For years, marrying a US citizen was widely viewed as one of the most reliable paths to securing a Green Card. That assumption is increasingly outdated. Immigration lawyers now caution that marriage alone is no longer sufficient to obtain permanent residency in the United States. What matters most today is whether the marriage appears genuine in daily life.
“Being in a relationship doesn’t get you a Green Card. Living together does,” said Brad Bernstein, a US immigration attorney with more than three decades of experience.
Under US immigration law, spouses of American citizens are classified as “immediate relatives” and are eligible to apply for permanent residency. However, eligibility does not guarantee approval. In recent years, immigration authorities have tightened scrutiny of marriage-based Green Card applications, focusing less on formal documentation and more on how couples actually live.
Stricter checks on marriage-based visas
During the Trump administration, such applications have faced heightened examination. Immigration officers are increasingly assessing whether couples function as genuine spouses rather than simply being legally married.
“The government is not interested in whether you’re legally married,” Bernstein said. “They want to know if the marriage is real.”
This approach forms part of a broader immigration clampdown. Measures introduced during this period included the suspension of the Diversity Visa Lottery, which previously issued up to 50,000 visas annually to applicants from countries with lower immigration rates to the US.
Living apart raises red flags
According to Bernstein, one of the strongest warning signs for immigration officials is when married couples do not live together. “If spouses aren’t sharing a home, the case is already in trouble,” he said. Reasons such as work commitments, education, financial constraints or convenience are generally not accepted.
“Immigration officers don’t care why you live separately,” Bernstein added. “They only care if you actually live together as husband and wife.”
In a Facebook video, Bernstein explained that cohabitation is a critical factor in marriage-based Green Card decisions. If couples do not share a home, officials may begin questioning the authenticity of the relationship, potentially triggering deeper investigations. “Once they start doubting, they’re often looking for reasons to deny the case,” he warned.
USCIS focus on ‘good faith’ marriages
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states that it evaluates the full scope of a relationship when reviewing applications. Even legally valid marriages can be rejected if officers determine there was no genuine intent to live together or if the union was entered into primarily to circumvent immigration laws.
More policy changes ahead
The tightening of immigration rules extends beyond marriage cases. USCIS has shortened the validity of work permits for Green Card applicants to 18 months. Additionally, President Trump ordered a review of Green Cards held by permanent residents from 19 countries previously identified as “countries of concern,” following recent violent incidents involving Green Card holders.
For immigrants hoping marriage will secure permanent residency, the message has become clear: a marriage certificate alone is no longer enough. What carries weight is how couples live after the wedding. As Bernstein put it, “Marriage on paper means nothing if you’re not actually sharing a life together.”
