Two years after receiving your conditional Green Card card -- the first you will receive after marrying a U.S. citizen -- you must apply to have its conditions removed, using form I-751. If you do not do this, you will not be allowed to live legally in the United States. If you do, and you're successful in your application -- meaning, your marriage is not ruled to be a fraud, entered into only to circumvent immigration laws -- you will be rewarded with a 10 year Green Card.
Can you guess how much it costs to file the I-751?
$545.
That includes $80 for a biometric finger-print.
Please, do not write USDHS on your personal check or money order. Write it out in full: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Some of you may say this is perfectly fine. You choose to marry a foreigner, you pay the price. But we do not parse out the costs of the nation in this way with other things. We all pay for the military. We all contribute to Social Security, MediCare, etcetera. Yes, homeowners support education. But do only drivers support the cost of building and maintaining new roads? Etcetera, etcetera.
For a previous entry on the Foreigner Tax see here.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Cost of Marriage (Part Two)
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