Adjustment of status after marriage

[ska 0]

Hi friends,

My father filed an I 130 petition for me (I was unmarried at that time) at Nebraska service center on the 4th of April 2004. On the 27th of July 2007, a notification was issued stating that my petition has been approved and has been moved to National Visa Center. During Dec 2007 I came to US on H1B visa ( and am still here). I got married Jan 2009 and my wife will be here soon on H4 visa, in a weeks time.

I would greatly appreciate if someone could help me with the questions hereunder

1) Now that am married, how do I file for the adjustment of status for my I 130 petition. Is it ok if I mail NVC, if so, to which address do I send the mail?

2) If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

Thanks in advance

SKA

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi friends,

My father filed an I 130 petition for me (I was unmarried at that time) at Nebraska service center on the 4th of April 2004. On the 27th of July 2007, a notification was issued stating that my petition has been approved and has been moved to National Visa Center. During Dec 2007 I came to US on H1B visa ( and am still here). I got married Jan 2009 and my wife will be here soon on H4 visa, in a weeks time.

I would greatly appreciate if someone could help me with the questions hereunder

1) Now that am married, how do I file for the adjustment of status for my I 130 petition. Is it ok if I mail NVC, if so, to which address do I send the mail?

2) If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

Thanks in advance

SKA

Where are you from?

Getting married moves you from the F1 preference category to the F3 preference category. It will take longer for you to get an immigration visa and to adjust your status under the I-130 filed by your father. Here is the most recent visa bulletin, you can look up the priority dates; http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin...letin_4428.html.

You need to send a letter to the NVC with your case number and inform them that you are married and need to be moved from F1 to F3. Don't waste money by trying to adjust under F1 because you will be denied.

Edited March 5, 2009 by aaron2020

[ska 0]

Thanks for the reply,

I am from India, currently in US on H1B. One more question, If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

THanks and regards,

SKA

Hi friends,

My father filed an I 130 petition for me (I was unmarried at that time) at Nebraska service center on the 4th of April 2004. On the 27th of July 2007, a notification was issued stating that my petition has been approved and has been moved to National Visa Center. During Dec 2007 I came to US on H1B visa ( and am still here). I got married Jan 2009 and my wife will be here soon on H4 visa, in a weeks time.

I would greatly appreciate if someone could help me with the questions hereunder

1) Now that am married, how do I file for the adjustment of status for my I 130 petition. Is it ok if I mail NVC, if so, to which address do I send the mail?

2) If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

Thanks in advance

SKA

Where are you from?

Getting married moves you from the F1 preference category to the F3 preference category. It will take longer for you to get an immigration visa and to adjust your status under the I-130 filed by your father. Here is the most recent visa bulletin, you can look up the priority dates; http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin...letin_4428.html.

You need to send a letter to the NVC with your case number and inform them that you are married and need to be moved from F1 to F3. Don't waste money by trying to adjust under F1 because you will be denied.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Thanks for the reply,

I am from India, currently in US on H1B. One more question, If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

THanks and regards,

SKA

Hi friends,

My father filed an I 130 petition for me (I was unmarried at that time) at Nebraska service center on the 4th of April 2004. On the 27th of July 2007, a notification was issued stating that my petition has been approved and has been moved to National Visa Center. During Dec 2007 I came to US on H1B visa ( and am still here). I got married Jan 2009 and my wife will be here soon on H4 visa, in a weeks time.

I would greatly appreciate if someone could help me with the questions hereunder

1) Now that am married, how do I file for the adjustment of status for my I 130 petition. Is it ok if I mail NVC, if so, to which address do I send the mail?

2) If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

Thanks in advance

SKA

Where are you from?

Getting married moves you from the F1 preference category to the F3 preference category. It will take longer for you to get an immigration visa and to adjust your status under the I-130 filed by your father. Here is the most recent visa bulletin, you can look up the priority dates; http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin...letin_4428.html.

You need to send a letter to the NVC with your case number and inform them that you are married and need to be moved from F1 to F3. Don't waste money by trying to adjust under F1 because you will be denied.

To illustrate - different people have different lines they have to wait in to get a visa. F1, US citizen petitioning for unmarried child, and F3, US citizen petitioning for married child, have different lines. The line for F3 is longer, so it takes a couple for years for them to get a visa. If you move from F1 to F3, you get to keep your priority date (the date the I-130 was filed with USCIS/INS).

For India, F1 with priority date on or before July 22, 2002 and F3 with priority date on or before Aug. 8, 2000 are now eligible to get immigration visas if they meet all the requirements.

There are essentially two steps to immigrating to the US; 1) I-130 Immigration Petition with USCIS and 2) Visa Petition at NVC. You are now in the second part where you are waiting for an available visa when your priority date becomes current and NVC will send you an application to begin processing for a visa.

You will likely have to wait four more years to get your green card in the F3 category as your priority date is April 2004. The nice thing is that your wife and any children you will have will also get green cards. If you were unmarried in F1 and married subsequently, it could take an additional 5 years to get a visa for your wife.

[jula 0]

If I file for adjustment of status, will my original application date viz April 2004 hold good, or will it be pushed further down to the date when the adjustment of status is filed?

You can't file for adjustment of status yet. You have to wait until your priority date April 2004 is current (shown in Visa Bulletin) for your category (as aaron explained in different words). So, you keep April 2004 date... but have to wait for adjustment until it is your turn.