F-1 Visa Student inside of the U.S confusion.

[BoogieWoogie 0]

My soon to be wife is currently a I-20/F-1 Student Visa holder and has been in the U.S studying for 3 years. We plan on getting married very soon, however, there is SO much fantastic information on this site it tends to add to the confusion as to which steps we need to take and which forms in order for Adjustment of status and so on.

We have a pretty decent idea on what needs to happen but I just cannot get a good walk through for someone holding a F-1 Visa inside of the U.S and trying to file for AOS. What exact forms do we need and what order would they be filed in? Any help or outline would be GREATLY appreciated.

[payxibka 10,047]

follow this guide

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

[student28 0]

Hi Bgdave,

You will need to file forms I-130,I-485,G-325a,I-765,I-864 and I-131(if your wife wants to travel during the AOS process). All these can be filed together with 2 seperate checks one for I-130 and one for I-485.

[BoogieWoogie 0]

Thank you very very much! I am taking as many tips and notes as I can to get this process complete and get everything in order. She currently has two years left on her F-1 Visa and plans to continue her Masters so we still have a nice cushion of time for processing.

1.For a true bonifide marriage, is there really a risk of staying over here and filing inside of the U.S? Should I seriously be concerned?

2.Do the coppies of the Original Birth Certificates have to be certified now? Or will a copy of the original be fine?

[mofope 0]

Thank you very very much! I am taking as many tips and notes as I can to get this process complete and get everything in order. She currently has two years left on her F-1 Visa and plans to continue her Masters so we still have a nice cushion of time for processing.

1.For a true bonifide marriage, is there really a risk of staying over here and filing inside of the U.S? Should I seriously be concerned?

2.Do the coppies of the Original Birth Certificates have to be certified now? Or will a copy of the original be fine?

Hi Bgdave,

As of right now, there is no risk.. The only risk will be if she drops out of school for over 1 semester or so... but as you have no intent of doing that, you should be fine...

Copies of the original birth certificate are fine...

Good luck with it all..

[BoogieWoogie 0]

Thank you very very much! I am taking as many tips and notes as I can to get this process complete and get everything in order. She currently has two years left on her F-1 Visa and plans to continue her Masters so we still have a nice cushion of time for processing.

1.For a true bonifide marriage, is there really a risk of staying over here and filing inside of the U.S? Should I seriously be concerned?

2.Do the coppies of the Original Birth Certificates have to be certified now? Or will a copy of the original be fine?

Hi Bgdave,

As of right now, there is no risk.. The only risk will be if she drops out of school for over 1 semester or so... but as you have no intent of doing that, you should be fine...

Copies of the original birth certificate are fine...

Good luck with it all..

Mofope,

Thank you for such a quick response as it is so nice to actually get responses and help so quicky!

Many thanks ! =)

[payxibka 10,047]

any non-english document requires an accompanying english translation, so don't forget about that step...

[FortLaudy 10]

I'm adjusting from F1, my husband is the US Citizen... ask away! There's no problem adjusting from F1, life happens and USCIS knows that, I never intended to stay or thought I would meet my husband but I did, so there, it happens all the time and people adjust from F1 frequently.

My advice: download all the forms, Along with their instructions - (each form has an official instruction page) to your pc, you can then start filling in the forms and saving as you go along, print out the instructions and follow it line for line.

Use guides on these websites as guidelines, but follow the USCIS instructions thoroughly... for example, the guides on here always mention to send "certified" copies - this is unnecessary, the official instructions ask for legible photocopies... also on here it advises to send a marriage certificate along with I-485 if you're adjusting from student visa - also false, official instructions mention to send a marriage certificate for K1 adjustment only.

You'll need evidence of bonafide marriage, which of course most importantly will be your marriage certificate, so you need to get married first, also keep the initial "licence" that you'll get to perform the ceremony, I've heard that this has been requested at interview stage.

Other evidence that is very important is getting a lease/mortgage in both your names if possible, joint checking/saving/credit cards and if you're living in the same place get all your household bills combined if they're not already combined, make sure you both have the same address on Everything including your driver's licences, some people just simply forget to change the address on their licence but at the interview stage they can ask to see both your licences and if it doesn't show the same address it raises flags... for this process it's better to be safe than sorry... you'll find yourself having to do what may seem very unnecessary and pointless such as having to put both names on some account even though it's paid out of a joint bank account anyways etc. it's just the way it is and the kind of evidence immigration officers expect of bonafide couples, so just do what is finacially feasible for your marriage and can easily be done.

For example my husband and I don't have joint medical insurance, because I get it cheap as I'm a student and it will cost us a helluva lot more per month to combine it, so we're not doing that just to please an immigration officer, and we'll explain that if asked... if your marriage is legitimate you'll automatically want/have most of the evidence they're looking for so you won't have a problem, just make sure to gather it all up and make copies etc.