutes, paid by card through a link before the meeting and always credited toward your fee. It takes place by Google Meet, by phone, or at our office at 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076. Our second office at 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 is by prior appointment only. We take clients from other states and countries and work with them by Google Meet, which suits couples separated by an ocean.
Our fee for Form I-130 alone starts at $2,000; the fee for the consular stage is set after the consultation; USCIS and Department of State fees are separate. The full fee schedule is on our legal fees page.
In the consultation we check the marriage, the country and post, the sponsor's domicile and income, and any prior visa or immigration history. We do not predict how an officer will rule. Florida Bar rules do not allow it.
To start, complete the intake questionnaire, call (305) 315-3425, or email fitenkolaw@gmail.com. See also our marriage green card page.
The U.S. citizen files Form I-130 with Form I-130A at USCIS. After approval the National Visa Center opens the case, collects fees, Form DS-260, Form I-864 and civil documents, and schedules an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The spouse completes a panel physician's medical examination, attends the interview, pays the USCIS Immigrant Fee and enters the United States as a conditional permanent resident.
The route is the same Form I-130 and immigrant visa, with the interview outside Russia. 9 FAM 504.4-8(E), as read in November 2026, names Warsaw as the designated immigrant visa post for residents of Russia applying as spouses. A spouse unable to apply there can ask to transfer the case to another post. As of November 2026 Russia is not named in Proclamation 10998, and the 75-country pause that covered Russia was vacated by a federal court, with an appeal pending.
Yes. Once admitted she is a conditional permanent resident, and 8 CFR 274a.12(a)(1) authorizes work incident to that status, while 8 CFR 216.1 gives conditional residents the same rights as other permanent residents unless otherwise specified. No Form I-765 is needed. Conditions are removed later through Form I-751.
No. The USCIS premium processing page lists Forms I-129, I-140, I-765 and I-539, and Form I-130 is not among them. What the couple does control is the completeness of the filing, since under Policy Alert PA-2026-05 of August 5, 2026 USCIS may deny a request without first issuing a Request for Evidence when required initial evidence is missing.
Only if two conditions are met. The marriage must be valid in the state or country that issued the certificate, and under INA § 101(a)(35) and 6 USCIS-PM B.6 the couple must consummate the marriage after the ceremony if they were not physically together. An officer may ask for evidence, including proof of compliance with the law of the place that issued the certificate.
The rule that requires personal appearance applies to the visa applicant. 22 CFR 42.62 and 9 FAM 504.7-2 require the beneficiary to appear before the consular officer, and we found nothing in those provisions requiring the U.S. citizen to attend. Whether a post admits a petitioner to the interview is a matter for that post's own instructions.
$200 for 30 minutes, in English or Russian, paid by card through a link before the meeting and always credited toward your fee. Call (305) 315-3425, email fitenkolaw@gmail.com, or start with the intake questionnaire.
This article is informational only and is not legal advice. Court orders, proclamations, consular assignments, form editions and fees change, sometimes within days; statements here are dated as of November 2026. Confirm current requirements with USCIS and the Department of State before acting. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Fitenko Law PLLC, 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076 (main office); 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 (by appointment only). Phone: (305) 315-3425. Email: fitenkolaw@gmail.com