marriage on j1

[jasonh7575 0]

my girl is in bulgaria and she will be applying again for a j1 visa which she should get for this summer starting in may. i just got back from seeing her and we are thinking about marriage. if she can get a j1 visa for may would it be best to marry while on this visa? what would we have to do to change the j1 after we are married and can she still work after we marry? any information on marrying someone on j1 visa or any advice at all about this process would be greatly appreciated

[Galilea 1]

Hi jasonh7575!

I am myself immersed in the process of adjustment of status through marriage from a J-1, so I can tell you a little about my experience.

The only problem we found trying to file for the green card from a J-1, was that my visa was subject to the two year rule (section 212-E), which means that if your girl gets this rule, she will need to get a waiver, otherwise she will need to leave USA for two years before applying for AOS. It wasn't difficult for me to get the waiver, but it took some time. The waiver can be requested under several bases. I did mine through "no objection from home country", which meant that I had to contact my country's US embassy to send a "No Objection Letter" to the US Department of State. Apart from this letter, the waiver application requires some paperwork, a personal statement and a fee of $215.

Not all J-1 visas get this rule, so if she doesn't have it, it's a much easier process and you could file for AOS once you marry and while she is still on her visa. And yes, she will be able to work once married as far as her visa is still valid, otherwise she'll have to wait to obtain her Employment Authorization Document.

You may want to research K-visas to learn about another possible way to bring your girl to USA.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck and happy 2013!

[Galilea 1]

Me again. You may want to check these links:

J-1 waivers: My link

AOS process:My link