Couple activities to reconnect

11 Exercises For Busy Couples

Every couple needs time to connect. It’s essential for happiness and satisfaction in a marriage. But this year, with all its many diversions, has made it easy to push this to the side. We’re frustrated. We’re stressed. We’re frustrated and stressed about being frustrated and stressed. It’s easy to ignore the simple things a relationship requires but the upkeep — staying interested, staying creative, finding new and exciting ways to learn about one another — is more important than ever to continue moving through. So, if you’re feeling as though some things have slipped and are looking for ways to reconnect with your spouse, we spoke to a variety of experts for some simple ways to do just that. Each of these exercises, recommended by relationship therapists, have been proven to help couples get back on the same page. Incorporate a few into your lives — some require as little as five or 10 minutes — to get back to that good place again.

1. Ask Good Questions

It’s easy to go about our routines and forget to learn about our partners, assuming we already know what there is to know about them. Nicholas Hardy, a Texas-based psychotherapist who specializes in individual and couples counseling, notes that this is common even during the most normal of times: We assume we know what our spouse is feeling and thinking which, of course, likely isn’t true. To avoid this, he suggests the obvious: asking questions you might not normally ask. Think: What advice would you give yourself 10 years ago?’ ‘If you could reverse one mistake in life, what would it be?’ ‘What was the most difficult thing you’ve ever had to share with me?’ These are Hardy’s examples and, yes, they might feel a bit weird. But they’re examples of the types of probing questions that can help a couple explore their relationship in less familiar ways. In turn, he says, “they will help you learn more about each other as individuals, and as a couple.”.

2. Learn Something New Together

Exploring uncharted territory together is an easy way to bring about more teamwork in a relationship. “When you start something new together, it takes a lot of pressure off,” says Hardy. “During high-stress times, it’s easy to end up working ‘against’ each other through bickering and fighting. In order to reconnect, a fun, innocent, random hobby can be perfect.” There’s no shortage of options, either. You could improve your iPhone photography skills, master the Moonwalk, practice pitting an avocado, or play 10 easy songs on a guitar using just four chords. All for free, and all perfect for partners. Keep this in mind during your next downtime.

3. Write Weekly “Thank You” Notes

According to Rabbi Shlomo Slatkin, licensed clinical professional counselor, and a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, we generally tend to notice our partner’s flaws more readily than their virtues. “It’s a recipe for resentment,” he says. “You need to create a habit of expressing gratitude, so that you don’t lose sight of all the good things about your relationship.” Hardy agrees, and suggests simple notes as ways to express appreciation. “Gratitude naturally makes us refocus on everything we do have, including the connection with our partner. ” So plan on writing — and delivering — a weekly thank you note that forces you to look at them on a more positive light.

4. Synchronize Work Breaks

If you’re both working from home, use it to your advantage and schedule mutual break times, urges Dr. Rashmi Parmar, M.D., a double board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in family counseling. We’re all very busy but these breaks don’t need to be long. Take a five minute break at least every two hours, and try to coordinate interactions with your partner. What you do with your time is up to you — it could be anything from grabbing a snack, to venting about a frustrating colleague, to having a family dance party with the kids. But the

5. Keep a Daily Journal Together

Writing is one of the best ways to confront your emotions, figure out why exactly you’re feeling what you’re feeling, and reflect on the good and bad of a day. It’s also a simple exercise that can bring a couple closer together. “Whether you each have your own, or write in the same one at different times, the goal is to create laughter, educate each other, or explore your emotions as a couple,” explains Rabbi Slatkin. There are plenty of prompts you can explore to improve the health of your relationship, including probing emotional questions such as: “Who do I need to forgive, and why?” or “How can I bring more joy to this relationship?” You can also opt for silliness with suggestions like: “What movie title summarizes our sex life?”

6. Set Aside Time For Silliness

“Laughing,” per Rabbi Slatkin, “can create the same chemical bond as intimacy, which makes it essential to connection.” Dr. Parmar, agrees, and suggests getting hooked on a silly game to provide that therapy. “Board games can help ignite romance, and there are plenty of free online versions of classic games like Scrabble and Taboo with a romantic twist,” she says. “In addition to being fun, these types of games can strengthen communication skills, encourage teamwork, and improve problem solving.” If games aren’t your thing, create a healthy habit of blowing off steam together through coloring, insanely challenging puzzles, or guffawing through a playlist of classic YouTube fails.

7. Get “Away” Together

Hardy worked with a couple who learned how to cook crepes from a French chef’s online course. They loved the experience — drinking together and “escaping” to another country — and it gave them a shared activity to enjoy together. “Think of a place you and your spouse would like to go, then investigate to see what types of virtual experiences you can enjoy together,” he says. Need some thought starters? Learn to make pasta from Italian chefs, take a Mexican street taco course, or bounce around from Singapore to Spain with a new romantic dinner each time.

8. Compliment Each Other

While it is always important to make your significant other feel desired and attractive, Rabbi Slatkin says acknowledging a physical attraction is even more crucial right now. “As we begin to feel more self-conscious about our looks, it’s really helpful to know that your spouse still finds you physically attractive,” he says. It’s important to leverage the language of physical attraction, including touch, adds Hardy. “Something as simple as holding hands can help re-establish this connection, even if it’s only for a few seconds.”

9. Prioritize Video Calls With Friends

If you want to reconnect with your spouse in person, try connecting with some random friends online, together. “We all appreciate others checking in on us,” says Hardy. “Calling or Facetiming someone randomly can bring you together by mutually surprising someone you may not have seen or spoken to in a while.” He adds that clients who’ve tried this all say that the randomness of the call created a good laugh and brightened up everyone’s day.” If you’re not in a super chatty mood, you can still spark connections through a random group text to a mutual friend or family member.

10. Check In At the End of Each Day

A proper couples nightcap, per Dr. Parmar, includes a moment of genuine appreciation, and recognition of the day’s accomplishments. “Spend a few minutes together at bedtime to check in with each other, cuddle into bed, and practice showing gratitude for the things you experienced during the day,” she says. Obviously, every day isn’t going to be ideal, but stretching and looking for something — anything — that you can celebrate will help you establish connection in a positive way.“This simple ritual is grounding,” says Dr. Parmar. “It’s a moment we can use to eliminate the negatives of the day, and wind down together for a peaceful night’s sleep.” Consider asking: What was the best thing to happen to you? The worst? How many fires did you have to put out at work? What was the weirdest thing you Googled…?

11. Give Yourselves Some Space

Okay, obviously, this doesn’t apply to emergencies, daily responsibilities or, really, most times during the day. But, according to Rabbi Slatkin, it’s okay to carve out time where you actively don’t acknowledge your children. “You have to figure out what works for you,” he says. “But it’s crucial that you and your spouse do your best to make this happen in some doable form.” When you figure out what part of your day works, focus exclusively on each other, he says. Take five minutes to look into each other’s eyes. Snuggle before bed. Enjoy a cocktail or smoke a joint. It’s true, you are parents. But you’re also people. And people need connection.

This article was originally published on Dec. 14, 2020

17 Things to Do with Your Spouse to Reconnect (Cheap & Effective)

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All marriages lose emotional connection from time to time. Here are helpful ideas for things to do with your spouse to reconnect (including specific examples from our marriage).

I am not a couple's therapist. I'm just a woman, married to a man, who has needed to figure out how to reconnect with my spouse from time to time over the past 10 years.

Like, after we had a baby. And after we drifted apart here and there. And after things got a little stagnant.

An important question to ask yourself when you feel unconnected to your spouse is:

What’s different now than when you felt connected? You can make a mental list.

Are you spending less time together?
Is the quality of time spent together not so good?
Did you have a baby, and there’s less energy for one another?
Did you stop having fun together?
Has your engagement with each other turned completely logistical in nature (you know, revolving around things like who is going to pick up an ingredient at the store, where to eat next, and planning for your parent’s anniversary party)?
Is work or another external stressor causing distress on your relationship?

For example, one thing I noticed for us during a stint of feeling emotionally unconnected was we had stopped actually doing engaging things together.

Which is huge, by the way.

I mean, we were still doing things together. But they were logistical in nature – like dividing up night duty with our baby, filing taxes, and conquering the laundry pile.

If you don’t do things together – fun or at least experiential things, like when you first dated one another – then your well of commonness goes dry.

This is okay here and there – like having personal hobbies and such, which is a pretty healthy thing to do.

But if you’re never doing common things together? It eventually erodes that connection.

And then you end up googling something like “things to do with your spouse to reconnect.” (Just sayin’).

While you’re thinking about exactly what is different now than when you felt connected with your spouse or partner, let me dive into some ideas for how to get that connection back. Ideas for how to reconnect with your husband.

Things to Do with Your Spouse to Reconnect

Great news – things to do with your spouse when you need to reconnect need not be complicated, nor expensive. In fact, most of these are free!

The point is to choose something that gets you even a little excited, and to commit to doing it.

After all – what is a marriage, if not a series of small and large commitments to someone you love?

Figure Something Out Together

This doesn’t have to be a huge problem to solve – like where to move to next, or how to find a different job, etc.

This can be something that’s small, but meaningful.

It makes the two of you “in it together”, even if only for a little task. And when you find some sort of success (or make a few mistakes, which can be quite funny)?

You will have that new connection point.

Example from our own marriage: I needed to redo my go-to breakfast for both health and convenience sake, and had always wanted to figure out an iced coffee latte-type drink I could quickly make myself. When I told my husband, Paul, that I wanted to try cold brew because it can keep in the fridge for a week or so, he jumped right in. We spent about 20 minutes researching and then creating our first cold-brew together, flirting the entire time. What a delightful memory!

Consume Something Together

When you both consume something together, it gives you a shared reference point to leap into conversations about.

I’ll give you a few ideas.

Some couples:

Read scripture together
Read an article together throughout the day, and then talk about it
Read a book together, like a couple’s book club
Watch a TV series together*

*My husband and I just love our TV series that we watch together. However, I think that most couples do this! SO, I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and find a different thing to consume together on top of your TV show so that you can engage with each other in a different way.

Example from Our Own Marriage: We both read The 5 Love Languages, and then took the quiz at the end so that we could talk about what our love languages were. Something else we love to share are articles on Japanese culture that pop up here and there – that’s where we met one another. It helps to keep that specific connection between the two of us alive!

Create No-Phone-Couple-Zones

You need to establish what I like to call “no-phone-couple-zones”. What do I mean by this?

Places AND times where phones are out of the picture, and the two of you are spending time with one another.

Times to cut out the phone:

During dinner
During family date nights
During couple date nights
After X:XX p.m. at night
During church

Places to cut out the phone:

In the dining room/at the kitchen table
During shared TV shows
In the car when you’re the passenger
The bedroom
At church

When you cut out the phone from specific times and places in your life, you open up space for more communication, spontaneous sharing with each other, and getting reconnected.

Example from Our Own Marriage: We chose Wednesday nights to be no-phone time, and the dining room table to be no-phone zones for us. And honestly…Wednesday nights have crept back into normal phone use night (with everything going on in the world – we both browse news apps while sitting together). I think we need to reinstate this!

Take an Online Marriage Class Together

I’ve detailed out 11 free online marriage classes in this article, and you’ll definitely want to take a look.

This is the perfect way to work on something new together, that has everything to do with working on your connection as a couple!

Example from our Own Marriage: Paul and I have taken several marriage classes together, including the Divorce Proof Your Marriage mini-course – it’s how we got started doing consistent, at-home date nights as a couple – and an in-person marriage class taught at our church.

Psst: check out all these date night ideas for married couples!

How to Do Date Night with a Baby (or Toddler)
18 Long Distance Relationship Date Ideas
64 Date Ideas for Small Towns
17 Backyard Date Ideas
13 Date Ideas to Rekindle a Relationship
Best Date Night Box Reviews (my husband gives his opinion, too!)
41 Free Date Ideas for Married Couples

Share Your Dreams Together

I’m talking about your actual dreams – when you first both wake up in the morning, take a few minutes to simply share with each other the crazy, whacky, scary, soothing, awesome dream tidbits you can remember from the night before.

What’s even more fun? Is then trying to interpret them for each other. You actually gain some pretty interesting insight into your partner this way, and you grow in emotional intimacy.

Example from our Own Marriage: I won’t bore you with the details of our own dreams. However, I will mention that sometimes we do this at like 2:00 in the morning! If I wake up and remember a crazy point from a dream I just had, and Paul turns over, I’ll whisper it to him.

Do a Couple’s Relationship Challenge Together

One of my favorite activities for married couples to do together? Is a relationship challenge.

It's one of the most fun things to do with your spouse that also reconnects you.

In fact, I’ve written a whole article on 41 relationship challenges for couples to do together that keep helping couples connect over something fun to do together.

A few other resources:

30 Free 30-Day Challenges
7 Debt Payoff Challenges
11 Fun Saving Money Games for Adults

Example from Our Own Marriage: When we first got engaged, we combined our $25,000 in remaining debts and declared we would challenge ourselves to pay them off before our wedding 10 months later (on top of paying for the wedding, putting a down payment on a home, and saving about $2,500 towards our honeymoon). It ended up taking us 5 extra months…but we DID it. Not only that, but what an awesome way to start our marriage off – working on a debt payoff challenge together.

Choose Dates to Specifically Help You Reconnect with Your Partner

My husband and I have gone on many, many dates together (mostly at home date nights in the last 5 years).

And there are some dates that really inspire reconnection over others.

These kinds of dates include things around at least one partner’s Love Language, teach you something about each other (but through self-discovery – so it just naturally pops up during the date activity), and exploring something new together.

Three engaging date ideas for you:

Eating fondue at home…with chopsticks only
Putzing around an ethnic food market together
Giving at-home couple’s massage (definitely check out my article on 37 at-home date ideas for married couples to learn about the free massage videos and massage oil we use!)
One of these 15 fun summer activities for couples
One of these awesome coffee shop date ideas

Bite-Sized Reconnectors (10 Minutes or Less)

Alright, alright – so did you read through that list and think that there’s no way you can fit those reconnection activities into your schedule (or your husband’s)?

No worries. I’ve got you covered with these bite-sized ways to emotionally reconnect with your spouse.

Reconnecting with your spouse can be as simple as taking 10 minutes or less to do one of these activities together.

Psst: you might be wondering Is it possible to reconnect with your spouse when you have such little time together? I have to say from experience, that YES, you can. But you have to be diligent and committed.

Soul Gaze One Another

How to reconnect with your spouse emotionally?

Soul gazing – a fancy-schmancy way of saying, “take 4 minutes or so and do nothing but stare into each other’s eyes” – is actually quite effective in reconnecting or connecting two people.

I mean, when was the last time you stared into your partner’s eyes?

Example from our own marriage: This was awkward at first for us to do, and we giggled a lot. But then…something magical happened. Aside from really nailing down my husband’s eye color, I really started to feel connected with him. It was pretty great.

Send an Article with Commentary

If I’m reading a magazine article and have something to share with Paul – but we have no time to read it together or talk right now – I simply rip it out, highlight the area I’m talking about with a highlighter or underline it in pen, then write in a comment or two on the margins.

Then, I put it in his lunch, or on top of his keyboard, or wherever else I know he’ll see it and get to it as soon as he can.

We’ve had some really interesting conversations that started this way!

Psst: Here are more ideas for couples to do together besides watch TV at night.

Give Some Post-It Note Love

Post-It Notes are like the poster-boy for bite-sized writing.

You’re forced to share something short, sweet, and simple.

Which is what my husband did while we were at home working on two separate floors of our house (he’s working from home mostly for the last 4 months).

We had gotten into some small arguments, mostly stress-related, and things were a little tense.

The next thing I knew, our 4-year-old came into my office and handed me a post-it note from Paul. It read, “I love you!”

That post-it note turned it all around, and instantly reconnected us.

In fact, it’s been on our fridge ever since.

Be More than Crossing Ships in the Night

Perhaps the two of you are not in the same spot long enough to reconnect. This was the case for us when Paul was working night shift and going to college at the same time (he graduated just a few years ago!).

So what did we do to connect with each other some, even though we hardly ever saw one another awake?

We started writing shower notes to each other.

I had gotten this pad of shower notes from a Mastermind I was part of, and Paul was the first one to write a little note of encouragement on it. The next time I took a shower (I shower at night, so he was already at work), I was SO SURPRISED to find it.

I responded, which he got to read when getting home and showering (before nodding off to sleep). We kept this up for a while, and it’s been a secret weapon of ours to stay connected.

*funny story – we moved last year, with movers paid for by Paul’s new employer. When we unpacked our shower note we realized that:

a) it still had the last note we had written to each other, which was to say things like “we’ve GOT this!”, and
b) one of the nice mover boys had written a note on it saying that we were awesome! We were SO touched.

Is it possible to reconnect with your spouse? Absolutely. I mean, I can’t guarantee it, but I CAN tell you my husband and I have been through this and come out much better for it. When you’ve been married for years (we’ve been married for 10 years), you understand that the relationship balance can waddle from very engaged to not-so-engaged…and back again. I’m happy to share the resources we’ve used and our own marriage examples for things to do with your spouse to reconnect the next time you feel the two of you emotionally drifting apart.

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Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor, Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Frugal Confessions. Over the last 13 years, her money work has helped people with how to save money and how to manage money. She's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, LifeHacker, Real Simple Magazine, Woman's World, Woman's Day, ABC 13 Houston, Keybank, and more. Read more here.

Reunification with spouse in Germany and joint departure

How can a foreigner move his family to Germany. conditions for reunification. List of required documents and requirements.

General requirements

Family reunification in Germany for foreign residents and burghers is guaranteed by the Family and Marriage Protection Act. Warranty does not mean no claims. On the contrary, the rules for the relocation of immigrants for family reasons oblige to fulfill a number of conditions.

There are several options for reunification of foreigners with a wife or husband in Germany:

Moving to a German spouse living in Germany,
to a foreigner with an EU passport,
to a third-country national.

Different sections of the German immigration law apply for different cases. Related Items:

Cohabitation is requested on the basis of sincere motives, and not because of the desire to get a German residence permit. Suspicion of fictitious marriage precludes entry for foreign spouse.
Moving takes place with a person who has an official place of residence in Germany.
Burger did not commit illegal acts.
The purpose of reunification is to live together, leading a common household.
Sufficient living space.
If a resident of Germany receives unemployment or social assistance as disabled, the arrival of relatives has the right to prohibit.

Spousal reunion

A holder of a German passport or citizenship of another EU country who is permanently residing in Germany is entitled to request reunification.

The law also provides for the arrival of a family to foreigners from third countries with a German residence permit:

Niederlassungserlaubnis - indefinite permanent residence.
Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EU - pan-European permanent residence.
EU Blue Card.
Aufenthaltserlaubnis for a scientist or researcher.
Residence permit for an entrepreneur.
Refugee or political asylum status.
residence permit for other reasons with the condition of residing in Germany for more than two years.
Other residence permit, if the marriage was concluded before arrival in Germany and the expected duration of stay is more than a year.

Immigrant workers, entrepreneurs and students applying for a national German visa D can also take their families with them. Spouse and children of a migrant submit documents to the embassy at the same time.

There are two standard requirements for a spouse traveling from abroad:

over 18 years of age under German law,
German at level A1.

Denial of family reunification upon marriage after moving

People often put off official relations. But immigration is often the catalyst for marriage. First there is the question of a joint departure. And when it turns out that it is unrealistic for the other half to leave for Germany without a marriage certificate, an application is submitted to the registry office. Often the wedding occurs after the issuance of a visa to an immigrant.

For example, a programmer signs a job contract and moves to Germany. A couple of months later, he returns and enters into a legal marriage. Then the spouse submits documents to the embassy for family reunification and receives a similar refusal:

Unfortunately, today your case was rejected by the Office for Foreigners. The marriage took place after the spouse's entry into Germany. The conditions for obtaining a visa under family reunification are not met.

There is no other way to get a national visa.

Yours faithfully,
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Ihre Visastelle,
Abteilung für nationale Visa
Botschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

When clarifying clear reasons for refusal, reference to §30 AufenthG:

(1) 3. d): seit zwei Jahren eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis besitzt...

The proposal has been written into law since 2004, but is rarely used. The actions of German officials are illogical. The German media constantly argues that foreigners are necessary for the growth of the German economy. It is necessary to create an atmosphere of goodwill and facilitate the conditions of the move. But forbidding reunification if the marriage is after a move is a surefire way to upset immigrants and scare off those thinking about working or studying in Germany.

But in 2020, when immigration rules changed, this proposal was not excluded from the law. Therefore, it is better for those who wish to leave to formalize their marriage relations before departure, so as not to be among the "warring" for the reunification of immigrants.

German

Compliance with the language proficiency condition is confirmed by presenting a certificate A1 - entry level. The meaning of letters and numbers is described in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The certificate is issued after passing the exam at organizations:

Telc,
TestDaF,
Institute. Goethe,
ÖSD
ECL

You can learn German in any way.

Exempt from requirement:

For health reasons: chronic illness, disability, mental disorder, confirmed by a doctor's report.
Families of Blue Card holders.
Husbands and wives of EU citizens living in Germany.
Spouses of entrepreneurs, scientists and highly skilled workers traveling under §§19-21 AufenthG, if the marriage certificate is already in hand when the first family member enters Germany.
If the processing official believes that there will be no difficulties in integration. The decision is at the mercy of the employee of the embassy.
When attending courses and exams is limited by a difficult life situation or a combination of domestic troubles. For example, the remoteness of the place of study, the presence of small children.
Language proficiency is evident during the interview at the embassy.

I recommend not relying on the exemption clauses. The language will still come in handy.

It is better to receive a certificate and be exempted from presentation than not to receive and remain without a visa.

Sufficient housing

Upon arrival in Germany, the family will have to live somewhere. The law defines the requirements for residence as "ausreichende Wohnraum" - sufficient housing. The wording leaves room for interpretations of "sufficiency" to officials. In practice, the social norms of the federal state are usually applied.

Most regions:

10m² per child under 6 years old.
12m² per person over six.
Children under 2 years of age are not included.

Standard family "father + mother + two children aged 8 and 10" requires a living area of at least 48 sq.m. Most German two-room apartments are 50m² or more.

But each region has the right to independently change the norms of the minimum size. In Berlin, due to an acute shortage of residential property, the requirements are softer: 6m² up to ages 6 and 9m² to the rest.

All rooms and additional rooms are included in the calculations. Going beyond the lower limit of up to 10% is usually acceptable.

In Germany, such decisions are often left to the discretion of officials, so different results are obtained in the same situations.

But the requirements of the migration legislation do not always coincide with the conditions of registration. Getting a visa and a residence permit is one thing. Registering in Germany is another.

Local employees of the agency responsible for registration may check additional parameters. For example, in a family there are two teenagers of different sexes: it is hardly permissible to settle a brother and sister in the same bedroom. It is desirable to "settle" in different rooms and when one child is of senior school age, and the other is of kindergarten.

Therefore, when looking for an apartment or house, you need to "turn on your head", and not just focus on the minimum values for the area.

Sufficient income

Foreigners are required to prove financial well-being before arriving in Germany.

In the case of reunification with a German citizen, migration legislation allows the arrival of the family with further receipt of social support. But for the rest of the migrants, the requirements of self-sufficiency are key.

Employees prove their financial solvency with their salary. The required amount of income is determined regionally. Approximate calculation formula: "rental price plus 450€ per adult and 225€ per child" .

University students open a separate blocked account for their spouses with the amount required to obtain a student visa.

For entrepreneurs, the guarantee is replaced by a business plan approved by the German government with a profit sufficient to support the family.

The logic for calculating the German living wage is based on the limits of social benefits for the unemployed. The essence is reduced to a simple requirement: foreigners must provide for themselves, and not seek support from the state immediately after arrival.

Obtaining a national reunification visa

If the conditions are met, you must apply for a visa to the German Embassy. The procedures for issuing a visa in the German consulates of different countries are different. A lot of information is published in memos on the websites of embassies.

It can take a long time to consider questionnaires. Now the decision on reunification is made not by the embassy, but by the local office for foreigners in the city where the immigrants are sent. Therefore, if the spouse is already in Germany, it is useful to contact the Ausländeramt and clarify the necessary steps and the list of documents.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTS INTO GERMAN

We translate and notarize with understanding of the context and knowledge of German immigration laws. Translations fully comply with the requirements of the German Embassy. We work remotely with clients anywhere in the world.

Contact directly:

List of standard requirements of the German embassy, in addition to those indicated above:

An invitation from a spouse in free form. They are also asked to provide when leaving jointly, if one immigrant travels for work, and the second for reunification. A sample invitation is published on the project forum in the family immigration section.
Marriage certificate with German translation. On the SOB, you first need to put an apostille.
Medical insurance.

I will dwell on the last point in more detail. In Germany, there is a law on compulsory internal German health insurance for all residents of the country. Every immigrant must be insured from the first day of stay. But the process of concluding a contract for health insurance is not easy and slow. For employees, the internal policy is valid at the earliest from the first working day. For family members - also, but with a residence permit.

Before the start of the internal medical insurance for the first time, the embassy requires the presentation of an Incoming insurance policy for foreign guests, concluded with a German insurance company.

We recommend making insurance policy Incoming-Versicherung online at the German insurance company Care Concept at a price of 1€ per day.

INSURANCE

Reunion Incoming validity period is requested for a minimum of 14 days, sometimes longer. This is determined when submitting documents. It is allowed to show the insurance policy on the day of obtaining the visa.

When traveling together, we recommend that you conclude a contract for the worker or student before applying for a visa. Then the required period for incoming incoming for the family will become shorter, and this is saving money. It also simplifies the application process. But most importantly, immigrants will receive policy cards for visiting doctors earlier. As a bonus, an insurance request will pre-generate the social and health insurance numbers needed for payroll.

An important nuance: it is allowed to insure before arrival only if you have a German postal address, since information from the insurance company first comes by paper mail. Someone needs to get proof of insurance and give the immigrant a scan to submit to the embassy. Our customers do not experience this problem.

Use the free service of the health insurance center in Germany to close the issue of health insurance even at the stage of preparation for the move.

If the spouse to whom the family is traveling already lives in Germany, after receiving the documents, the embassy sends the package to the German office in the region where the immigrant lives. Inquiries about the status of the case are best addressed directly to the Ausländeramt.

When leaving with the whole family, the decision is made by the embassy, which is much faster.

12-10-2021, Stepan Babkin

Family reunification. Complex of services for immigration to the USA

Family reunion

In an effort to move to the cherished continent, every reasonable person goes through the possible ways for himself and stops at the optimal one. In some cases, they are immigration through family reunification. Before making a decision, and even better, before a preliminary consultation with a lawyer, it makes sense to understand as deeply as possible what is at stake in each case, whether it suits you specifically, at least in general terms. Here we will just describe one of the methods.

The lawyer during the consultation will analyze your situation and give personal recommendations on the family reunification immigration process, advise on sponsorship issues.

Attorney will review documents, prepare a petition (I-130) and file it with USCIS; prepare for an interview with an immigration officer and accompany if necessary.

The lawyer will assist in preparing a package of documents and filling out forms for the NVC, preparing for an interview at the consulate for a visa.

As the name implies, this method is available if you already have a relative who lives as a permanent resident or US citizen in one of the states. What are the advantages of such a method?

Benefits of immigrating to the US through family reunification

Relatively short time. It takes an average of 1 to 5 years to obtain legal grounds for residence in the United States through family reunification. Timing depends on the specific case.
Lower failure rate than other methods. The presence of a blood relative in America who takes responsibility for the entry of a foreign citizen, both material and legal, increases the chances of a positive response from the US Immigration Service.
You can work without waiting for a Green Card. You will be entitled to work in parallel with the visa, even if you do not yet have a permanent resident card.

Conditions for immigration to the United States through family reunification

Having learned about the attractiveness of this method of resettlement, a number of people happily rub their hands with thoughts of a quick solution to the issue, remembering their great-uncle who left for America with the first wave of migrants from the USSR. And a young married couple is making plans on how to give birth to a child in the United States, hoping, together with the American birth certificate of the baby, to receive the right to freely enter America. At first glance, this will seem elementary to you, but many pitfalls are hidden behind the apparent simplicity. Let's figure out who, using family ties, is entitled to move to America.

Who is eligible to petition for family reunification?

The application for reunification is submitted not by the person who enters, but by a capable citizen legally residing in America. It is he who should act as the initiator, declaring that relatives wish to join him. Legal capacity comes at the age of 21. Therefore, if a child was born on American soil and expressed a desire for the parents to receive the protection of the United States, then it will be necessary to wait until the 21st birthday to become eligible to act as an applicant for the parents.
Applicant must be legally resident in the States himself. Either a citizen or a Green Card holder (Certificate of Permanent Legal Resident of the United States) has the right to file a petition. In the case of the Green Card, we find restrictions, which we will discuss below.
The application is submitted exclusively by a close relative or family member. A great-nephew is not a close relative.
The applicant assumes legal and financial responsibility for the relatives whose entry to America he initiates, and must prove his own financial independence. Such evidence is a copy of the declaration on the payment of taxes on income, a certificate of ownership of movable or immovable property, etc. The annual income of the applicant must be above the established level, allowing him to support the invited relatives.

Immediate Relative and Family Member in United States Immigration Law

A non-citizen permanent resident of the United States may only be reunited with family members. An American adult citizen may petition to be reunited with any relative on the three lists below. There is also the following nuance: together with relatives on whom a petition for family reunification is filed, they have the right to enter American territory and their family members. If the petition is for adult children or siblings, their spouses, as well as unmarried/unmarried minor children, may enter with them.

United States law in terms of the right to family reunification of the next of kin recognizes:

the father and mother of a capable American citizen,
spouse or spouse,

Family members are legally defined as:

spouse,
unmarried children under 21.

Relatives of a US citizen eligible for family reunification also considered:

married or unmarried children, regardless of age,
sisters and brothers.

It is obvious that a great-uncle will not help at all in the aspiration to become a resident of the cherished continent. The birth of a child there, if it helps, it will only be by the time the parents can change their minds: in more than two decades, a lot of water will leak. Although this is not a cause for disappointment: if you are active enough, there are many other ways to fulfill the dream of a daily morning coffee overlooking the Hudson Strait or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. You can become a high-class sought-after specialist or invest in the economy of one of the states. An immigration lawyer will be happy to provide you with detailed advice on this.

Features and stages of immigration to the US through family reunification

American law clearly structures the cases of immigration through family reunification and regulates the procedure for each of the cases. There are 4 categories of regular cases of family reunification and one extraordinary. Each of the categories has its own order of obtaining a visa and the size of the allocated quota. The waiting periods for each of the categories are mobile and depend on the number of applications submitted, and hence on the size of the queue. Each case requires the preparation of a specific package of documents for filing a petition.

It should also be noted that legislation in the United States is a complex system of general provisions, each of which has a whole list of caveats and amendments referring to an entirely different piece of legislation. For example, you are the spouse of a Green Card holder. By all indications, it is expected that your husband's petition regarding you will be classified as F2 (see table below). However, there are caveats here. If you were already married when your husband received a Green Card, and the method of obtaining it was by winning the lottery, for example, then you have an advantage to enter as the next spouse. This case is extraordinary and does not fall into any of the categories listed below. In a word, even if, according to all general signs, your situation can be attributed to a certain group, it is strongly recommended to consult with a lawyer. Perhaps, given the nuances, it will be classified in a completely different category. If this recommendation is followed, the immigration process will be accelerated. If you ignore it, entry into the country will be delayed or become impossible.

Features of the procedure for entry through family reunification: categories and priority

Category	Applicant	Pedigrees belonging to category	Quota size	Average waiting time
Immediate relatives (IR - category 0)	US Citizen	Parents Spouse Widow or widower Minor (under 21) unmarried/unmarried children, including adopted children	Unlimited	Out of order
I family preference (F1 - category 1)	US Citizen	Adults (over 21), unmarried children Young grandchildren entering with children	23,400 visas per year plus unused F4 visas	1 to 5 years
II family preference (F2 - category 2) Immediate relatives (IR - category 0)	US Resident	Spouses, Young children Unmarried children over 21	114,200 visas per year, of which 77% for spouses and young children and 23% for unmarried children under 21	About 1 year for spouses and young children, 3-4 years for children over 21
III family preference (F3 - category 3)	US Citizen	Married children, their spouses and young children	23,400 visas per year and not issued F1 and F2	About 9 years old
IV family preference (F4 - category 4)	US Citizen	Brothers and sisters, their spouses and young children	65,000 visas	7-10 years old

All of the above categories have their own characteristics and sequence of actions taken, their own package of documents. An error at each of the stages leads to an increase in the terms or even to the impossibility of immigration in the chosen way. It is recommended to use the services of competent immigration lawyers. However, we highlight the general stages of the procedure.

Stages of the immigration process through family reunification

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Preparing Documents and Completing Forms

Green Card Holder or US Citizen completes Form I-130. This form is required for each person whose immigration to the United States is initiated. It is accompanied by evidence of kinship and one's own citizenship or right to permanent residence, as well as confirmation of financial independence necessary and sufficient to finance entry and cover the expenses of relatives to live in America.

In addition to the family reunification petition itself, the resident status form and the work permit form are filled out at the same time. Each is accompanied by a separate package of documents.

Petitioning

After submitting an application to the USCIS, the citizen will receive a notice of acceptance for consideration. However, this does not necessarily entail a positive answer. If, during the review, it turns out that the application is not filled out correctly, some evidence is missing or insufficient, the application will be rejected or additional confirmations will be requested. This increases the visa processing time. In case of rejection of the application, the next attempt is made only 6 months after the rejection.

Waiting for a response from the USCIS

Waiting for a response takes a minimum of several months, a maximum of 10 years or more. The timing is affected by the category of the case. The closer the relationship, the faster the application will be considered. In addition, a large number of applications also lengthens the queue, and hence the waiting period.

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USCIS Reply

A response to a petition is the issuance of a quota for the right to be a resident or the rejection of the application.

Obtaining an immigrant visa

If the application is approved, the applicant's relative will usually be invited for an interview at the nearest US consulate. If the documents are executed correctly, the relative's visa allows you to work.

Obtaining a Green Card

This sequence is not followed in all situations. For example, when a relative is already in America or has received approval of the petition and a work permit, after a response from the migration service, he applies for a Green Card, and after a while, he applies for US Citizenship.

In addition to the general cases described, there are also specific cases: visa of the bride or groom, reunification with an elderly or incapacitated spouse, with a minor child, with a child of a foreign diplomat born on American territory, immigration of a widow or widower of an American citizen. Due to the fact that these cases have specific features in the procedure and required documents, we will not dwell on them here.

FAQ:

Is it mandatory to stay in the US, or can the process be initiated outside the country? How faster?
Relatives applied for in the United States are usually out of the country at the time of application. However, in the event that these relatives entered the United States in another legal way, they apply for a Green Card. A US citizen applying for family reunification submits a form confirming family relationship at the same time. It is accompanied by a form of financial support, confirming the legal responsibility for the material support of relatives. The procedure makes it possible for relatives of a citizen to obtain a Green Card without waiting for a visa.

In exceptional cases, a US citizen or permanent resident from abroad may apply. Due to the complexity and specificity of such a case, we recommend that you consult with a lawyer on these issues.
Who is more likely - children or parents - to immigrate to the US through family reunification?
If you are the next of kin (see above for the definition of this legal concept) of a capable US citizen, you have the best chance of getting the coveted Green Card. Applications of the IR category are given priority in consideration; a quota for the number of visas issued per year is not set for them. Minor unmarried children, spouses and parents have the same extraordinary priority. Married children under 21 and adult unmarried children fall into two different categories. The timing of the decision on their entry will be different.

In the case of a Green Card holder, parents cannot follow him, as well as adult children.
What are the most common reasons why an application for family reunification is denied?
The USCIS has the right to refuse an application without giving reasons. At the same time, practice reveals the following most common reasons for rejecting an application:
- incorrectly chosen form,
- form filling inaccuracies,
- false information,
- failure to provide supporting documents or doubting their authenticity errors in documents,
- non-compliance with the procedure, rules and deadlines for filing an application.
What affects the waiting time after filing a family reunification petition?
Deadlines are affected by which queue category the relative belongs to, what is the current quota in that queue, and how many applications have already been submitted within that category. So, the spouse of a permanent resident of the United States falls into the second category. The spouse is included in the F2 queue and assigned a serial number of the queue. In this category, 114,200 visas are issued per year, of which 87 934 is reserved for spouses and young children. If there are fewer applications in the queue than the quota, then there are chances to receive an invitation to the embassy for an immigrant visa within a year. If more, then the queue moves to the next year and so on. However, in some cases there is a chance to use the priority right to obtain an immigrant visa, being the spouse of a Green Card holder. An immigration lawyer will provide advice in such cases.
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