Adjusting from F1 OPT through Marriage, Need Advance parole, complex home situation.

[NTU_27 0]

Heres the scenario. i have been engaged to my girlfriend of 4 years since February. In May I graduated college and filed for OPT and an EAD card. For some time my mother has been ill, more recently (last week) I was informed by her doctor that she has Stage 4 breast cancer and that she has only 2 weeks (now 1 week) left to live. My fiancé and I want to get married this week and file for Adjustment of status, and Advance parole immediately, so I can go home to be with my Mother in Europe, in her final days, and obviously for her Funeral.

I am looking to do a simple justice of the peace wedding with no witnesses, both our parents are fully aware of our engagement but not of our intention to do a justice of the peace wedding. As you can imagine, emotions have been running high, and I would not want to my familyr or my fiancé's family to worry.

Our relationship is in good faith, we have been cohabiting for over a year now and we recently established joint bank accounts, to pay rent and expenses. My fiancé has student loans, whilst I do not so for that reason she is not on the lease, because I do not want her to take on additional financial liability. She is however listed on the Apartment insurance

I am worried that the USCIS will flag my marriage as fraudulent given the quick nature of the marriage and there being no witnesses. I have heard some stories that the have very high expectations.

Edited June 12, 2012 by NTU_27

[ChrisPG 30]

Heres the scenario. i have been engaged to my girlfriend of 4 years since February. In May I graduated college and filed for OPT and an EAD card. For some time my mother has been ill, more recently (last week) I was informed by her doctor that she has Stage 4 breast cancer and that she has only 2 weeks (now 1 week) left to live. My fiancé and I want to get married this week and file for Adjustment of status, and Advance parole immediately, so I can go home to be with my Mother in Europe, in her final days, and obviously for her Funeral.

I am looking to do a simple justice of the peace wedding with no witnesses, both our parents are fully aware of our engagement but not of our intention to do a justice of the peace wedding. As you can imagine, emotions have been running high, and I would not want to my familyr or my fiancé's family to worry.

I am sorry to hear about your situation back home and I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but you will not receive AP within the next 1-2 weeks.

-If you are on OPT and your visa is still in date, then you can leave the U.S. and return without issues.

-If you are on OPT and your visa has expired, then you will need to visit the US Embassy and go through the entire interview process again.

-If you are not on OPT and you leave the US, then I believe you abandon those applications for OPT and the EAD, not too mention you would need to be present in the US to go for your biometrics before your EAD can be issued.

From your information, it doesn't sound like you are on OPT and thus the option I can see is simply getting married, returning home and then going the CR-1 visa route. Downside, it will take 8-12 months to process, but perhaps that could be a blessing if you need to get your mother's affairs in order.

I am sure others will chime in with more ideas.

[Anh map 2,098]

Heres the scenario. i have been engaged to my girlfriend of 4 years since February. In May I graduated college and filed for OPT and an EAD card. For some time my mother has been ill, more recently (last week) I was informed by her doctor that she has Stage 4 breast cancer and that she has only 2 weeks (now 1 week) left to live. My fiancé and I want to get married this week and file for Adjustment of status, and Advance parole immediately, so I can go home to be with my Mother in Europe, in her final days, and obviously for her Funeral.

I am looking to do a simple justice of the peace wedding with no witnesses, both our parents are fully aware of our engagement but not of our intention to do a justice of the peace wedding. As you can imagine, emotions have been running high, and I would not want to my familyr or my fiancé's family to worry.

Our relationship is in good faith, we have been cohabiting for over a year now and we recently established joint bank accounts, to pay rent and expenses. My fiancé has student loans, whilst I do not so for that reason she is not on the lease, because I do not want her to take on additional financial liability. She is however listed on the Apartment insurance

I am worried that the USCIS will flag my marriage as fraudulent given the quick nature of the marriage and there being no witnesses. I have heard some stories that the have very high expectations.

This can't happen fast enough for you to obtain anything that would allow your re-entry with advance parole. The official marriage certificate takes a few days to get and you need that to file.

If mom is that ill you ought to go there asap and sort out the return and immigration afterwards.

[NTU_27 0]

My F1 visa expired about 5 days after I graduated. I consulted an immigration attorney, and I have been told that if I leave the country now, I won't be able to return until 8-12 months (CR-1, as ChrisPG kindly mentioned). Its a tough call. I am currently in OPT and have the OPT I-20. I am simply waiting on the EAD Card.

Edited June 12, 2012 by NTU_27

[ChrisPG 30]

My F1 visa expired about 5 days after I graduated. I consulted an immigration attorney, and I have been told that if I leave the country now, I won't be able to return until 9 months. Its a tough call. I am currently in OPT and have the OPT I-20. I am simply waiting on the EAD Card.

I suggest you NEVER speak to that attorney again!

If you are are currently on OPT and have you an expired visa, then you do NOT need to wait 9 months to return. It is simply a matter of scheduling an appointment with the US Embassy in your country of residence when you return for another F1 Visa interview and the wait time will depend on what appointments they have available and when, it could be a short as a week or a month or two and if no additional processing is needed, then you should have your visa and passport back in hand within a few weeks.

Of course, you always run the risk of not being given a new F1 visa since you need to show ties to your country of residence and your intention to return-- none of which you have.

I think you realistically have one option if you wish to see your mom and that is the CR-1 Visa, which will take 8-12 months to process-- but the good news is that you will be a permanent resident and be able to work from the moment you enter the US.

On the flip side, there is nothing stopping you from applying taking your OPT, I-20 and EAD and making another F1 visa and if you are unsuccessful, then you always have the CR-1.

[NTU_27 0]

I suggest you NEVER speak to that attorney again!

If you are are currently on OPT and have you an expired visa, then you do NOT need to wait 9 months to return. It is simply a matter of scheduling an appointment with the US Embassy in your country of residence when you return for another F1 Visa interview and the wait time will depend on what appointments they have available and when, it could be a short as a week or a month or two and if no additional processing is needed, then you should have your visa and passport back in hand within a few weeks.

Of course, you always run the risk of not being given a new F1 visa since you need to show ties to your country of residence and your intention to return-- none of which you have.

I think you realistically have one option if you wish to see your mom and that is the CR-1 Visa, which will take 8-12 months to process-- but the good news is that you will be a permanent resident and be able to work from the moment you enter the US.

On the flip side, there is nothing stopping you from applying taking your OPT, I-20 and EAD and making another F1 visa and if you are unsuccessful, then you always have the CR-1.

I figured that was the only choice I had. THe attorney did mention that I would have to prove my intention to return back home, which would be fairly tough in light of my situation. My mother has made it clear that she doesn't want me to compromise my status here in the US, to come to see her in Europe, but it is tough. At the same time, my Mother's health has put serious constraints on my family's finances (in addition to that I have an autistic sibling that requires special attention which is fairly expensive), and as a result of that I realistically can't afford to go 8-12 without working. This has by far been the most trying situation for me, and as painful as it may be, I may indeed have to sit it out in the US and wait for the paperwork to get processed first.

In that case, my second question is simple. If I go ahead and marry my Fiancé this week at the justice of the peace, with no witnesses (obviously with pictures taken), will this jeopardize the the legitimacy of my intentions in the eyes of the USCIS ?

Edited June 12, 2012 by NTU_27

[Anh map 2,098]

I figured that was the only choice I had. THe attorney did mention that I would have to prove my intention to return back home, which would be fairly tough in light of my situation. My mother has made it clear that she doesn't want me to compromise my status here in the US, to come to see her in Europe, but it is tough. At the same time, my Mother's health has but serious constraints on my family's finances (in addition to that I have an autistic sibling that requires special attention which is fairly expensive), and as a result of that I realistically can't afford to go 8-12 without working. This has by far been the most trying situation for me, and as painful as it may be, I may indeed have to sit it out in the US and wait for the paperwork to get processed first.

In that case, my second question is simple. If I go ahead and marry my Fiancé this week at the justice of the peace, with no witnesses (obviously with pictures taken), will this jeopardize the the legitimacy of my intentions in the eyes of the USCIS ?

JP weddings happen every day. No need to worry.

[ChrisPG 30]

In that case, my second question is simple. If I go ahead and marry my Fiancé this week at the justice of the peace, with no witnesses (obviously with pictures taken), will this jeopardize the the legitimacy of my intentions in the eyes of the USCIS ?

No.

We did a Justice of the Peace wedding back in 2010 and the only people present were my wife's father, two of her close friends and of course the Judge. We took no pictures. People get married via this process every-day and it is no less legitimate or legal than a big fancy white wedding with doves flying over-head. The USCIS doesn't care *how* you got married.

[Little_My 464]

I agree witht he previous posters. I see two choices:

1. Marry and file for AOS. This will mean that you will not be able to go back home to see your mother before she passes. Personally, I would not even consider this as an option - but I do realize it is a tough situation, and there's no ideal right solution.

2. Marry now, leave the US to go and see your mother, and file for the CR-1 in your home country. As has been noted, you won't be able to return until you have the spousal visa (depending on your country of origin, you might be able to visit on a tourist visa/VWP while it is being processed though)

In both scenarios, you have to marry asap. If you leave the US without getting married first, you would either have to apply for the fiance visa to return, or have your fiance come to your home country to marry you there. While the F1 option is technically also there, it's a big risk and a long shot - you obviously have immigrant intent now, and therefore you should not be using a non-immigrant visa to return to the US.

[grrrrreat 109]

I agree witht he previous posters. I see two choices:

1. Marry and file for AOS. This will mean that you will not be able to go back home to see your mother before she passes. Personally, I would not even consider this as an option - but I do realize it is a tough situation, and there's no ideal right solution.

2. Marry now, leave the US to go and see your mother, and file for the CR-1 in your home country. As has been noted, you won't be able to return until you have the spousal visa (depending on your country of origin, you might be able to visit on a tourist visa/VWP while it is being processed though)

In both scenarios, you have to marry asap. If you leave the US without getting married first, you would either have to apply for the fiance visa to return, or have your fiance come to your home country to marry you there. While the F1 option is technically also there, it's a big risk and a long shot - you obviously have immigrant intent now, and therefore you should not be using a non-immigrant visa to return to the US.

The third option is to marry, file for AOS, go to an InfoPass appointment and apply for emergency advance parole due to the exigent circumstances. I'd recommend that OP look into that.

[DandT14 272]

I'm gonna come off as the mean one here, but I'm used to it...

If I were in your situation, I'd stay in the U.S. You can't make your mother better or buy her more time. In fact, you might add to her stress if you went there and she realized you had jeopardized your immigration status. After your mother is gone, your life continues. You have to do what's best for everyone involved, and I don't think potentially being away from your husband for a year is going to be good for anybody in the long term.

I realize that you're only asking for information about your immigration status, not seeking life advice. But I just wanted you to hear from someone that the choice to remain here is totally reasonable and valid, and you shouldn't feel guilty about it if that's what you choose to do. That's what I would do, and I love my mother very much.

[DandT14 272]

I'm gonna come off as the mean one here, but I'm used to it...

If I were in your situation, I'd stay in the U.S. You can't make your mother better or buy her more time. In fact, you might add to her stress if you went there and she realized you had jeopardized your immigration status. After your mother is gone, your life continues. You have to do what's best for everyone involved, and I don't think potentially being away from your husband for a year is going to be good for anybody in the long term.

I realize that you're only asking for information about your immigration status, not seeking life advice. But I just wanted you to hear from someone that the choice to remain here is totally reasonable and valid, and you shouldn't feel guilty about it if that's what you choose to do. That's what I would do, and I love my mother very much.

Just realized I said husband when I should have said wife, but too late to edit. Anyway, you know what I meant.

I also wanted to add,that you should go for it. Get married, apply for the AP and see what happens. Just because the medical professionals say she's only got a week left, it's not set in stone. I lost someone close to me who was given 3 months, she made it a year. They're only giving their best guess. So I would say, do what grreat said above, and do your best. If you can't make it, be at peace with the fact that you did what you could.

Edited June 13, 2012 by DandT14

[Little_My 464]

The third option is to marry, file for AOS, go to an InfoPass appointment and apply for emergency advance parole due to the exigent circumstances. I'd recommend that OP look into that.

Given that they are not married yet, and according to the OPs first post his mother only has a few weeks left, I don't think they would have enough time even if he was granted an emergency AP.. depending on what state they are in, it might take them some days/weeks to get the marriage certificate, and they still have to get the medical done and all the paperwork together. Otherwise it would be worth looking into, as the OP would most likely qualify for an expedited AP, but I am just not sure they would even be able to send the package out in time..

[grrrrreat 109]

Given that they are not married yet, and according to the OPs first post his mother only has a few weeks left, I don't think they would have enough time even if he was granted an emergency AP.. depending on what state they are in, it might take them some days/weeks to get the marriage certificate, and they still have to get the medical done and all the paperwork together. Otherwise it would be worth looking into, as the OP would most likely qualify for an expedited AP, but I am just not sure they would even be able to send the package out in time..

Good point but you never know about the exact timing of these end of life situations, so maybe it's worth trying. I think in some states you could get a marriage license, get married and get a marriage certificate within a business day and with no waiting period, although it may require getting a judge's permission. In Massachusetts, for example, it's called marriage without delay.

From that point, the next step is probably to send I-130 and I-485 ASAP and hope that you get NOA1 quickly, and then bring NOA1 to a scheduled InfoPass appointment with the completed I-131 and proof of your urgent circumstances. I don't know if it's possible to bring in I-130 and I-485 to the InfoPass appointment so you don't have to wait on the NOA1; I've never heard of anyone doing that.

As far as the medical, if it couldn't be done quickly, I think I'd take a chance about sending everything in without it and just wait for the RFE--I don't think it should hold up the advance parole. Likewise with any other documents that wouldn't be immediately accessible, such as proof of bona fide relationship. It's somewhat risky to do it that way, but you'd have a shot at sending in a more complete packet in response to an RFE (or at an interview) once the urgent circumstances had subsided.