The minimum legal requirements to apply for a spouse visa are:
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must be legally married to your foreign spouse.
- The U.S. citizen and foreign spouse must have been FREE to marry (i.e. all previous marriages must have been terminated by divorce, annulment, or death of the former spouse before you two were married).
- The foreign spouse has NOT been convicted of a crime, has never entered the U.S. illegally or overstayed for 6 months or longer, and does not have a history of detentions/removal/deportations by the Department of Homeland Security (*waivers may be available for such conduct but this requires careful consultation with me beforehand).
- The U.S. citizen spouse has filed taxes with the IRS during the previous three years, is currently employed (or self-employed), and is earning AT LEAST the minimum income level set forth by the U.S. Poverty Guidelines. This minimum income level recommended is $25,550 for a family of two ($29,375 for Hawaii and $31,925 for Alaska) and increases by approximately $6,725 for each additional family household member or dependent of the U.S. citizen fiance..