How to interpret the 3-year USC marriage requirement

S

seamonkey

New Member
My wife married me 4 years ago, while I was still on green card. She got her green card via labor certificate a year ago.

I am going to be a US citizen soon. I wonder if my wife can later apply for citizen based on marrying to a US citizen (althoug I was not a citizen at that time), instead of waiting for 5 years after her own green card.

If the answer is yes, has she already satisfied the 3-year marriage requirement (including the time I am not a citizen) or the 3-year needs to be counted from the day I become a US citizen.

Thanks in advance.
 
no and no.

The GC should have been marriage based and further you should have been a USC when she married you.

Sorry she needs to wait 5 years from the day she got her GC.The application process can start a few months before the actual 5 year period is over.
 
aaifor said:
The GC should have been marriage based and further you should have been a USC when she married you.
Click to expand...

Wrong and wrong. She needs to have 3 years of being a Permanent Resident and married to a US citizen. How she got the GC and her husband's citizenship status at marriage are irrelevant.
 
First of all, the GC doesn't have to be marriage based.

Seamonkey,

Your wife is NOT eligible for naturalization at this time. Had you been a US citizen when you married her 4 years ago, she would be eligible for naturalization under the 3 year eligibility for a spouse of US citizen provided she was a green card holder.

For example, let us say you become a US citizen on Dec 31, 2010, her clock of naturalization under the 3 years start running then, and on January 1st, 2013 she can apply, once you clear the 3 year mark of US citizenship.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
Wrong and wrong. She needs to have 3 years of being a Permanent Resident and married to a US citizen. How she got the GC and her husband's citizenship status at marriage are irrelevant.
Click to expand...

Another condition: the person to whom teh applicant is married to must be a US ciotizen already for 3 years.

Since the OP will only start to apply now and the process itself take some time up to 6 months. By the time when the OP is a citizen for 3 years, it will be 3 and half years
from now. And since the OP's wife got her GC last year, by the time she can file on 3 year basis, she will be 4.5 years on her GC so it won't make much difference
whether she file on 3 year basis or 5 year basis. To make matter simple, just go for 5 years
 
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