Process papers now or after I marry?

[Countrygurl101 0]

I am engaged to be married... we are trying to set a date... the problem is... I am a canadian citizen lawfully living in the US, my fiance is a US citizen. I am getting ready to send in my I-485 & I-130. What I need to know is should I (1 ) send in my papers now (being sponsored by stepfather), (2) wait till I am married and then send in my papers having my husband be the sponsor. OR (3) Wait till I marry, send in my papers with my stepfather still as the sponsor. And if I go with option (1) can I get married before I receive my green card back.... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I need a clear answer, I have tried calling the USCIS to get through to talk to someone but its darn near impossible. I would appreciate any help......

[MsZ 6]

Wait until you marry. Doesn't matter who sponsors you so long as they're essentially equivalent -- meet the $$ threshold and are USC. Because I'm not sure if you could adjust just by being engaged. Once you're married you're on solid ground.

[thetreble 19]

Don't think you can adjust on engagement..isn't that what K-1 is for? Any ways, I'm going to go with you have to wait to be married to file AOS.

By the way, if you are legally in the US right now...what do you mean by that? Are you on a TN?

I don't understand what you mean by Can you get married before you receive your green card back?

[cdn_in_wa 1]

I am engaged to be married... we are trying to set a date... the problem is... I am a canadian citizen lawfully living in the US, my fiance is a US citizen. I am getting ready to send in my I-485 & I-130. What I need to know is should I (1 ) send in my papers now (being sponsored by stepfather), (2) wait till I am married and then send in my papers having my husband be the sponsor. OR (3) Wait till I marry, send in my papers with my stepfather still as the sponsor. And if I go with option (1) can I get married before I receive my green card back.... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I need a clear answer, I have tried calling the USCIS to get through to talk to someone but its darn near impossible. I would appreciate any help......

I think what you want to do is get married first. An immigrant petition is IMMEDIATELY available to you as a spouse of a USC. Other relatives must wait in line. I'm not sure where you fall in preference as a step-child.

[jedinite 0]

DO NOT LEAVE THE US!!!! Get married and file for the I-129F and the I-130. There may also be a form you need to fill out for adjustment of status. Since you are in the US they should adjust your status a lot quicker than if you left the country. Make sure you don't leave the country until you get your visa, otherwise you risk being locked out like I did.

If you have a TN and it must be renewed, I think you can do it within the US by sending in a renewal to the Nebraska office. If you are on a TN do not mention that you are getting married or intend on filing for immigration otherwise your TN will be denied as it is only for "TEMPORARY" workers.

If for some reason you must leave the country after you have filed for your I-129F or I-130 it will be a pain to get back into the country the first time if the POE Officer decides to question your stay, you then may be asked to show proof that you are returning to Canada, doesn't happen to all but it was an issue for me since I was trying to renew a TN before I filed for the I-130.

Benefit of having a CR-1 vs K-1 is that you can work right away and do no have any restrictions, so I highly recommend applying for the I-130 instead of the I-129F. And by the looks of timelines they take roughly the same amount of time to process now.

Last thing to note: you don't need a lawyer to apply and get your visa as long as you do your research. VJ is truly a god-send when it comes to getting PR or immigration, I know it's saved me thousands on legal costs. Good luck with your journey.

[MsZ 6]

She wouldn't do a K-3 if she were already here legally and she got married. She'd do an I-130 and adjust status.

Also, check out the adjusting status forum : http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=130

[cdn_in_wa 1]

DO NOT LEAVE THE US!!!! Get married and file for the I-129F and the I-130. There may also be a form you need to fill out for adjustment of status. Since you are in the US they should adjust your status a lot quicker than if you left the country. Make sure you don't leave the country until you get your visa, otherwise you risk being locked out like I did.

If you have a TN and it must be renewed, I think you can do it within the US by sending in a renewal to the Nebraska office. If you are on a TN do not mention that you are getting married or intend on filing for immigration otherwise your TN will be denied as it is only for "TEMPORARY" workers.

If for some reason you must leave the country after you have filed for your I-129F or I-130 it will be a pain to get back into the country the first time if the POE Officer decides to question your stay, you then may be asked to show proof that you are returning to Canada, doesn't happen to all but it was an issue for me since I was trying to renew a TN before I filed for the I-130.

Benefit of having a CR-1 vs K-1 is that you can work right away and do no have any restrictions, so I highly recommend applying for the I-130 instead of the I-129F. And by the looks of timelines they take roughly the same amount of time to process now.

Last thing to note: you don't need a lawyer to apply and get your visa as long as you do your research. VJ is truly a god-send when it comes to getting PR or immigration, I know it's saved me thousands on legal costs. Good luck with your journey.

She needs to file I-130 and I-485 concurrently. Not I-129F.

Quickest avenue for someone in the country legally, as we assume she is, is to marry and file as spouse adjusting status.

[Reba 2]

If your mother and step-father were married after your 18th birthday, your step-father cannot sponsor you. If they were married before your 18th birthday, the he should have started the process then, not now. It'll take several years (current processing time for parental sponsorship petitions is 5 years).

Best option is to get married and have your husband sponsor you.