My wife is in the U.S. on a student visa. We married last month and she is from Quito, Ecuador. What next?

We want to establish her permanent residence in the United States. How do we start this? Where do we go?
Additional Details
additionally, i am prior service navy. We were both interested in joining the Air National Guard while we're going to school. The Guard says they'll require that she has a resident card that states that she can be in the country for longer than the enlistment (i.e.3-6 years). Is that even possible at this point?

AlenaT

I advise you if you don't know what to do just hire a lawyer who can speed up a process. Making mistakes will cost you more time and money :-)

Jeannie Out of the Bottle

You need to file an I-130 petition for alien relative for her, and she files I-485 to adjust status.
Start here:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Once she gets her green card, it will be conditional for 2 years, then permanent and she would be eligible for military enlistment.

Judy H

hi you definitely want to check the us immigration site;
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.4d9824b1a05c975ef143c6a754

you need to do a form for a green card application with all the marriage info, her birth certificate, visa status and a photo of her that is no more than 30 days old at the time of filing. in addition, you need to file an affidavit of support for her and you must demonstrate that you make at least 125% of the poverty level for your household, which would be 2 members, if it's just you and your wife.
if not you will need to get a co sponsor. it costs around $485 to file the form and more if you obtain help. the cost for having another party help you with this will cost around $900.
if you live in the ny area, this is a great place to go to;

Immigration Adocacy Services - www.immigrationadvocacy.com
2440 Steinway St, Long Island City - (718) 956-8218

beware of offices that call themselves "consultants" a lot of them are just scams.
above all, make absolutely sure that your wife does not overstay her visa in the states- it makes things really hard then

jojo

If your wife is in the US, and you're a US citizen, you can apply for her adjustment of status (green card). If you're married for less than two years, she will be granted conditional resident status (you then show after two years that you remained in a valid marriage). This process takes about six months. I don't believe that being a conditional resident will affect her ability to enlist.

http://www.usaimmigrationlaw.com/marriageandfiance.php

mrs_catholicportugalian

I recommend you find an immigration lawyer to help you through all the legal stuff. her marriage to you won't help her for another three years.

The fee to apply is about $300. I just applied for my citizenship and am fairly familiar with the procedures for permanent residency. I got my green card in 1999.

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