Can A DACA Recipient Get A Green Card Through Marriage?
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program doesn’t yet provide a pathway to lawful permanent residence. But if you’re a DACA recipient and you fall in love with and marry a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you may be able to get a marriage green card.
As a green card holder, you’ll have protection from deportation and long-term employment authorization, meaning you’ll never have to renew your work permit. Getting an immigrant visa is also the first step towards naturalization – the process of gaining U.S. citizenship. But to change your immigration status from DACA recipient to green card holder, you must satisfy certain eligibility requirements.
Your green card eligibility will depend largely on how you entered the United States and if you’re married to a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. This article explains the different ways that DACA recipients can qualify for marriage green cards and how long the process takes.
If you entered the U.S. lawfully.
Generally, lawful entry is a requirement to get permanent resident status. There are two ways to enter the United States lawfully. One is to enter “with inspection,” which means you enter with a valid visa and get inspected by an officer from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The other way is through the “Visa Waiver Program.”
Some DACA recipients entered the U.S. lawfully and then “overstayed” their visa expiry date, becoming undocumented. If a DACA recipient became undocumented by overstaying a valid visa, they can still satisfy the lawful entry requirement as long as they haven’t left the United States since they first entered lawfully. If this is you and you’re married to a U.S. citizen, you will be following the standard adjustment of status application process as other marriage green card applicants.
If you entered the U.S. unlawfully.
However, if you entered the United States unlawfully—that is without a valid visa or an approved visa waiver, and without inspection from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol—you could still apply for a marriage green card. But the process is more complicated. You have to apply from outside the United States. And you’ll have to meet the legal entry requirement before applying.
How Long Does it Take For DACA Recipients to Get a Green Card?
The amount of time it takes for you to receive your green card depends on the type of green card application process you follow.
The first step to apply for a marriage green card is for your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse to file Form I-130 with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Form I-130 seeks permission from the U.S. government for you to apply for a marriage green card. There are additional forms to file as well – Form I-485 if you’re applying from inside the United States, or Form DS-260 if you’re applying from your home country.
If you want to adjust status from inside the United States and your spouse is a U.S. citizen, you can file Form I-485 at the same time as your Form I-130. The entire process takes 8-14 months. But if your spouse is a permanent resident, you’ll have to wait until USCIS approves your I-130 request before you can file Form I-485. Usually, USCIS takes 8-12 months to process I-130 filings and 11-26 months to process I-485 filings.
If you’re applying from abroad, you’ll file Form DS-260 with the State Department’s National Visa Center (NVC) after your Form I-130 filing is approved. It usually takes an extra 4-8 months for the Form DS-260 to be approved
In addition, it typically takes 4-6 months for a Form I-601A waiver application to be processed if you needed to apply to cure an unlawful entry.
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