Common Marriage Case Myths

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]What are some common marriage case [music] myths? When someone gets married to an American or a permanent resident, that spouse can file a petition for the person that they're married to. One of [music] the things that people think is, well, we're married, at least on paper, and so that should be enough for the government to approve [music] my case.

[00:00:17]That is not true. The government needs to be satisfied that there's a legitimate relationship in that marriage, that there's some [music] reason other than getting that spouse a green card for the marriage to exist.

[00:00:28]You don't need to have kids. That's another one. People think, oh, I need to have a child or they'll never believe that [music] it's a real marriage.

[00:00:34]That's another myth. It's not necessary.

[00:00:36]But if you don't have a child together, [music] it is important to have other kinds of documentation to be able to prove to the government that [music] your intention is to make a life together. The last myth is that you have to be living together to file for a green card through a marriage relationship. That is just not [music] true. You don't have to be living together. In fact, the law is very clear that you don't have to be living together. However, >> [music] >> if you're not living together, it is very important to tell the government that's the case. And you have to explain why that works better [music] for your marriage. It's about owning those facts.

[00:01:08]It's about telling the government that's what's going [music] on, and then being prepared to share the story about why that is.