Adjusting from a student visa to a marriage visa?

[kgv 0]

Hey everyone,

My fiance and I met while working in South Korea 5 years ago. I was always intending to do my masters degree in the US (I'm Canadian), and about halfway through my school application process, we got engaged. Now I'm in NYC on a student visa, but we'd like to get married in January and adjust my status right after that. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any ideas about how long the process will take and how much it will cost? Do we need a lawyer, or is this something we can do on our own? Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Used to be broken 147]

Hey everyone,

My fiance and I met while working in South Korea 5 years ago. I was always intending to do my masters degree in the US (I'm Canadian), and about halfway through my school application process, we got engaged. Now I'm in NYC on a student visa, but we'd like to get married in January and adjust my status right after that. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any ideas about how long the process will take and how much it will cost? Do we need a lawyer, or is this something we can do on our own? Any advice would be much appreciated!

So you are F1 status now?

[kgv 0]

Yes, I am on an F1 right now

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

After you got married, you file for Adjustment of Status via forms (i-130, I-485, and I-761). It's standard procedure and you should not need the help of an attorney for this. The cost is $1,010 including biometrics. It will take several months until you will be able to leave the country, however.

[juliava 80]

I assume your fiancee is a US citizen and not a LPR, isn't she?

Edited October 16, 2010 by juliava

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

After you got married, you file for Adjustment of Status via forms (i-130, I-485, and I-761). It's standard procedure and you should not need the help of an attorney for this. The cost is $1,010 including biometrics. It will take several months until you will be able to leave the country, however.

This is correct except he omitted the $355 for the I-130. The whole process will take about 3-4 months. The USCIS jargon is that you file I-130/I-485 CONCURRENTLY. Good luck. (Also, I think the fees are going up in November so they will be a bit more when you file.)

[Winonan 3]

Wait you got engaged while you were applying to schools in the US before you got your F1 visa? It might raise a red flag when you come here on a non-immigrant visa with the intention of getting married to a US citizen and adjusting to permanent residence.

[kgv 0]

Thanks everyone, for good information. I am a little worried that it looks suspicious that we were engaged before I entered on a student visa . . . I'm wondering if we should wait a little longer after we get married to file an AOS, so it looks more legit.

[Mavisgrind 1]

>Thanks everyone, for good information. I am a little worried that it looks suspicious that we were engaged before I entered on a student visa . . . I'm wondering if we should wait a little longer after we get married to file an AOS, so it looks more legit.

Shouldn't be an issue. You entered on a student visa and you are enrolled in classes now. Correct? Therefore your student visa is legit and you don't have to worry about anything. If you happen to get married while you are attending classes, that happens all the time.

During your interview you will probably be asked how and when you met but it doesn't have a really bearing on your actual marriage.

One other note: I'm a USC and travel to Canada all the time and for the last 20 years have used my passport as ID at the border. However, the only Canadian stamp I have found in any passport was from YVR in 2008 and the only one I found from the US on return was in 2004 (also at YVR). I don't think I have ever had my passport stamped at road crossings, only the two times in the airport.

Cheers

[kgv 0]

Thanks Mavisgrind, that's reassuring!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks everyone, for good information. I am a little worried that it looks suspicious that we were engaged before I entered on a student visa . . . I'm wondering if we should wait a little longer after we get married to file an AOS, so it looks more legit.

Being engaged just means you intended to get married at some point. That's not illegal, even if you intended to get married in the US.

Having preconceived intent to use a non-immigrant visa to immigrate is not legal, but it's not a serious enough negative factor to deny your AOS because of it. Even if USCIS has evidence of preconceived intent, they can't use that alone as a reason to deny your AOS. They would also need evidence that you lied about your intent to an immigration officer. People are not often denied for this combination of factors, and when they are it's usually after they entered on a tourist visa.

[kgv 0]

Thanks Jim! Something else that occurred to me-- once I file the AOS, do I lose my F1 status? Can I continue to study? And what if for some reason my AOS is denied? Does that mean I've lost my status in the US entirely?

[Mavisgrind 1]

My wife came here on a tourist visa and while here decided to enroll in classes and so she had her visa adjusted to a F1. We were married during the summer between terms and she had to adjust her status again. I took care of all the paperwork so she could concentrate on her degree (which she completed!). Even though we had actually met before she came to the US everything she did was legitimate and legal. She came here on the tourist visa intending to stay for a summer. I convinced her to take up studies here and she applied for and received a F1 visa. After she had been here a while but before she had finished her degree we were married and we filed another AOS for conditional permanent residency which she received without problem. During the interview we were asked how we met and all that, but there was no problem with her previous changes in status.

Filing for an AOS due to marriage should not affect your student status. I believe that it will technically cancel your F1 status but while the AOS is in process you are still allowed to work and study. And once you receive your conditional residency, depending on the state and school, you will probably be able to register as a resident and get lower fees. I don't really see anything to worry about. I suggest you do what we did - you concentrate on your studies and let your fiancee/spouse take care of the paperwork.

Best wishes and cheers!

[Maxximus1074 14]

Thought I share my thoughts about your subject, too - as far as continue studying goes - generally there is really no problem to continue, nobody can deny you to attend school, whether you are still in active F-1 status or adjusting it to become a permanent resident.

But....it depends on the school what tuition they will charge. I am a candidate for AOS from F-1 myself, but the community college district I intended to enroll this fall semester decided to charge me the out-of-state resident fees. My explanation that I have been in California since my initial arrival 10 years ago with different departments, even to the vice chancellor of education only lead to the answers that they obey federal laws which have a description as for what is considered a in-state student. During the application process for classes I had to give a permanent resident number which I don't have to prove that I am a permanent resident yet and so left this field open, prompting the admission records to classify me as an out-of-state student after I explained that my F-1 is no longer valid.

So instead of paying $900+ for 3 units I decided to stay out of school this semester and have a greencard to present next year when I will enroll again.

In a nutshell - you can study, it just maybe still more expensive then you think considering resident tuition fees.