Bringing your German spouse to the United States

If any of you have brought your spouse to the United States and gotten a permanent resident Visa I have a couple of questions for you as it appears my wife and I will be starting the process relatively shortly.

I know about the consular and embassy websites but they aren't very conclusive in their help and the people that work their pay 'visa' hotline don't even have all the answers and usually just refer you to a phone number where they refer you to another phone number and so on... so anyhow...

1. When bringing your German spouse to the U.S. do you know if you need to have the necessary documents (birth certificate, etc.) translated into English or will it be suitable in their native German for the visa process?

2. Do any of the documents need to have an 'apostille' on them? I know I had to get an 'apostille' on my birth certificate when I came here to Germany, I'm wondering if this is something we have to worry about the other way as well.

Any help on these two questions is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

My German son married an American and is applying for citizenship in the US. We had the birth certificate (Stammbuch) translated by a certified translator (important!!!) but not apostilled.

About a year ago my wife and I looked into the process because we thought we might be moving to the States. To answer your questions:

1. Translation to English is a must. I don't remember them needing my wife's birth certificate though but I could be wrong. I think her passport was enough. The marriage certificate though did have to be translated into English and certified.

2. No apostille necessary.

Just a word of advice. Don't bother starting the process unless you're sure you're going to be moving. The rules are very strict and your wife will have to stay in the U.S. on a "permanent basis" for 2 years before she receives a permanant green card. Before that, the green card is only temporary and can be taken away if they find out you've been living outside the U.S. during those 2 years. There is also at least one interview involved and it takes several months to process before you can enter the U.S. It also costs a couple hundred bucks and involves a fair amount of paperwork.

Ketchup beat me to it but here are some additions:

* Birth Certificate: Not necessary, but helpful.
* ALL German documents MUST be translated into English. Certification not required but helpful.
* Marriage certificate MUST be the international type. If you didn't get one initially you'll need to haul your ass back to the Standesamt for one.
* All paperwork must be filed and approved prior to her US entry. This will usually take 90 days from the date of the filing postmark.
* She can't leave the US for more than 30 days at a time until a final Green Card (pink these days) is issued.
* Take LOTS of pictures wherever you go, whatever you do. Take pictures with each others' families, too. You'll need them for the Green Card application.
* You can only file for the permanent Green Card within 90 days of the temporary's expiration.

woof.

@ BD - Why the pictures? I don't understand the purpose here. I never take pics of myself and Mr. ajohnson...we both hate pics...well, except for the kinky kind, but somehow I don't think that's what you meant...Anyway, there may come a day when we return to the States and have to face the same kind of issues. So, are pics of us really necessary?

To prove you are in a real relationship and not a marriage scam. I suppose your kind of pics would prove that though

Basically they are to prove you are actually together and it is not just a marriage of convenience. This only really applies if you have been married for less than a few years though. And if you have kids then I guess they will probably take those into consideration...

@ajohnson

send me a few pictures and I will tell you exactly if they are useful or not.

Thanks guys, you guys rock. The embassy and consulate offer insufficient info in all of this, so having a resource like TT is great. Thanks a bunch!

And since the apostille was mentioned, it's not generally required for the U.S., but now and again your notary will push you to have it anyway (depending on which state you're going to) - if you do need the apostille it won't cost much and is available from the Amtsgericht - your notary will advise. For notarisation in Munich, in English, from a German notary try Dr. Beate Kopp, Leopoldstr. 18.

ajohnson: sarabyrd nailed it. You want to give them concrete, irrefutable proof that it's a real marriage. This is why pics of both of you together with each others' families are so important. Pics of holidays are also important because people expect you'll take such photos. You have to play to these expectations.

woof.