IMMIGRANT VISAS
Immediate Relatives
U.S. citizen relatives of those who plan to base their
immigrant visa applications on family relationship must complete a Form I-130,
Immigrant Petition for Relative. A separate petition must be filed for each
person immigrating.
Where to file form I-130
If you are a U.S. citizen and a resident of Spain for at least the preceding six
months, you may file an immediate relative immigrant visa petition (Form I-130)
for your alien spouse, child (under 21 years of age and unmarried) or parent at
the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. You may not file by mail, but must come to the
embassy for an interview with a consular officer. Please bring the following
documents to support your petition (original and photocopy):
Evidence that you are a U.S. citizen: U.S. passport, birth certificate,
naturalization certificate, or consular report of birth.
Proof of paternal, marital or filial relationship: Marriage or birth
certificate or Libro de Familia. If either the husband or wife was married
before, you must provide documents to show that all previous marriages were
legally ended.
Proof the U.S citizen has been residing in Spain for a least the preceding 6
months or a copy of U.S. government orders or military orders if he/she is a
member of the U.S. military stationed in Spain.
If you are filing for your spouse, a front view color passport-size of
yourself and your spouse.
Photocopy of your relative’s passport.
Form G-325A. This form can be downloaded at www.uscis.gov
The fee for filing an immediate relative petition is $355.00. All immigrant visa
petition fees and application fees may be paid in U.S. or Euro currency, credit
cards, or U.S. money order made payable to the U.S. Embassy Madrid. We do not
accept personal checks.
Adopted and Stepchildren
U.S. citizens may also file immediate relative petitions
for their minor stepchildren, if the children were less than 18 years old when
the marriage establishing the relationship occurred. Evidence must be presented
that the stepchild has legal authorization to leave Spain permanently. U.S.
citizens may file immediate relative petitions for children they have adopted if
the adoption occurred before the child was 16 years old and the child was in the
petitioner’s legal custody for at least two years.
If you wish to file a petition for a child you have not yet adopted, or who has been in your
custody for less than two years, please contact us directly for additional
information on visas for adopted children or see the
State Department Visa web page.
Madrid:
The U.S. Embassy in Madrid is located at Serrano 75. Metro: Rubén Darío. Filing
of I-130 petitions and walk-in
inquires are on Wednesdays from 09:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. We take telephone
inquiries at (34) 91 587 2244 Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 15:00 to
17:00 (June 2nd to August 29th).
The embassy is closed on Spanish and U.S.
Holidays.
Only the consular section at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid processes immigrant visa
applications and issues immigrant visas.
After your interview with the consular officer, consular staff will give you the
“Instruction Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants”, with a list of the
documents the beneficiary of the petition (your immediate relative) has to
present at his/her immigrant visa interview. The DS-230 part I form must be
completed by the beneficiary and returned to this office as soon as possible.
Once the beneficiary notifies the Embassy consular section that s/he has
obtained all these documents and we have completed all administrative
processing, the immigrant visa unit will schedule the required final visa
interview with the beneficiary. Appointments are necessary for immigrant visa
interviews: however, the US citizen petitioner is not required to attend the
immigrant visa interview.
The fee for the immigrant visa is $400.00 dollars or the equivalent in euros.
The fee for the medical exam is not included in these fees. Applicants must
schedule their medical exam, and pay the medical fee (in Euros only) directly to
the clinic.
If you are a U.S. citizen living in the United States, you may file the
immigrant visa petition at the
U.S Citizenship and
Immigration Service (CIS). The petition will be forwarded to the National
Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, NH. The National Visa Center will send
information regarding the visa process to the benificiary. Once the case is
completed, the National Visa Center will schedule the appointment to come to the
Embassy. Once the case is completed, is completed, the National Visa Center will
schedule the appointment to come to the Embassy for an interview and will send a
notification to the applicant or his/her agent.
The petitioner is not
required to attend the immigrant visa interview. Applicants must schedule their
medical exam, and pay the medical fee (in Euros only) directly to the clinic.
The U.S. Embassy in Madrid, also processes Family Based immigrant
and Employment Based immigrant visas
Once the beneficiary has received his/her immigrant visa, she/he must enter the United States within
6 months of visa issuance.
The Immigrant visa is placed inside the bearer’s passport, adhered to one of the
pages. At the port of entry, upon the CBP officer’s placement of an admission
stamp on the Machine Readable Immigrant Visa (MRIV) the alien is admitted to the
United States as a permanent resident. This constitutes a temporary I-551 valid
for one year from the date of the endorsement on the admission stamp. This
stamped visa is acceptable for travel and employment purposes. Should the
immigrant wish to leave the U.S. and his/her stamp has expired and s/he has not
yet received the Alien Registration Receipt Card, s/he should contact CIS in the
U.S. before departure to ensure permission to return to the United States.
A permanent resident alien who intends to remain
abroad for more than a year should, at least 30 days prior to the proposed date
of departure, apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in
the Department of Homeland Security for a Reentry Permit. The permit is
valid for two years and may not be extended. If such a permit is obtained the
alien may use this card to reenter the United States within the period of
validity. Every alien applying for readmission must satisfy the immigration
authorities that he or she is eligible in all respects for admission.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
If at the time of admission to the United States, you have not celebrated the second
anniversary of your marriage, which is the basis of your immigrant status, you
are subject to the provisions of section 216 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act. Under these provisions, you will be granted Conditional Permanent
Resident Status at the time of your admission to the United States. You and
your spouse will be required to file a joint petition (form I-751) with the CIS
in the United States How
Do I Remove The Conditions On Permanent Residence Based On Marriage? to have
the conditional basis of your status removed. This petition must be filed within
the ninety-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of the date
you were granted conditional permanent resident status. If a petition to
remove the conditional basis of your status is not filed within this period,
your conditional permanent status will be terminated automatically and you will
be subject to deportation from the United States.
To know more about your new life in the United States, check the following guide:
Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants Home Page
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