US spouse visa for Brazilian nationals
What this visa is
The CR-1 and IR-1 immigrant visas allow the husband or wife of a United States citizen to move to the US permanently. The applicant enters as a lawful permanent resident and receives a green card shortly after arrival.
Brazilian applicants interview at the US Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, which is the post that handles immigrant visas for Brazil.
If the couple has been married for less than two years when the applicant enters the US, the visa is a CR-1 with a conditional two year green card. Two years or more and it is an IR-1 with a ten year card.
Who can apply
You can apply if you are legally married to a United States citizen and the marriage is valid where it took place. A Brazilian marriage is registered at a cartório de registro civil, which issues the certidão de casamento.
A união estável, even when registered at a cartório, is not a marriage for US immigration purposes. Couples relying on a união estável generally need to convert it into a marriage.
Both spouses must have been free to marry, with a divorce recorded on the certidão or a death certificate for any earlier marriage.
Who can sponsor
The sponsor must be a United States citizen. Spouses of green card holders apply in the F2A category, which has annual limits and a waiting list.
Financial requirement
The sponsor signs Form I-864, the affidavit of support, which is enforceable against them in court.
Household income must be at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines: $27,050 for a household of two in the contiguous states. Shortfalls can be covered with assets worth three times the gap, or with a joint sponsor. Active duty military sponsors need only 100 percent.
Step one: the I-130 petition
Your spouse files Form I-130 with USCIS from the United States, with the certidão de casamento, proof of US citizenship and evidence of the relationship built up over time.
Once approved, the case transfers to the National Visa Center.
Step two: the National Visa Center
The National Visa Center collects the DS-260 application, fees, the affidavit of support and civil documents. The case only progresses once every document has been accepted.
Brazilian certidões should be recently issued. Cartórios update the record when a marriage, divorce or name change is registered, so an old copy may not reflect your current civil status. Documents in Portuguese need certified English translations.
Step three: the interview in Rio de Janeiro
Interviews take place at the US Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro. Applicants from São Paulo, Brasília, Recife, Porto Alegre and elsewhere travel to Rio for the appointment.
Interviews are conducted in Portuguese. Bring original documents even where scans were uploaded.
Medical examination
You must be examined by a panel physician approved by the consulate before your interview. Approved clinics operate in several Brazilian cities, so you can usually complete the examination closer to home than the interview.
The examination covers a physical check, chest x ray, blood tests and required vaccinations. Bring your vaccination records. Results go directly to the consulate.
Police certificates and civil documents
Brazilian applicants need a federal criminal record certificate, the atestado de antecedentes criminais issued by the Polícia Federal. It can be requested online and has a limited validity, so time the request so it is still current at interview.
Certidões de nascimento and de casamento come from the cartório where the event was registered. A recently issued copy is expected rather than the original from years earlier.
If you have lived in another country for twelve months or more since turning 16, you need a police certificate from that country as well.
Documents needed
- Valid Brazilian passport
- Certidão de casamento, recently issued
- Certidão de nascimento, recently issued
- CPF and RG
- Divorce record or death certificate for any previous marriage
- Atestado de antecedentes criminais from the Polícia Federal
- Court and prison records if ever arrested or convicted
- Military records if you have served
- Sponsor’s proof of US citizenship
- Sponsor’s federal tax return, W-2 forms and recent pay stubs
- Completed Form I-864 with supporting evidence
- Medical examination results from an approved panel physician
- Two US visa format photographs
- Relationship evidence spanning the whole relationship
- Certified English translations of Portuguese documents
Costs
- Form I-130: $625 online, $675 on paper
- Immigrant visa application fee (DS-260): $325
- Affidavit of support review fee: $120
- Medical examination in Brazil: typically $200 to $400
- Certidões and police certificate: modest local fees
- USCIS Immigrant Fee after the visa is issued: $235
Verify current amounts on the USCIS and Department of State websites before paying.
Processing times
The I-130 stage at USCIS commonly runs from several months to well over a year. The National Visa Center stage is quick when documents are correct first time. Interview availability in Rio de Janeiro is the final variable.
Plan for a total of twelve to twenty four months from filing to arrival.
After approval: what comes next
Your passport is returned with the visa and a sealed packet that must not be opened. Travel before the visa expires, normally within six months of the medical examination.
Pay the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you fly so that your green card is produced. You can work immediately on arrival and can apply for a Social Security number.
If you hold a CR-1, you and your spouse jointly file Form I-751 in the ninety days before the two year card expires.
FAQs
We have a união estável registered at a cartório. Is that enough?
No. US immigration law recognises marriage. A união estável, even a registered one, does not qualify, so most couples convert it into a marriage at the cartório.
Why does my certidão have to be recent?
Brazilian civil records are updated as events are registered. A recently issued copy shows your current status, including any divorce or name change, which is what the consulate needs to see.
Can I interview in São Paulo?
No. Rio de Janeiro is the post that processes immigrant visas for Brazil, although the medical examination can often be done in another city.
I overstayed in the United States on a previous trip. Does that matter?
Yes. Unlawful presence of more than 180 days followed by departure triggers a three or ten year bar on returning. Take legal advice before filing, as a waiver may be required.
My spouse does not earn enough. What can we do?
Use a joint sponsor who is a US citizen or permanent resident living in the United States, or rely on qualifying assets.
Can my children come with me?
Not automatically. Your spouse files a separate I-130 for each child, and the stepchild relationship must have been created before the child turned 18.