Civil Wedding in U.S. Currently on Working Visa

[homeward 0]

Hi,

I am currently on a working visa (L1) with validity until 2012. I and my U.S. citizen girlfriend will have our civil wedding in March this year here in the U.S. Afterwards, we plan to have our church wedding in my country (Philippines) in December this year.

Will there be issues in coming back to the U.S. if I keep my working visa status? Is a change of status to Green Card holder advisable/better option straight after the wedding?

Please advise!

[jundp 191]

Do you plan to stay in the US after your work visa expires or will the two of you move back to the Phils?

[payxibka 10,045]

L-1 is a dual intent visa so intent to immigrate is not an issue.... Just keep the L-1 active or give yourself the time to change your status

[YuAndDan 153]

Do you plan to stay in the US after your work visa expires or will the two of you move back to the Phils?

Yes, if plan on staying the US, then apply to adjust status.

Start here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

Moving to the AOS sub-forum for AOS from Visitors/Student/Work visa.

[mimimimimi 0]

I would. I also was on a working visa, and got laid off. It's terrible to be conditioned to stay here only by your employer desires. Specially with this economy, you never know what can happen. I feel relieved now that I don't have to depend on work to stay here.

Hi,

I am currently on a working visa (L1) with validity until 2012. I and my U.S. citizen girlfriend will have our civil wedding in March this year here in the U.S. Afterwards, we plan to have our church wedding in my country (Philippines) in December this year.

Will there be issues in coming back to the U.S. if I keep my working visa status? Is a change of status to Green Card holder advisable/better option straight after the wedding?

Please advise!

[Petersons 0]

Hi,

I am currently on a working visa (L1) with validity until 2012. I and my U.S. citizen girlfriend will have our civil wedding in March this year here in the U.S. Afterwards, we plan to have our church wedding in my country (Philippines) in December this year.

Will there be issues in coming back to the U.S. if I keep my working visa status? Is a change of status to Green Card holder advisable/better option straight after the wedding?

Please advise!

I would suggest that you apply for your GC as soon as you get married. You may remain on your L1 if you like, but in today's economic times, anything is possible and if you happen to lose your job that would put you in a bad situation. Its better to apply for adjustment of status to be on the safer side. And if you apply for AOS right after your marriage, also apply for AP (Advanced Parole) along with it, so that you get a travel permit also. In this way you can safely go to the Phillipines and get married too incase your conditional GC does not come by December. But based on the timelines, if you do apply by March/April, you should get the conditional GC by October/November anyway.

[alexpapa 4]

Hi,

I am currently on a working visa (L1) with validity until 2012. I and my U.S. citizen girlfriend will have our civil wedding in March this year here in the U.S. Afterwards, we plan to have our church wedding in my country (Philippines) in December this year.

Will there be issues in coming back to the U.S. if I keep my working visa status? Is a change of status to Green Card holder advisable/better option straight after the wedding?

Please advise!

I would suggest that you apply for your GC as soon as you get married. You may remain on your L1 if you like, but in today's economic times, anything is possible and if you happen to lose your job that would put you in a bad situation. Its better to apply for adjustment of status to be on the safer side. And if you apply for AOS right after your marriage, also apply for AP (Advanced Parole) along with it, so that you get a travel permit also. In this way you can safely go to the Phillipines and get married too incase your conditional GC does not come by December. But based on the timelines, if you do apply by March/April, you should get the conditional GC by October/November anyway.

Just remember as long as your L1 is valid, you can travel freely as many times as you want in and out of the U.S. Once you apply for AOS, if you decide to get an EAD at the same time, as soon as you use the EAD your L1 will become invalid - otherwise it will remain valid until you actually get your greencard.

[homeward 0]

THANKS ALL!

Hi,

I am currently on a working visa (L1) with validity until 2012. I and my U.S. citizen girlfriend will have our civil wedding in March this year here in the U.S. Afterwards, we plan to have our church wedding in my country (Philippines) in December this year.

Will there be issues in coming back to the U.S. if I keep my working visa status? Is a change of status to Green Card holder advisable/better option straight after the wedding?

Please advise!

I would suggest that you apply for your GC as soon as you get married. You may remain on your L1 if you like, but in today's economic times, anything is possible and if you happen to lose your job that would put you in a bad situation. Its better to apply for adjustment of status to be on the safer side. And if you apply for AOS right after your marriage, also apply for AP (Advanced Parole) along with it, so that you get a travel permit also. In this way you can safely go to the Phillipines and get married too incase your conditional GC does not come by December. But based on the timelines, if you do apply by March/April, you should get the conditional GC by October/November anyway.

Just remember as long as your L1 is valid, you can travel freely as many times as you want in and out of the U.S. Once you apply for AOS, if you decide to get an EAD at the same time, as soon as you use the EAD your L1 will become invalid - otherwise it will remain valid until you actually get your greencard.