Really confused about this all.

[Help! 0]

Quick questions.

I'm from Canada, currently going to college in the USA. I decided to go to school here because of my boyfriend, who I have been dating for four years. We both want to get married, but don't really want to be separated (we have a dog, and a house together - but of course, all in his name + long distance sucks ). Since I'm in college, how would we go about setting up our marriage legally? Would this require me to leave college, go back to Canada, then come back when something is settled? I'm so confused about it all. Can anyone give me a step-by-step guide / advice on how to get legally married? He is a US citizen, and I am a Canadian citizen.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

[Jauque 1]

Quick questions.

I'm from Canada, currently going to college in the USA. I decided to go to school here because of my boyfriend, who I have been dating for four years. We both want to get married, but don't really want to be separated (we have a dog, and a house together - but of course, all in his name + long distance sucks ). Since I'm in college, how would we go about setting up our marriage legally? Would this require me to leave college, go back to Canada, then come back when something is settled? I'm so confused about it all. Can anyone give me a step-by-step guide / advice on how to get legally married? He is a US citizen, and I am a Canadian citizen.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

Someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong but I think you can get married and then adjust your status from student visa to permanent resident. I might be wrong though, you should look into it or wait for someone smarter to reply.

Edit:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=197045 <--- VJ topic about woman who did what I just suggested. May I'm not wrong. =P

Edited May 15, 2009 by Kate and Matt

[redglasses 1]

Getting married while you are on F1 is nothing wrong. It's legal.

As Kate and Matt says, you can adjust your status from F1 to GC in the US afterwards.

[Jauque 1]

Food for thought from a VJ AOS guide:

General notes about adjusting from H1B, F-1, J-1, or another type of visa: Entering the US on another

type of visa, such as student (F-1) or H1B, followed quickly by marriage to a US citizen, and then followed

quickly by an application for adjustment of status might be construed by the USCIS to be visa fraud. The

reason for this is that you applied for the original visa, and then after entry into the US quickly applied for

adjustment of status, which makes the real purpose for your original visa request suspect. Bear in mind, the

onus to disprove an accusation of fraud from the USCIS is on the person petitioning for adjustment of

status. For this reason, I do not recommend applying for adjustment of status very quickly after you enter the

US on one of these other visa types (although filing immediately is still legal if you had no intent on marrying

and adjusting status both when you applied for your original visa and when you subsequently entered the US at the Port

of Entry). There is no time limitation on when you must apply for adjustment of status after marriage to a US

citizen...you could literally stay in the US for years before doing so, and as long as you maintained your status on the

original visa, it would still be fine. While applying for adjustment of status very quickly might lead to a fraud accusation

from the USCIS , the marriage itself is not an issue--no one will try to prosecute you in any way for marrying a US

citizen, even if it is not very long after you enter the US. The thing to remember is that you do not want to apply for

adjustment of status until a reasonable amount of time has passed after your entry. Shusterman recommends waiting

at least 60 days after entry before changing status. You may want to consult an attorney if you have further questions

regarding the timing issue for adjustment of status.

[Help! 0]

Is an F1 the same as an i-20? That is what my papers say right now. I'm not really used to all these terms.

So we can get married while I am a student here in the United States, once I'm done school - what then? Can I stay in the USA legally?

Edited May 15, 2009 by Help!

[Jauque 1]

Is and F1 the same as an i-20? That is what my papers say right now. I'm not really used to all these terms.

So we can get married while I am a student here in the United States, once I'm done school - what then? Can I stay in the USA legally?

An i-20 is an F-1 student visa. If you marry your boyfriend and apply for an AOS, (This means adjusting your status from a F1 visa to a permanent resident by being the wife of a US citizen.) then you can stay in the US legally indefinatly. There are several steps to the AOS which you can find in the guides or by searching AOS on this site. You don't need to wait until you finish school to adjust your status, you would want to start the process at least 4 months before your i-20 expires to avoid overstaying your F1.

[Help! 0]

Thanks for your help and quick replies.

Where exactly on this site are the AOS guides? This is a bit overwhelming!

Edited May 15, 2009 by Help!

[Jauque 1]

Thanks for your help and quick replies.

Where exactly on this site are the AOS guides? This is a bit overwhelming!

AOS guide -

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

At first it's incrediably overwhelming but once you read through it a few times, it gets a lot less scary!

Good luck!

[Help! 0]

Thank you very much!

Since I had no intent to marry when I got my i-20 for college, I am in the clear and should proceed with these instructions?

[Anh map 2,098]

Thank you very much!

Since I had no intent to marry when I got my i-20 for college, I am in the clear and should proceed with these instructions?

Spend some time with your fiance reading the guides and forums to educate yourselves. That will help you to make the proper decision for your situation.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Moving this to AOS from Work, Student and Tourist Visas as the OP may now be considering adjusting from an F1.

Good luck!

[minnew 4]

Thank you very much!

Since I had no intent to marry when I got my i-20 for college, I am in the clear and should proceed with these instructions?

Hi there! I also was on a student visa F-1 and that is where I met my future husband.

Yes you did not have intent to marry him when you got your I-20 for college, but when was the last time you visited Canada? At this point I wouldn't go home to visit Canada and then attempt to re-enter the U.S. saying that you plan to marry your boyfriend, or even bringing back anything to do with your wedding in the U.S. because at that point your intent changes from studying in the U.S. to marrying at USC, and they will deny you entry. It's all about your intent at your last entry (POE).

You do not have to wait until just before your student visa expires, you can do it anytime between now and then. Better earlier than just before as you want to have a legal status in the U.S. If you send in your AOS package say 2 weeks after your visa expires, that is ok, your overstay will be forgiven. You will become "AOS pending" once you receive your receipt notice for AOS, until you have an interview and receive your GC.

Take a look at the guides, sit down with your boyfriend as well because if you decide to Adjust from your F-1 he will be sponsoring you, he needs to know the full process as well. You will need to file the AOS forms, but since you did not have an immigrant medical exam done in Canada you will need one done as a part of the AOS package. USCIS designates civil surgeons to perform them and sometimes they can be costly. There is a civil surgeon locator on the USCIS webpage.

[Help! 0]

I met my boyfriend years before I became a student in the USA (visited each other a lot). At first we figured I'd go to school, let him finish his schooling here in the US, then he would move to Canada. Things changed though, and now he wants me to become a citizen of the USA. I last visited Canada in January, before my first semester going to college in the USA started. I'm going home on the 19th for a week, just to visit my family, but will be returning.

So basically, when we have an intent to marry, go to Canada, gather up all my marriage things, then enter in the USA on a new status so it doesn't seem like fraud?

Thanks so much for the help! My boyfriend and I will definitely check into this more by reading all the guides and such!

[rebeccajo 14]

I met my boyfriend years before I became a student in the USA (visited each other a lot). At first we figured I'd go to school, let him finish his schooling here in the US, then he would move to Canada. Things changed though, and now he wants me to become a citizen of the USA. I last visited Canada in January, before my first semester going to college in the USA started. I'm going home on the 19th for a week, just to visit my family, but will be returning.

So basically, when we have an intent to marry, go to Canada, gather up all my marriage things, then enter in the USA on a new status so it doesn't seem like fraud?

Thanks so much for the help! My boyfriend and I will definitely check into this more by reading all the guides and such!

It's not really about intent to marry at all.

it's about intent to immigrate to the US via marriage to a US citizen thereby circumventing immigation law. In other words if there is a legal path for you to immigrate to the US, if you intentionally marry within the US and adjust your status from that marriage rather than following the legal path, you have violated US immigration law.

No one here is going to advise you how to do things so it doesn't "seem" like fraud. And frankly - you shouldn't be asking anyone here for that kind of advice.

Edited May 15, 2009 by rebeccajo

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

So basically, when we have an intent to marry, go to Canada, gather up all my marriage things, then enter in the USA on a new status so it doesn't seem like fraud?

Thanks so much for the help! My boyfriend and I will definitely check into this more by reading all the guides and such!

Ok help, here is the sticky part. You do not want to go back to Canada and then enter the US with intent to marry and stay. That would be against US immigration law. However, if you are already inside the US and get married and don't want to leave, then you can adjust your status from within the US. The rules are kind of warped, in that it is against the law to come to the US with intent to stay, however if you are ALREADY in the US, married and want to stay, then there is a legal way to do so. You don't want to do anything that is fraudulent or looks frauduent. So, maybe consult with an immigration lawyer or book an infopass appointment and discuss this with someone who knows the rules.

There may be issues with you travelling between the US and Canada on your student visa, if your intent is to reside permanently in the US, so please check into this.