F1 visa student withdrawing and married to US citizen?

[senseip 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a US citizen and my husband is an international student and on an F1 visa. He is in his second year of college, but going to withdraw from all courses for the fall semester, so that'll basically mean he has withdrawn from the college completely and this will terminate his F1 visa (right?? i'm clueless :[ ) But before he withdraws, we plan on filing the I130 and I485 concurrently. Will be he able to stay once this is filed? There's only a week or so left before he must withdraw...I really need some advice and solid answers.. Thanks!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

He MUST stay here once you file the concurrent I-130/I-485. He cannot leave the country until he gets his temporary travel permission (Advance Parole) which takes about 2-3 months or his GC which renders the temporary travel permission obsolete and gives you the freedom to travel by itself. If he leaves the country before he gets that permission, he will abandon his application. The whole process is taking about 3-4 months now to get the GC. Happy marriage!

[senseip 0]

He MUST stay here once you file the concurrent I-130/I-485. He cannot leave the country until he gets his temporary travel permission (Advance Parole) which takes about 2-3 months or his GC which renders the temporary travel permission obsolete and gives you the freedom to travel by itself. If he leaves the country before he gets that permission, he will abandon his application. The whole process is taking about 3-4 months now to get the GC. Happy marriage!

Thank you so much! Although he is not leaving the country, i understand what you're telling me. But once he withdraws from college, is it legal for him to stay in the US if the residency status change has been filed? He will not leave the country regardless, but we would like to know if it's illegal for him to stay after he withdraws, or if apply for the status change makes it okay for him to stay....

[katgrl 14]

Overstays are overlooked for adjustment of status by marriage. So even if he withdraws his classes and therefore, overstays, you should be ok. Just get the packet in ASAP. There is always a chance he could be detained until he has his green card.

[senseip 0]

Overstays are overlooked for adjustment of status by marriage. So even if he withdraws his classes and therefore, overstays, you should be ok. Just get the packet in ASAP. There is always a chance he could be detained until he has his green card.

Thank you, it's much appreciated!

[senseip 0]

will the fact that him and i are 'secretly' married, as in, only a few friends of mine, and a few friends of his, know about our marriage, and neither of our parents do, make it hard for us to answer the interview? My parents know about him...just not that we are married. Any suggestions with the interview? Thanks..

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

When he withdraws from college, he will be out of status on his F-1 visa. Here there is a small chance he would be caught by the immigration police (although he probably has some sort of grace period after he withdraws). Once you get the package accepted by USCIS, then he will begin a new period of authorized stay, and his status will be "AOS pending." He will again be legal. The time between when he drops out of school and you get the paperwork accepted will no longer matter at that point.

We can't know if it will be hard to answer at the interview that your families don't know about the marriage. It will be negative that it is secret but it is possible you can overcome that. They will look at all aspects of your marriage in order to make sure that you did not marry solely for the immigration benefit.

[senseip 0]

When he withdraws from college, he will be out of status on his F-1 visa. Here there is a small chance he would be caught by the immigration police (although he probably has some sort of grace period after he withdraws). Once you get the package accepted by USCIS, then he will begin a new period of authorized stay, and his status will be "AOS pending." He will again be legal. The time between when he drops out of school and you get the paperwork accepted will no longer matter at that point.

We can't know if it will be hard to answer at the interview that your families don't know about the marriage. It will be negative that it is secret but it is possible you can overcome that. They will look at all aspects of your marriage in order to make sure that you did not marry solely for the immigration benefit.

Thanks a lot, you helped so much

[senseip 0]

We have almost everything in order now, but we face a bigger problem: the person who was supposed to sponsor my husband said they couldn't anymore...so now we're stuck again. i cant sponsor him because i dont have enough of an income to. Any advice on what we should do now? this is delaying everything and he's going to withdraw from college tomorrow.

[ceadsearc 516]

We have almost everything in order now, but we face a bigger problem: the person who was supposed to sponsor my husband said they couldn't anymore...so now we're stuck again. i cant sponsor him because i dont have enough of an income to. Any advice on what we should do now? this is delaying everything and he's going to withdraw from college tomorrow.

Can you find anyone else to co-sponsor with you? Unfortunately without an affidavit of support with the required income levels, it will be denied, no way around it. (At least not one I've ever heard of.)

[senseip 0]

Can you find anyone else to co-sponsor with you? Unfortunately without an affidavit of support with the required income levels, it will be denied, no way around it. (At least not one I've ever heard of.)

What are the requirements for me to sponsor him? and what would the co-sponsor have to do or take responsibility for? we dont have someone close to us who we could ask...and the one person who was going to doesnt want to anymore because i think he may feel like its a risk for him to sponsor/co-sponsor... I'm not 100% clear on what all 'sponsoring' entails, so i dont know what exactly to comfort him about or reassure him of.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I would post maybe in the general immigration questions forum a topic of "what are the risks of sponsorship" and see what someone says. I have heard people eloquently argue about the small risks of sponsorship, and explain all the ins and outs of how long their sponsorship would last (if your spouse becomes a citizen in 3 years, then the sponsorship is over then, etc). I think comforting your potential co-sponsor is the only way to go. For you to sponsor him on your own, you need to make $18,212 a year (if you have no children). Maybe it's the time to tell you parents about your secret and see if they can sponsor Good luck.