One of the most common ways to immigrate to the US is through marriage to a US citizen. Immigration by marriage is a much simpler affair than immigration by employment, but it is still relatively complicated, as the immigration process can take many months.

There are basically three ways to be able to immigrate legally to the US through marriage and obtain US permanent resident status (green card). The ways in general are as follows:

• 1st way: The American marries the foreign citizen in Greece (or any other country). The US citizen then fills out an immigrant petition with the USCIS office to invite his/her foreign spouse to the US. In about 3-5 months the invitation is approved, and a short time later it is forwarded to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire, also known as the NVC. The NVC processes the information and a few months later forwards it to the U.S. Embassy in Athens, where an appointment with the non-U.S. spouse is set for an interview. If the interview is successful, the non-national spouse will have an immigrant visa stamped in his/her passport allowing him/her to travel to the US and stay there permanently, with the right to work from the first day of arrival.
• 2nd way: The non-US citizen travels to the US on a visa waiver or tourist visa in order to marry his/her US partner there. The marriage takes place, and the US citizen fills out an invitation with the USCIS office, just as in the first step. The non-US citizen leaves the US before he or she has exceeded the allowable stay on a visa-waiver or tourist visa and waits a few months until it is time for the appointment with the US embassy, just as in the first step. So the second way is essentially identical to the first way, the only difference being that the marriage takes place in the US.
• 3rd way: The third way is by using the fiancé visa (known as K-1). The third way is called K-1 (the third way). This invitation is forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Athens 4-8 months later, and the non-US fiancé, equipped with the fiancé visa, travels to the United States. Once in the US, the non-US fiancé must marry the US citizen who invited him/her within 90 days. Unlike the 2nd way, however, after the marriage, the non-US spouse can apply for a change of status to permanent US resident (green card), a process that takes about 4-8 months without having to leave the US. That is, with the fiancé visa there is the advantage that the couple can live together immediately after the marriage. The disadvantages of the fiancé visa, however, are the increased cost (since there is paperwork both before and after the marriage) and the long wait of several months to provide the non-US citizen with the fiancé visa.

From the above, it is evident that the immigration process with a US citizen spouse is anything but quick, and in many cases the married couple must stay apart for a long period of time. Also, there are several other potential hurdles that must be overcome in order for the non-US spouse to successfully immigrate, such as any criminal record, any inability of the US spouse to prove sufficient income to invite the foreign spouse, lack of evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith, etc.