Immigration Corner | Will my marital status affect my visa filing process?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My sister filed for me when I was married but I am now divorced. How will this affect my filing process?

My visitor’s visa will be expiring soon and I would like to renew it using my maiden name. Will this affect my visa renewal?

VP

Dear VP,

In some categories of US immigration petitions, it matters if the beneficiary is single or married. In specific categories, the petition gets moved to another category, it gets voided or it stays the same.

If a US citizen files a petition for their unmarried son or daughter, that petition is placed in the F1 preference category. However, if the beneficiary son/daughter gets married, that petition moves to the F3 preference category. The act of the beneficiary of an F1 petition marrying while the petition is pending increases the wait for a visa to become available from nine and a half years (F1) to 14 1/2 years (F3) – as of March 2025.

If a green card holder files a petition for their unmarried son or daughter and that beneficiary son/daughter marries while the parent is still a permanent resident, that petition is voided. A green card holder cannot file a petition for a married son/daughter.

On the other hand, in the category of a US citizen son or daughter filing for a parent and that parent marries or divorces during the process – it has no bearing on the parent’s eligibility for a green card. The same rule applies in the sibling category that you are in – it does not matter if you are married, single or divorced, it has no impact on your filing process. The only factor that will matter is that whichever spouse you are legally married to at the time of the final visa processing can accompany you to the United States as a derivative beneficiary. So, if you started the process with one spouse, divorced and married someone else – it is the new spouse who will be migrating with you to America.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com