on OPT- lawyer or not

[rubiconcrosser 0]

Dear Forum Members,

I am currently on an F-1 OPT Visa. Me and my USC girlfriend are thinking about getting married. My OPT is done 1 June. I was arrested a few years ago for drunk in public, did community service and charges were dropped.

I have some thoughts and I am not sure what I should keep in mind. I hope you guys might point me in a direction.

-The OPT grace period is 2 months. How does this influence the Visa proces? I assume it makes more sense to get married or file papers while still on my OPT time?

-I may continue with my Ph.D program from which I took a break, which would switch me from OPT back to regular school-time F-1. How should I figure this in the picture?

-I may be able to get a sponsor for an H1B. Should I take this route, and marry later while on that Visa or is it smarter to marry first and put that process in motion.

-We currently do not live together (our jobs are in different cities), but I am deciding whether to move in with her. How does living together influence the conditional removal? For example, I would move in with her now, marry, and after five months move back to my Ph.D program alone; she would try to follow me but only if she can find a job of course. Is this possible at all? Or do they demand you live together the full two years.

- Since I was arrested, might it be smarter to get a lawyer (also if I get the H1B job?)? How much does a lawyer cost you think? Charges were dropped after community service.

Any tips or advice are highly welcomed.

Thanks a lot!

Rubiconcrosser

[Little_My 464]

You should get married and file for AOS before your current status expires - though overstay is generally forgiven for spouses of USCs who entered with a valid visa, it is never a good idea to knowingly accumulate overstay if you can avoid it. So yes, better to marry and file for AOS before your OPT expires.

going back to school would not be an issue. Once you are a legal permanent resident, you are free to do whatever you want here (as long as it is legal of course..), i.e. you can work or you can go to school. If you had a pending AOS when you wanted to return to your PhD program, it would probably be under the consideration of your study program how they would interpret that. You should maybe consult with them about that matter and see what their policy is. Your F1 is valid until your current authorized stay expires or until you get a new visa - in this case, until your AOS would be approved.

H1B or marriage based AOS is your choice. I don't know which would be better. Personally I think that if you are planning to get married anyways, might as well do that now, go for the AOS, get the green card and be done with it. If you take the H1B now, you will still eventually have to AOS to legal permanent resident status, assuming you will marry your USC spouse and want to stay in the US.

Not living together might be an issue in the AOS stage, and you would most likely have to explain your living situation in detail in the interview. Make sure you have other proof of bona fide marriage ready - joint accounts, credit cards, etc. Looking at the instructions for form I-751, it doesn't seem that living together is an absolute condition of ROC, but it will raise questions if after having your marriage based GC you and your wife have not lived together at all.. whether or not you would be successful in convincing the IO at your ROC interview that your marriage is nonetheless bona fide is impossible to say. it would require a lot of evidence, but probably wouldn't be impossible.

As for the criminal charge, I don't know the details of what types of charges would make you inadmissible, but I am almost 100% sure being drunk in public is not on that list.. Someone more experienced will probably soon give their opinion in the lawyer matter, but I'd think you could handle this on your own as long ad you have all the necessary documents to prove that your charges were dropped.

[rubiconcrosser 0]

Thanks a lot for reading my story and replying, Mrs Finland-USA.

To be clear, the OPT is for an MA program, but my Visa was originally issued for the Ph.D, I switched my I-20 over and I would switch it back to the Ph.D if I can afford it.

It looks like the ideal would be to marry before my OPT expires and find jobs in the same city. But:

-if we cannot find a job in the same city in the short term I am not sure what to do; maybe then it would be better to wait to marry until we are sure we can live together for the two years? Then again, marrying and starting the green card process as soon as possible would obviously be convenient, rather than messing around with more H1B or being forced to do full-time Ph.D. The PhD only starts up in September so we would live together for at least four months in the beginning of the conditional period, then perhaps maybe half a year max of not living together I hope.

I hope I don't need a lawyer so I can save money. I am trying to get certified documents showing my arrest, dismissal of charges and completed community service, but it's still more comfortable to have a lawyer backing you up.

Thanks again.

You should get married and file for AOS before your current status expires - though overstay is generally forgiven for spouses of USCs who entered with a valid visa, it is never a good idea to knowingly accumulate overstay if you can avoid it. So yes, better to marry and file for AOS before your OPT expires.

going back to school would not be an issue. Once you are a legal permanent resident, you are free to do whatever you want here (as long as it is legal of course..), i.e. you can work or you can go to school. If you had a pending AOS when you wanted to return to your PhD program, it would probably be under the consideration of your study program how they would interpret that. You should maybe consult with them about that matter and see what their policy is. Your F1 is valid until your current authorized stay expires or until you get a new visa - in this case, until your AOS would be approved.

H1B or marriage based AOS is your choice. I don't know which would be better. Personally I think that if you are planning to get married anyways, might as well do that now, go for the AOS, get the green card and be done with it. If you take the H1B now, you will still eventually have to AOS to legal permanent resident status, assuming you will marry your USC spouse and want to stay in the US.

Not living together might be an issue in the AOS stage, and you would most likely have to explain your living situation in detail in the interview. Make sure you have other proof of bona fide marriage ready - joint accounts, credit cards, etc. Looking at the instructions for form I-751, it doesn't seem that living together is an absolute condition of ROC, but it will raise questions if after having your marriage based GC you and your wife have not lived together at all.. whether or not you would be successful in convincing the IO at your ROC interview that your marriage is nonetheless bona fide is impossible to say. it would require a lot of evidence, but probably wouldn't be impossible.

As for the criminal charge, I don't know the details of what types of charges would make you inadmissible, but I am almost 100% sure being drunk in public is not on that list.. Someone more experienced will probably soon give their opinion in the lawyer matter, but I'd think you could handle this on your own as long ad you have all the necessary documents to prove that your charges were dropped.

[Moosker 7]

Most people would choose to get married prior to their visa ending. I had many friends do this on an OPT, and an F-1 visa.

During the process of applying for the visa, you will have to prove that all of your charges were dropped, and may have to explain the scenario in an interview, but I don't think your arrest was such a big deal it would raise a red flag (just a personal opinion).

It may be smart to get back into the PhD program, get married, you will still be "legal" in the U.S. and then you will just adjust status from an F-1 to a marriage visa.

With AOS they may want to see that you're living together - but seeing that you left to attend school and your 'wife' is looking for a job there will show your intent to stay together obviously.

Every situation is different....just depends on what route you take!

My cousin did the OPT --> AOS and everything worked out fine. There was a 2 month period he couldn't work, and while it was processing he could not leave the country.

My friend did the H1B (company sponsored him) --> AOS and everything also worked out fine. Again, couldn't work while the H1B ended and the AOS was not yet approved. Can't leave the country.

Good luck

Dear Forum Members,

I am currently on an F-1 OPT Visa. Me and my USC girlfriend are thinking about getting married. My OPT is done 1 June. I was arrested a few years ago for drunk in public, did community service and charges were dropped.

I have some thoughts and I am not sure what I should keep in mind. I hope you guys might point me in a direction.

-The OPT grace period is 2 months. How does this influence the Visa proces? I assume it makes more sense to get married or file papers while still on my OPT time?

-I may continue with my Ph.D program from which I took a break, which would switch me from OPT back to regular school-time F-1. How should I figure this in the picture?

-I may be able to get a sponsor for an H1B. Should I take this route, and marry later while on that Visa or is it smarter to marry first and put that process in motion.

-We currently do not live together (our jobs are in different cities), but I am deciding whether to move in with her. How does living together influence the conditional removal? For example, I would move in with her now, marry, and after five months move back to my Ph.D program alone; she would try to follow me but only if she can find a job of course. Is this possible at all? Or do they demand you live together the full two years.

- Since I was arrested, might it be smarter to get a lawyer (also if I get the H1B job?)? How much does a lawyer cost you think? Charges were dropped after community service.

Any tips or advice are highly welcomed.

Thanks a lot!

Rubiconcrosser

[rubiconcrosser 0]

Well, we're definitely getting married. So that's the good news

Now I still need to figure out how to best set it up so the green card and EAD works out smoothly too.

Some more questions.

-It seems best to marry before my OPT expires, (1 June). But in case we don't make that deadline (if I get a lawyer, or if filing just takes longer), what would the risk be of marrying during the 2 month period? What if I switch my F-1 to the Ph.D, and then get married in the transition period? I am not sure if I will have the cash for the PhD in the Fall, but it might make my visa status smoother. I can always decide to not go.

-How important are shared leases and bank accounts? We don't have much assets, but we will put 'em on a shared account. As for the lease: we plan to travel around the United States as a honeymoon for 1 or 2 months, so I don't think we will be able to give a shared lease. As for the other evidence, I am not sure what is expected here. Photos or so?

-Since I was arrested, I really wonder if I should get a lawyer. Any more opinions on whether it is useful or smart to do? How much do they cost? I have all the court papers of my community service and dismissal of charges, so I think I may be able to just do this my self and save money.

- As for the affidavit of support: I currently am not salaried, and my girlfriend is on a contract which ends May 20th or so. She made more than enough to meet the minimum dollar amount in previous years, but only recently switched to contract. Would we need someone else to support us?

I think that's it. I would really appreciate your tips.

RC

[Little_My 464]

You can marry after your OPT expires, though it's always better to submit the AOS while your non-immigrant status has not yet expired.. As you mentioned, you have a 60 day grace period after the expiry date, and if you file within that time you will not accumulate any overstay. If you submit your AOS after the grace period, you will accumulate overstay, and in that case it is not advisable to travel outside the US until you have the green card (even with the advance parole document), but other than that, an overstay of your F1 should not be an issue with adjusting your status. Also, keep in mind that it's not your marriage date that counts, it's the date when USCIS acknowledges your application, which could be anything from few days to a month after you mailed it to them.

As for proof of a bona fide marriage, it would be beneficial to be able to submit something besides photos.. they are not considered that strong of a proof, especially since most digital files don't have an actual time/date stamp on them. Joint accounts / credit cards / insurance/ phone plan/ lease would be good. Affidavits from third parties testifying that your relationship is bona fide are also an option. We submitted e-tickets from trips we did together, along with copies of the stamps from our passports from those same trips.

I personally don't think you would need a lawyer because of the previous incident, it seems like a pretty minor thing to me and if charges were dismissed, you don't have a record. However, I am not an expert in how previous criminal charges affect the AOS, so someone else will probably chime in about this soon.

If you can't show ongoing income that meets the requirements (little over $18K per year for two people), then you need to find an additional sponsor for her.

Edited April 24, 2011 by Little_My

[rubiconcrosser 0]

Thanks for your earlier help little my.

I just had my medical exam and am getting the papers ready.

However, I have a general question regarding which addresses to fill out on the forms/ where the biometrics/ interview will take place.

I'll be leaving my current lease 1 June. My then wife will leave hers on 1 June as well. We'll be filing our application around that time. We live in separate places on the East and West coast. Right after our marriage, we'll travel around the west coast on a road trip and find a temporary place to live for July and August in CA. We haven't decided where we will live September onwards.

What does this mean for the address on the forms? Should I just put down my current address, or perhaps her current address (it's her brother's house) on the west coast? For my medical exam I put down my current address on the east coast.

I assume this influences where the biometrics/ interview will take place. It would obviously be very inconvenient if we would have to fly to another coast for that interview.