Do I need to maintain my F1 Status?

[suemt265 0]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum. I've been looking and reading a lot of information from you guys but it seems like none of your cases are like mine. Here is my situation:

I have been an international student in the US for 4 years legally and married to a green card holder for more than one year. My husband who was a green card holder now became a U.S citizen. While he was a green card holder, we did file I-130 and got approved. Right now, we are waiting for his Oath Ceremony done then he will upgrade me to Immediate Relative. We also got a PRIORITY green paper from the USCIS office after we file I-130 that said to put this GREEN PAPER on top when we file the I-485 later. I guess this means that our process will be faster if we file the I-485? I am pretty sure that our case will be approved since we are REAL marriage and have everything to prove if they want us to. It's just the matter of TIME for us right now. Next week, I have to register for my next spring class to maintain my F1-visa status, but it will cost us lots of money since we are still to young and we need that money for our family.

And here is my questions:

1. Do I need to sign up for my classes next semester to maintain my status?

2. My International Advisor doesn't know that I get married since I haven't meet her a lot.

3. If I don't need to maintain my status, who should I need to talk in school? International office or Administration Office?

Edited November 30, 2012 by suemt265

[huongkhin 9]

Is he taking the Oath before your classes starts? Spring semester is still one and half month away. But even when you are a GC holder, without one year residency, you still pay out of states tuition. I think it costs as much as the tuition for foreign student.

[suemt265 0]

i know that spring semester is a month away but the due day for register is Dec.7, so I just have one week left. I also did talk to my lawyer and he said that I do not need to if I want to because I no longer hold F-1 visa since I've got married. I also emailed to my international advisor asking about it but she said that I need to come to her office to discuss about this, so i will meet her on monday morning.

[huongkhin 9]

You have 60 days grace period before enrolling in another college if you drop out from the current one. That may buy you more time to maintain your F1 status.

It doesn't really matter. You are going to file I-485 soon, so being out of status isn't an issue anymore. Just stay out of trouble until you eligible for AOS.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

I think you are still not going to be considered a resident, so in terms of tuition it will be nearly as expensive as an international student fee as out of state students also pay fees that compares with international students, so either case, you'll have to still pay high. You have to be in certain states to live there 1 year, or in others as 2 years before you are considered to be a resident. Make sure you check after this. Now, I may be wrong, so another good reason why you want to check into this. Good luck!