Cross Chargeability - Use your Spouse's Country of Birth for Green Card

If the principal and derivative beneficiaries were born in different countries, it may be possible to apply cross chargeability principles. This allows individual to expedite his or her green card by using priority date as per their spouse's country of birth. Principle of cross-chargeability can be used for employment-based and family- based green cards.

What is Cross Chargeability?

Visas are usually chargeable to the country of the beneficiary's place of birth. But one basic benefit of immigration to US is that USCIS wants to keep individual's family intact. If one family member were being charged to a country that is over-subscribed, while the other family members in the same preference category were charged to countries that are current, this would result in separation and undue hardship. To remedy this potential problem, the law allows in some situations for the family to elect whichever foreign state is more beneficial. The law seems to limit application to situations where it is necessary to prevent the separation of the spouses or separation of the children and parents. For example, if an Indian citizen is married to Canadian born citizen, he can elect to use ROW as country of chargeability. Law would apply for child as well where he can use his parents country of chargeability. Although vice-versa is not true.

Immigration and Nationality Act [INA 202 (b)(2)]
Rules for Chargeability: if an alien is chargeable to a different foreign state from that of his spouse, the foreign state to which such alien is chargeable may, if necessary to prevent the separation of husband and wife, be determined by the foreign state of the spouse he is accompanying or following to join, if such spouse has received or would be qualified for an immigrant visa and if immigration charged to the foreign state to which such spouse has been or would be chargeable has not reached a numerical level established for that fiscal year;

As per USCIS- "Under a provision of immigration law known as “cross-charging”, if your spouse was born in a country that is not subject to retrogression, you can “charge” against that country’s visa quota. Please note that your spouse must be born in that country. If she/he became a citizen of that country after being born in a country that is subject to retrogression, you cannot cross-charge to your spouse."


Note: There are exceptions to this rule for some countries (e.g. Kuwait offers citizenship to Original Kuwaiti nationals are those persons who were settled in Kuwait prior to 1920) which allows citizenship only to native people. In this case you may still be able to use cross-chargeabiliy as long as you can reproduce birth certificate issued by a government official from these countries.

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