F-1 visa, does my fiance need to enroll in classes still?

[missyk 0]

Hey All

We are newbies to this forum but we heard good things about it. I hope some of you can help us with our little scenario.

My fiance is an international student (on an F-1 visa). She is here in the states now and her F-1 visa expires this Aug 2009. Currently she is enrolled in classes until April 15th.

However we plan to do our civil wedding this May 1st, my question is, does my fiance need to still enroll herself in classes in order to maintain her F-1 status? Or does our marriage should trump over her status when we get married. I want to make sure there are no hiccups when we do this.

Please advise. Oh a little info on me, Im an American Citizen. Born and raised here but has no clue when it comes to these issues. Your help will appreciated.

Thanks

K

[YuAndDan 153]

I beleive the requirement of F-1 is being enrolled in classes, however should be no problem once you marry and IMEDIATLY file I-130+G-325A, I-485+G-325A, I-865, I-765, and I-131 all together.

Note I-131 IS REQUIRED for a F-1 student adjusting status if they wish to travel while I-485 is pending, any travel out of the USA without an AP doc will get the I-485 canceled.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Yep - requirement for F-1 is to actually registered in classes, unless it's a "vacation" break or the such.

F-1 students have a 60 day grace period for departure following the end date of their program as noted on the I-20 or approved OPT period - so you should be in that window I would think.

[missyk 0]

Thank you guys for this info. Since we are getting married on May 1, we will not be getting our wedding certificate for another 4-6 weeks. If there is a grace-period, then we should ok then. Right?

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Well, the grace period is for "departure", you know, get things ready to ship, etc...

I would imagine you would be ok, but you will have to make the choice.

Can't she sign up for more classes?

A friend of mine is going through the same thing, but his lawyer told his beneficiary to stay in school till after they are married and apply for AOS.

But lawyers usually play it safe.

Usually...

[missyk 0]

Can't she sign up for more classes?

A friend of mine is going through the same thing, but his lawyer told his beneficiary to stay in school till after they are married and apply for AOS.

But lawyers usually play it safe.

Usually...

I just talked to my fiance, she told me she plans to take time off since her relatives will be here for our wedding on May 1. She needs to entertain them.

The week after she will enroll for another month 1/2 of classes since she wants to continue.

SO during this time we will send out the AOS once we get the wedding certificate set. I assume once she gets her "pending status", the F-1 is no longer in play right?

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Can't she sign up for more classes?

A friend of mine is going through the same thing, but his lawyer told his beneficiary to stay in school till after they are married and apply for AOS.

But lawyers usually play it safe.

Usually...

I just talked to my fiance, she told me she plans to take time off since her relatives will be here for our wedding on May 1. She needs to entertain them.

The week after she will enroll for another month 1/2 of classes since she wants to continue.

Cool - then your covered.

SO during this time we will send out the AOS once we get the wedding certificate set. I assume once she gets her "pending status", the F-1 is no longer in play right?

She will be in "pending" status. She inquire at her school if they need to change any paperwork. Usually the ISSO for the school (International Students and Scholars Office)

I am not that familiar with all the ins and outs of F-1's.

Congrats on the marriage btw!

[pacificleye 4]

Well as an F-one out of status who just done adjusting to permanent resident, I can tell you that if she plans on adjusting it won't really matter if she is out of status or still in status. Now I would say it will be best for her to keep her status if she can, that way, you never know the outcome of the AOS. In my case, I chose not to enroll the following quarter since I knew I was going to adjust and that way, saved me from paying another $6000 for the quarter( the school I was in mistreated me and disregarded all my credits from my previous college and wanted me to start over all my classes, I was then stuck so I did not have that much of a choice, because all they wanted was my money). So if you plan on adjusting, I would recommend that as soon as you get married, they should give you a certified copy right after the ceremony that you could use to send with the AOS, because all you need really is a copy of your marriage certificate. But really like Bobby_Umit so well said the choice is yours. How is the year divided at her school? Is it semester or quarter? I am asking because from my experience, ( when I was in a semester like college, I don't know about quarter like school)you have 5 months after the last day of the last semester you attended before you are really out of status with the INS and have to re-apply for being reinstated. Within that 5 month, you are out of status yes, but should you decide to go back to school, the school can reinstate you without you having to pay to be reinstated by the INS.

[YuAndDan 153]

Thank you guys for this info. Since we are getting married on May 1, we will not be getting our wedding certificate for another 4-6 weeks. If there is a grace-period, then we should ok then. Right?

How about a trip to Las Vegas for the marriage, you can get Marriage license, then marry, and then hand carry the executed license back to the county clerk's office and walk out with a cert. Perhaps this could be done in Reno too.

[missyk 0]

Thank you Bobby, my fiance and I are looking forward to our marriage.

Currently my fiance is going to an english school. She is taking classes to improve her english skills for both speaking and writing. Her classes end in the middle of April. She plans to take some time off but she still needs to pay for her classes.

My next question, when we get married we won't get the official wedding certificate until 4-6 weeks. We can make a copy when we get married so we can use it for all the paper works we need to fill correct? Our plan is to tackle the paperworks in the next week. How long should you prepare these things?

Hit m back

K

Well as an F-one out of status who just done adjusting to permanent resident, I can tell you that if she plans on adjusting it won't really matter if she is out of status or still in status. Now I would say it will be best for her to keep her status if she can, that way, you never know the outcome of the AOS. In my case, I chose not to enroll the following quarter since I knew I was going to adjust and that way, saved me from paying another $6000 for the quarter( the school I was in mistreated me and disregarded all my credits from my previous college and wanted me to start over all my classes, I was then stuck so I did not have that much of a choice, because all they wanted was my money). So if you plan on adjusting, I would recommend that as soon as you get married, they should give you a certified copy right after the ceremony that you could use to send with the AOS, because all you need really is a copy of your marriage certificate. But really like Bobby_Umit so well said the choice is yours. How is the year divided at her school? Is it semester or quarter? I am asking because from my experience, ( when I was in a semester like college, I don't know about quarter like school)you have 5 months after the last day of the last semester you attended before you are really out of status with the INS and have to re-apply for being reinstated. Within that 5 month, you are out of status yes, but should you decide to go back to school, the school can reinstate you without you having to pay to be reinstated by the INS.

Congratz to your Green Card

[YuAndDan 153]

Thank you Bobby, my fiance and I are looking forward to our marriage.

Currently my fiance is going to an english school. She is taking classes to improve her english skills for both speaking and writing. Her classes end in the middle of April. She plans to take some time off but she still needs to pay for her classes.

My next question, when we get married we won't get the official wedding certificate until 4-6 weeks. We can make a copy when we get married so we can use it for all the paper works we need to fill correct? Our plan is to tackle the paperworks in the next week. How long should you prepare these things?

Hit m back

K

You need to attach a copy of the official marriage cert to the I-130 and I-485, NOT a copy of marriage license.

[missyk 0]

You need to attach a copy of the official marriage cert to the I-130 and I-485, NOT a copy of marriage license.

So it has to be the certified offical marriage cert? correct? is 4-6 weeks the correct wait time?

This is what I found the County Clerks FAQ section:

Q. I am getting married and my fiancée is not a U.S. citizen. Are there any special requirements I will need to follow?

A. No. It is important that you visit our website and go to the following link Requirements for a Marriage License so that you know the requirements for obtaining a marriage license through our office. The requirements are the same whether you or your fiancée are U.S. citizens. There are no additional requirements for you to follow. However, it may be important for you to know that you will not be able to obtain a CERTIFIED copy of your marriage record ($13.00 each) until 10 business days for a confidential marriage certificate and 4-6 weeks for a public marriage certificate after the license is returned back from the person who performs your ceremony. Therefore, it is best that you schedule your appointment for obtaining your license and then make arrangements to have your ceremony in the earlier stages of your vacation so that you can have time to get the certified copy or you may request the certified copy by mail. If you are going to want to have the marriage recognized in your fiancee’s country of origin, then it is also important for you to check with that country’s appropriate governmental agencies to see what you may need to have the marriage accepted in that country. Most countries require the certified copy to be “apostilled” through the Secretary of State’s Office. If this is the case, then once you have obtained the certified copy, you can simply go to the California Secretary of State’s Office, which is located within walking distance from City Hall, and obtain the apostille. You will need to check with that office for hours and fees. Our office does not deal with immigration issues so any questions pertaining to the steps necessary in order to have your fiancée legally stay in the country would need to be addressed directly with the Department of Homeland Security.

[pacificleye 4]

So it has to be the certified offical marriage cert? correct? is 4-6 weeks the correct wait time?

Well here in Dallas, when you get Married, the same day, the marriage judge gave us a certified copy after he signed the marriage license which then becomes the marriage certificate. That is the one we used to send our AOS, which was even a photocopy of the certified copy. i DID NOT SAY THE MARRIAGE LICENSE, because until signed the license expires after a period of time( here 30 days). So once it is signed, it is valid to be used as a proof of marriage. Now they send the original back to the county for them to put it in the records, then send it back to you, but you should be able to obtain a certified copy in the main time right after the ceremony that you could use to prove youm are legally married.

We got ours back in less than 2 weeks( small county)

Edited April 1, 2009 by pacificleye

[missyk 0]

So it has to be the certified offical marriage cert? correct? is 4-6 weeks the correct wait time?

Well here in Dallas, when you get Married, the same day, the marriage judge gave us a certified copy after he signed the marriage license which then becomes the marriage certificate. That is the one we used to send our AOS, which was even a photocopy of the certified copy. i DID NOT SAY THE MARRIAGE LICENSE, because until signed the license expires after a period of time( here 30 days). So once it is signed, it is valid to be used as a proof of marriage. Now they send the original back to the county for them to put it in the records, then send it back to you, but you should be able to obtain a certified copy in the main time right after the ceremony that you could use to prove youm are legally married.

We got ours back in less than 2 weeks( small county)

Oh!! Okay, so after the judge signs the paper, we can use that exact copy for our AOS. We can photocopy it for our records. Send the original to AOS.

[w1331 2]

Hey All

We are newbies to this forum but we heard good things about it. I hope some of you can help us with our little scenario.

My fiance is an international student (on an F-1 visa). She is here in the states now and her F-1 visa expires this Aug 2009. Currently she is enrolled in classes until April 15th.

However we plan to do our civil wedding this May 1st, my question is, does my fiance need to still enroll herself in classes in order to maintain her F-1 status? Or does our marriage should trump over her status when we get married. I want to make sure there are no hiccups when we do this.

Please advise. Oh a little info on me, Im an American Citizen. Born and raised here but has no clue when it comes to these issues. Your help will appreciated.

Thanks

K

missyk,

F1 students have 60 days grace period after the school period ends for them to figure out what they want to do next (either go back to school, going back to their countries, etc). As long as you get married within that 60 days grace period, she's gonna be fine.

When you send your AOS application to USCIS, you need to send a CERTIFIED copy of your marriage license/certificate. You cannot just make a copy by yourself. Since you are gonna get married at the county court, I think you can get the certified copy as soon as possible. Just tell the judge that you need to get the certified copy of the marriage license ASAP for your AOS application, so that the clerk can make you a certified copy of the marriage license.