H 1B Visa expiring in two months, marriage, job situation

[Sophia23 0]

Hello there,

"it happened" to us as well. I've been in the US since early 2009 on a work-related H-1B visa, run into my boyfriend sometime last year, and now we want to stay together, in the US, get married, change my status. Are we still on time?

Also, here are some odd scenarios. What happens to me if I get a conditional permanent residency, and we happily live together on the West Coast, but for job reasons one of us has to move to another US state, thus making this a (temporary, unvoluntary) long-distance marriage? It's not that we want this to happen, but it's not entirely impossible either, given my profession and the job market as it is. Would that make us 'suspicious' during the 3 year probation time? (In other words, do we have to constantly submit proof of common residency?)

Further, and really worst case, assume I have a great job, pay my taxes, but for some reason the relationship turns sore, and he or I want a divorce after a year or so? Can I stay and still work in the US, or would I have to leave the USA? At age 48, I'm just being realistic, this being a life-time decision...

Thanks for any help or thoughts.

Sophia

Edited October 2, 2010 by Sophia23

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I'm not sure what you mean by "still on time". As long as you entered the US legally then you can marry a US citizen and adjust status, even if you've overstayed your visa and are currently out of status. The only exception, as of late, are people who entered using the Visa Waiver Program.

Also not sure what you mean by "3 year probation". Your conditional status will be for two years - not three.

You will have to jointly file with your husband to remove those conditions in the 90 day period before your conditional residence expires. You don't have to constantly submit any proof of common residency, but both you and your new husband will be required to report any change of address to USCIS. If you change addresses and he doesn't then they'll know you're not living together. When you file to remove conditions, if you have any extended periods of time when you weren't living together then USCIS will expect a good explanation for this, as it can cast doubts on whether you have a bona fide marital relationship. They may suspect that "great job" was the primary reason for the marriage.

If the relationship turns sour before your conditional residence expires then there are options for you to request a waiver of the joint filing requirement, and file to remove conditions on your own. One of those options is if the marriage ended in divorce. You would need to provide evidence that you entered the marriage in good faith, and not primarily to obtain an immigration benefit, and you'll need the final divorce decree.