USC Marrying a Graduating F-1 Student

[sccr55mf 0]

I am a US Citizen and my fiance came to the US on J-1 visa as an au pair in March 2008. She was an au pair for 2 years then transitions to an F-1 visa for basic classes necessary to attend and receive her LLM. She will graduate in May of this year and her F-1 visa will expire at that time.

Right now we have a wedding planned for September due to my job requirements on but are trying to make sure that her filling for Post Graduation OPT with a wedding planned will not be an issue.

Also, we would just like to get a general idea on the necessary steps to ensure after we are married that she can become a conditional permanent resident and obtain employment.

We are trying to make sure that her being engaged and will not effect applying for OPT or if it is in our best interest to get married civilly before the planned wedding/ceremony. How would the USCIS look at either her staying here planning to get married on a F-1 visa or her getting married before her visa expires.

Would either option applying for OPT and then marriage or marrying civilly before her visa expiration be acceptable. Also how long should we expect the AOS process to take after we are married?

Thanks

[Pitaya 2,577]

[sccr55mf 0]

Thank you. I read the guides but can't seem to find anywhere if it alright for my fiance to file for OPT while engaged? She would prefer to file for OPT first and then marry and file for AOS to CR-1

[Ryan H 3,834]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas as that is the path the OP is inquiring about.

She would prefer to file for OPT first and then marry and file for AOS to CR-1

She would not file for AOS to CR-1, CR-1 is the visa issued to foreign spouses of US Citizens when the foreign spouse is still overseas. Since your fiancee is already in the US, she would apply for Adjustment of Status from the F-1 visa to Permanent Resident based on her marriage to you.

[Little_My 464]

Getting married shouldn't prevent her from getting her OPT approved. Technically, OPT is an extension of an F1 visa - which is a non-immigrant visa - and if the applicant is married to a US citizen, I guess that marriage could be seen as intent to immigrate (which you obviously have) and cause a denial of OPT, but I highly, Highly doubt it. The OPT paperwork doesn't ask about US spouse anywhere, if I am not totally mistaken, and there is no interview involved in that process.

Traveling while on F1 or OPT after getting married to a US citizen can be a bit riskier though, because if she did travel abroad and attempted to return, and the CBP officer happened to take on a line of questioning that would eventually lead into her stating she has an American husband, it is possible she would be denied entry back to the US.

AOS takes approximately 4-6 months from start to finish. Could be less, could be more. She can apply for a temporary work permit (EAD) and a travel document (AP), which come in about 90 days from filing the papers.

[sccr55mf 0]

Getting married shouldn't prevent her from getting her OPT approved. Technically, OPT is an extension of an F1 visa - which is a non-immigrant visa - and if the applicant is married to a US citizen, I guess that marriage could be seen as intent to immigrate (which you obviously have) and cause a denial of OPT, but I highly, Highly doubt it. The OPT paperwork doesn't ask about US spouse anywhere, if I am not totally mistaken, and there is no interview involved in that process.

Traveling while on F1 or OPT after getting married to a US citizen can be a bit riskier though, because if she did travel abroad and attempted to return, and the CBP officer happened to take on a line of questioning that would eventually lead into her stating she has an American husband, it is possible she would be denied entry back to the US.

AOS takes approximately 4-6 months from start to finish. Could be less, could be more. She can apply for a temporary work permit (EAD) and a travel document (AP), which come in about 90 days from filing the papers.

Thank you for your help. At the time she files the paperwork at school we will still just be engaged. I know doing a civil marriage and applying for AOS before she graduates in May would be easier. But we both never envisioned having to do it that way. We wanted to traditional wedding and were hoping that her applying for OPT and then getting married would work, even though it is more paperwork.

One last question. After marriage and filing for AOS can my fiance (who entered the US legally) still stay in the country during the processing of the application?

Thanks for all of you help.

[Little_My 464]

Yes, she enters a new period of authorized stay once you've filed for AOS and can stay here until you have a decision on her case. Actually she is not even allowed to leave the US until the Advance Parole travel document arrives, which usually takes around 3 months from filing.

We wanted a traditional wedding too, and got both that and an amazing Manhattan city hall civil ceremony experience. We got married at city hall in February last year because of a similar situation (I was an F1 student, about to graduate in May), and then we had a big, traditional wedding ceremony in Finland in July. One doesn't have to exclude the other.

Boa sorte!

[sccr55mf 0]

Thank you for your help!