Family-Based US Immigration

You can obtain permanent permission to live and work in the US based upon your legal marriage to a US citizen. You can apply as soon as you are married. If you have been married less than 2 years, you will get a green card valid for only 2 years and must make a further application before it expires. These applications require a showing that your marriage is based upon a genuine relationship, and not for the purposes of obtaining the green card.

With processing occurring while you are abroad, this visa allows you to come to the US with the intent to stay forever. After entering, you must be legally married within 90 days. You then submit a second application, processed within the US, for a green card (AOS).

Obtaining a green card as the spouse or minor child of a green card holder is also possible, although processing times tend to be longer than they are for the close relatives of citizens. It can be worth checking to see if your sponsor is eligible to become a US citizen first. Either way, there is a positive and relatively easy path forward.

The United States does extend immigration benefits to legally-married persons who are in same-sex relationships. The process is no different than it is for other couples. Love wins!

The unmarried children under 21 of a US citizen, and the parents of a US citizen who is over 21 may be sponsored for green cards as Immediate Relatives, which means they will have a much quicker processing time than more distant relatives. 

US law does limit the relationships that allow for a relative to be sponsored for a green card.  Not all relationships qualify, unfortunately. Aside from the others mentioned on this page, it is possible for US citizens to sponsor: their adult children, and adult siblings. You should be prepared for the fact that, for most people, the wait under these categories is many years long. Relationships such as cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparents, and anything more distant sadly do not work.