Author: FogChicken | Date: 9/22/04 3:43 PM | Number: 39
I've been through the whole process myself. Even if you don't use a lawyer you're looking at almost $1000 simply in INS filing fees, cost of the medical examination and so on ....
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As have I. I was a citizen, spouse was not, we got married in 2000 and she "automatically" was becoming a conditional permanent resident. YES, we did have to go through the filing processes (piles of papers, bank/credit card statements, rental agreements, etc.), YES we had to pay all sort of fees, YES, our processes started in 2000 (prior 09/11, so all bets could have been off as of today), YES, her conditional status was lifted this year, and YES, next month she will be interviewing for her naturalization process already.

"Automatic" does NOT mean that you register for marriage and you are "automatically" be mailed your green card or be granted residency status. What I meant by "automatic" was that one will "automatically" be a conditional permanent resident through marriage with a citizen after satisfying all the requirements. I'm as frustrated as anyone else when dealing with the INS (aka Dept. of Homeland Security today?) but I'm not expecting much from a government entity.

In our case as explained above, I consider the whole processes to be automatic.


--H