Starting K-1, question about common address after US entry

[braem 0]

My fiancée and I are about to get started on the process of applying for a K-1 visa. I'm from the UK and she's a US citizen. I pretty much understand most of the process thanks to the guides on VisaJourney, but there are a few minor details specific to my situation.

Currently my fiancée is a full-time student who'll finish college at the end of 2012. If we applied now and everything went fine, I would expect to be able to enter the country before she finishes college, so she'd still be away from her parents' home (where she lives outside of term time). Since there's an interview after getting married, as part of getting the green card and legal permanent residency, how important is it to have a common address at the time of interview? Would it be understood that we couldn't get a place of our own so quickly due to 1) not yet having an EAD, and 2) not yet having a job to cover rent? Or would it be a deal-breaker that we weren't quite living together "as a couple"? The plan is for me to get a job after getting the EAD (which takes 2-3 months!) and that'll allow us to find our own place to live.

[mugumogu 18]

My fiancée and I are about to get started on the process of applying for a K-1 visa. I'm from the UK and she's a US citizen. I pretty much understand most of the process thanks to the guides on VisaJourney, but there are a few minor details specific to my situation.

Currently my fiancée is a full-time student who'll finish college at the end of 2012. If we applied now and everything went fine, I would expect to be able to enter the country before she finishes college, so she'd still be away from her parents' home (where she lives outside of term time). Since there's an interview after getting married, as part of getting the green card and legal permanent residency, how important is it to have a common address at the time of interview? Would it be understood that we couldn't get a place of our own so quickly due to 1) not yet having an EAD, and 2) not yet having a job to cover rent? Or would it be a deal-breaker that we weren't quite living together "as a couple"? The plan is for me to get a job after getting the EAD (which takes 2-3 months!) and that'll allow us to find our own place to live.

Living together is important and thus having a common address is extremely beneficial for your case. Not everyone gets an Adjustment of Status interview after getting married. Many of my contacts on here sent in their Adjustment of Status paperwork after getting married and never got an interview notice. We did. We just had our interview last week and the green card was approved. The interviewer did ask for proof of living together and I showed her my lease, which I just added my wife to a few weeks ago. It's not an automatic denial if you don't live together, but there is a greater burden of proof on you to show why you don't and you will need really strong evidence of your marriage. If you enter the country before she finishes college, where will you be living? If it's at her parent's house, that is fine.

[L+T 71]

My fiancée and I are about to get started on the process of applying for a K-1 visa. I'm from the UK and she's a US citizen. I pretty much understand most of the process thanks to the guides on VisaJourney, but there are a few minor details specific to my situation.

Currently my fiancée is a full-time student who'll finish college at the end of 2012. If we applied now and everything went fine, I would expect to be able to enter the country before she finishes college, so she'd still be away from her parents' home (where she lives outside of term time). Since there's an interview after getting married, as part of getting the green card and legal permanent residency, how important is it to have a common address at the time of interview? Would it be understood that we couldn't get a place of our own so quickly due to 1) not yet having an EAD, and 2) not yet having a job to cover rent? Or would it be a deal-breaker that we weren't quite living together "as a couple"? The plan is for me to get a job after getting the EAD (which takes 2-3 months!) and that'll allow us to find our own place to live.

You would not need to wait to work...

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Permission to Work

After admission, your fiancé(e) may immediately apply for permission to work by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

[Darkmoonfaerie 19]

You would not need to wait to work...

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Permission to Work

After admission, your fiancé(e) may immediately apply for permission to work by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

What you posted states that they may immediately apply for an EAD. This process may take months so the beneficiary will have some time before he is legal to work.

[braem 0]

If you enter the country before she finishes college, where will you be living? If it's at her parent's house, that is fine.

Thanks for the information about the AOS interview not necessarily happening. Depending on timings, if it does happen that she's not finished college yet, it would be at her parent's house, yes, although it's of course not ideal. It does lead me to a slight problem though: changing address after filing would be a potential nightmare, no?

[L+T 71]

What you posted states that they may immediately apply for an EAD. This process may take months so the beneficiary will have some time before he is legal to work.

I see, thank you for info... perhaps is good if waiting 90 days for marriage, but not so helpful if getting married right away?

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

You would not need to wait to work...

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=640a3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Permission to Work

After admission, your fiancé(e) may immediately apply for permission to work by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

That would be a useless waste of $380. If you file for the EAD before AOS, you must pay the fee, and the EAD is only valid for as long as your I-94 is valid. Which means by the time they process the EAD, you will have very little to perhaps no time at all to even use it. It is best to file the I-765 with your I-485. The fee is then waived and the EAD will be valid for a year, or until you receive your green card and no longer need it.

[mugumogu 18]

Thanks for the information about the AOS interview not necessarily happening. Depending on timings, if it does happen that she's not finished college yet, it would be at her parent's house, yes, although it's of course not ideal. It does lead me to a slight problem though: changing address after filing would be a potential nightmare, no?

If you'll be living with her parents then that's good enough evidence that you are together. It doesn't matter if you don't have property in your name. Changing addresses after filing has proven to be a nightmare for some, but not all. When I filed AOS, I knew my wife and I were planning on moving so I put my parent's address on all the paperwork we sent in. If you can do something like that it would be better than sending in a change of address form in the middle of the process.