If we get married, do I have to change my status?

[Gadget 0]

Hi,

I am currently in the US on a student visa, pursuing a bachelor degree. I did meet a guy a few years back and we have been dating for a little over a year now, resulting in me moving to the US in July of last year. It was never our intention to get married, we just wanted to see if we would work together (which we do most of the time ). I had already planned on going back to school and get my degree back home, so we decided I would do it in the US instead. If we would get married now, do I have to apply for a change of status? There are two reasons of us getting married, none of them because I want to stay in the US forever. First of all, when I am done with school, I want to go back home to start my career and eventually start a family. Of course I would want my boyfriend to go with, and I assume it would be easier for him to do so if we were married. Second, and this is not a small thing, my tuition fee would be so much cheaper! Yes, I knew that it would cost me quite a bit to study in the US and I know I will have enough even if we don't get married but it would still be nice to pay less... As of now, I pay $4,000/semester for community college, but when I do my transfer to a university it will go up to roughly $12,000/semester versus $3,000/semester if we got married. BUT at the same time I don't wanna go through the whole process of applying for a permanent residency and all of that... So, is it possible? Or will I get in trouble when I go home on vacation and want to reenter the US...?

Hopefully someone can give me their input Thanks!

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

You do not have to adjust status, but yes, if you ever need to renew your F1 it could get more difficult. That being said, the mere fact that you are not AOSing now, when it would be easy, will be a plus for any future visa renewals.

[Gadget 0]

Thanks!

I have another question, I was going to e-mail the embassy about this cause I have been wondering since I got my visa but maybe someone in here knows It is stated on my visa what school I attend, does that mean I will have to apply for a new visa when I transfer to a university? I told the US embassy when I applied for my current visa that I was going for a bachelor and would transfer to a different school after two years, so I'm sure they have that on file. Or will that be done "automatically" in their system? Because my visa is valid til 2017, a year after I expect to be done with school.

And just to clarify, it would only be a problem in case I apply for a new visa and I am married, not if I use my current visa to reenter the US after a visit in Europe?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

So does your tuition go down my virtue of your marriage, or by you being an LPR? I'll be honest i've never heard of "if you're married to a American your fees are cheaper". I know they're cheaper if you're considered a resident of the state, but would you be considered that just by marriage, or do you need to adjust your status?

[Gadget 0]

I am not sure what LPR means..? But yes, school says, if you have been a permanent resident of North Carolina for two years OR if you are married to someone who has been a permanent resident for more than two years, you pay in-state tuition. Being an international student does not count as being permanent resident, but being married does count I am not 100% sure if I would have to change my status though, I will have to ask the school advisor about that.

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

LPR stands for Legal Permanent Resident, ie greencard holder (after adjustment of status).

[aaron2020 11,651]

Have you considered that as an LPR you would qualify for financial aid? That could be free money for school.

As an F-1 visa holder, you will not qualify for financial aid.

[Gadget 0]

Hmm, yeah, you guys are probably right. In order to get the cheaper tuition, I would most likely have to change my status, which seems like a great hassle to me (but of course, the financial benefits are great as well).