CR1 and IR1 Spouse Visa Application Preparation
Complete Form I-130 and I-130A preparation for U.S. citizens sponsoring a spouse who lives abroad, with a human specialist reviewing every case. One flat price of $369, everything included.
Spouse cases are consular-only: your spouse lives abroad and interviews at a U.S. consulate.
Who the spouse visa is for
So you can tell in a few seconds whether we are the right fit.
- You are a U.S. citizen. This service is for U.S. citizen petitioners.
- You and your spouse are already legally married.
- Your spouse lives abroad and will interview at a U.S. consulate.
If your spouse is already in the United States, this is not the right service yet. Adjustment of Status (I-485) isn't supported yet. We would rather say so here than have you find out at checkout.
How Visa Vida prepares your spouse petition
Guided intake
Answer plain-language questions about you, your spouse, and your marriage, at your own pace. Your answers flow directly into Forms I-130 and I-130A, and nothing is asked twice.
Your personalized document checklist
A checklist built for your situation shows exactly what to gather, from your marriage certificate to your evidence of a shared life. You upload everything in one organized place and track your progress.
Human review, sharpened by AI
A human case specialist reviews every case. AI review assistance cross-checks your answers against your documents for completeness and consistency. If anything needs clarifying, your specialist reaches out and applies the fixes for you.
Your complete package
We assemble the finished package: your completed Forms I-130 and I-130A, a polished cover letter, and your supporting evidence indexed and grouped by category, delivered once your specialist signs off.
You file with USCIS
Visa Vida prepares your package for filing by mail. Step-by-step instructions walk you through printing, signing, and mailing it, and what to keep for your records.
What documents do you need for Form I-130?
A neutral restatement of what the Form I-130 Instructions call for. Every case is different and this list is not exhaustive, so treat the official instructions as the authority.
Proof of the petitioner's U.S. citizenship. A birth certificate, passport, certificate of naturalization, or consular report of birth abroad for the petitioning U.S. citizen.
Your marriage certificate. The official civil record of your marriage, issued by the authority where it took place.
Proof that prior marriages ended. For both spouses, divorce decrees, annulment orders, or death certificates showing every earlier marriage was legally terminated.
Proof of the beneficiary's identity and nationality. Your spouse's passport biographic page and birth certificate.
Evidence of a bona fide marriage. Documentation of your life together as a married couple. The categories are listed in the next section.
Passport-style photos. Where the form instructions require them, one passport-style color photograph meeting the stated specifications.
Certified English translations. Per the USCIS form instructions, any document not in English needs a certified English translation, which can be combined with the document or uploaded separately.
It adds up. A spouse petition typically calls for 15 to 30 supporting documents plus a selection of relationship photos. You do not have to work out which apply to you: the guided intake asks about your situation, then builds a personalized checklist of exactly what to upload. See how it works, or read the official Form I-130 instructions.
What counts as evidence of a real marriage?
Per the Form I-130 Instructions, a spouse petition includes evidence of a bona fide marriage. These are the categories your checklist is organized around, and they are the same ones your case specialist files your uploads into.
Joint finances. Joint bank/credit accounts, jointly owned property or assets, combined finances.
Shared residence. A lease or documents showing you live at the same address.
Children together. Birth certificates of children you have together.
Insurance / beneficiary designations. Health/life insurance or retirement/beneficiary designations naming your spouse.
Communication. Messages, call logs, emails, or letters between you.
Travel together. Trips together: itineraries, boarding passes, passport stamps.
Affidavits (third-party). Sworn letters from people who know your relationship. Must include the writer's full name, address, date and place of birth, and how they know you.
Other. Any other evidence of an ongoing marriage.
Photographs of the two of you together are collected separately, in their own section, rather than as one of the categories above. You can upload a finished PDF of your photos or upload individual images with captions and we compile them into one labeled document.
We organize and label whatever you provide. What to include is your decision, and if you want guidance on your particular circumstances, that is a question for a licensed immigration attorney.
How long does the spouse visa process take?
Two different timelines, and they get conflated constantly.
Your Visa Vida package
7 to 10 days, for most customers, from the point you finish your intake and finish uploading your documents. This is the part we control.
The government's processing
Measured in months, varying by service center and country, and a consular case has further stages after USCIS approves the petition. We do not publish a range, because the figure moves. Check the current figure on the USCIS processing times page.
What does the spouse visa cost?
A spouse case has several costs, and only one of them is ours.
Plus USCIS filing fees, paid directly to the government.
The other costs, paid to others
- The USCIS filing fee for Form I-130, paid to the government when you file.
- The immigrant visa application fee, paid at the National Visa Center stage.
- The required medical examination, paid to the panel physician.
- Certified English translations, if any of your documents are not in English.
- For a CR1 case, a later and separate filing, Form I-751, to remove conditions on the green card.
We deliberately do not publish government fee amounts: they vary by form and change over time. Current fees are on uscis.gov and travel.state.gov. Full-service alternatives typically cost several times more than our flat fee.
Forms I-130 and I-130A, explained
Form I-130
The petition itself, Petition for Alien Relative. It is filed and signed by you, the U.S. citizen petitioner, and it establishes the family relationship.
Form I-130A
Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary. It collects your spouse's address and employment history and accompanies the petition.
One detail worth knowing, because it surprises people: for a consular case your spouse completes the I-130A but does not sign it. Per the Form I-130 instructions, a beneficiary who resides outside the United States is not required to sign it. We complete the form and note that on it, so nobody has to chase a signature across an ocean.
What happens after USCIS approves your petition?
The petition is the first stage of a consular case, not the whole of it. Here is what follows, in order.
The approved petition is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC).
Your spouse completes Form DS-260, the immigrant visa application.
You submit Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support.
Civil documents are collected and submitted to the NVC.
Your spouse attends the medical examination and the consular interview.
Visa Vida prepares the Form I-130 petition package. The National Visa Center stage, Forms DS-260 and I-864, and the consular interview are not part of this service, and neither is interview preparation. We would rather be clear about where our work ends than have you assume it covers more.
Spouse visa or fiancé visa?
It comes down to whether you marry before or after your partner arrives. Both are legitimate routes and we prepare both.
| CR1 / IR1 spouse visa | K1 fiancé(e) visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Marital status when filing | Already married. | Engaged, not yet married. |
| Where the marriage takes place | Abroad, before the petition is filed. | In the United States, within 90 days of arrival. |
| Petition form | Form I-130, with Form I-130A for the spouse. | Form I-129F. |
| Relative speed to arrival in the U.S. | Typically longer. | Generally sooner. |
| Relative speed to a green card | Generally sooner, because the spouse arrives as a permanent resident. | Typically longer, because it comes after marriage and a separate filing. |
| Additional filing required after arrival | No additional filing to obtain the green card. | Yes. Adjustment of status (Form I-485) after the marriage. |
| Visa Vida price | $369, one time. | $329, one time. |
Put simply, the K1 route usually gets your partner to the United States sooner, and the spouse route usually reaches a green card sooner with fewer total filings. Which tradeoff suits you is a personal decision, and it depends on whether you would rather be together sooner or finish the paperwork sooner.
Why a former USCIS adjudicator built this
Ryan Jones adjudicated family-based petitions as a USCIS Immigration Services Officer, so he spent his days reading petitions that people had assembled at their kitchen tables. Then in 2024 he prepared and filed his own wife's spousal petition: this exact filing, Form I-130 for a spouse living abroad.
Having done it from both sides is why this service is built around completeness and a second set of eyes rather than shortcuts.
Spouse visa preparation pricing
Plus USCIS filing fees, paid directly to the government.
- Guided intake that fills Forms I-130 and I-130A for you
- A personalized document checklist
- AI completeness review
- Human review by our team
- A polished cover letter and organized exhibits
- Filing-ready forms and step-by-step mailing instructions
Visa Vida is a document preparation service. We do not provide legal advice.
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Human review on every case.