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US Immigration lawyer explains how couples can get Green Card under new rules; ‘being together not enough’
Marriage-based Green Card applications in the US are facing increased scrutiny, focusing on cohabitation rather than marital status.
Marriage-based Green Card applications in the United States are being subjected to closer scrutiny, with immigration officials focusing less on marital status and more on whether couples actually live together, according to US immigration attorney Brad Bernstein.
In a recent Facebook video, Bernstein, a partner at law firm Spar & Bernstein, warned that couples who are married but living apart face a high risk of denial under current immigration enforcement practices.
‘Living together is what gets your Green Card’
Bernstein said US immigration officers are trained to look for one core requirement when assessing marriage-based Green Card applications: cohabitation.
“For a marriage Green Card, immigration only cares about one thing. Do you live together as husband and wife,” he said in the video shared on Facebook.
According to Bernstein, explanations such as work-related travel or temporary job postings do not carry much weight during the review process.
“They don’t care if you’re a travelling nurse. They don’t care if you’re a truck driver and come home once a month. They don’t care if it’s temporary or for work or any other reasons,” he said.
“Immigration officers wear blinders. They’re like a horse. They’re trained to look at one thing and one thing only,” he added.
He pointed to existing regulations defining a bona fide marriage as one in which spouses live together on a daily basis. “In fact, the regulations say a bona-fide marriage is where you live together every day,” Bernstein said, adding that living separately can immediately raise red flags.
Risk of investigation and denial
Bernstein warned that once immigration officials begin questioning a marriage, the process can escalate quickly.
“If you’re not living in the same house every day, immigration is going to start questioning the marriage,” he said. “And once they question it, they’re investigating. And once they come knocking on your door, they’re looking to deny you.”
He said couples should not assume that emotional commitment or legal marriage alone will be sufficient.
“Being in a relationship is not enough to get your Green Card,” Bernstein said. “Living together is what gets your Green Card.”
Broader immigration tightening
The warning comes amid a wider tightening of US immigration policy under the Trump administration, which has introduced sweeping changes to employment-based visas and Green Card pathways.
Recent reforms to the H-1B visa programme have prioritised highly skilled and higher-paid workers, increased fees for employers, and expanded vetting requirements.
Against this backdrop, Bernstein urged applicants to prioritise compliance with immigration rules, even if it requires difficult personal or professional decisions.
“The job is not as important as getting a Green Card,” he said in the Facebook video.
