Spouses & Fiancé(e)s of U.S. Citizens
A United States citizen cannot transmit citizenship to a spouse. If your spouse or fiancé(e) wishes to take up indefinite residence in the United States with you, he or she will require an immigrant visa.
Are you married?
The spouse of a United States citizen is eligible for immigration in the immediate relative category. The first step in applying for the immigrant visa is for the U.S. citizen to file an immigrant visa petition, Form I-130, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) having jurisdiction over his/her place of residence.
Are you getting married in the Pakistan?
If the marriage will take place in the Pakistan the spouse of the U.S. citizen will require an immigrant visa to travel to the United States to take up indefinite residence. The petition, Form I-130, filed by the U.S. citizen with the USCIS office having jurisdiction over his or her place of residence, cannot be filed until the marriage ceremony has taken place.
Are you getting married in the United States?
If the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen intends traveling to the United States to marry and take up indefinite residence after marriage, he or she will require a fiancé(e) visa. A fiancé(e) cannot enter the United States on a visitor visa or visa free under the Visa Waiver Program to take up indefinite residence.
Note: If you will do not intend taking up indefinite residence in the United States but will continue to live and work abroad after the marriage ceremony you should apply for a B-2 visa, or if eligible travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.
Accompanying Children
Children under the age of twenty-one who have no claim to U.S. citizenship may derive status from a fiancé(e) visa petition filed on behalf of a parent, or apply for an immigrant visa in the immediate relative category, if a parent is a U.S. citizen. Note: Step children of a U.S. citizen will qualify for immigration in the immediate relative category only if the marriage creating the relationship of step-parent and child occurred before the child's eighteen birthday. Children of U.S. citizens over the age of twenty-one, or stepchildren who were over the age of eighteen when the marriage took place, qualify for immigration in a separate category and will not be eligible to travel immediately with the parent.