F1 to Greencard: OPT, bona-fide marriage, time-line

[silkroad2000 1]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am a last year PhD student on F1 VISA in a top school and program. My girlfriend is American, also a PhD student in the same school. We have been dating about a year. We are planning to get a courthouse marriage soon and then send the documents so that I can get my green card. But we are planning to have our wedding later this year after we graduate. I have a couple of questions:

 

1. Would we have a problem regarding proofing our marriage as bona-fide given that we do not have any joint bank accounts or the same address yet (she practically lives in my apartment but she still has her own too. We are getting a new place in august when our leases end). We have traveled a lot together though and even twice to her home town. I have met all her family and there is a tone of photos and plane tickets. Do you recommend we go and open mutual bank accounts and credit cards now?

 

2. How long should we wait after courthouse marriage to send our documents? Is it necessary to wait at all?

 

3. Given that I am graduating in the end of summer (in 7 months), if we send the AOS, would I still be able to get OPT? What is the best course of actions for me? Do you recommend waiting and first get my OPT and then get married? 

 

4. Does she have to financially sponsor me? Currently we are both students and have full scholarships from university with waived tuition and monthly stipend. I would definitely get a job with six figure salary after I graduate.

 

PS1: I am not going to travel outside of country because my F1 visa is single entry. So, there is no worries about doing any visa fraud case. 

PS2: I am a citizen of Iran. Do you have any experience with this?

 

Thank you very much

A poor student!

 

Edited January 23, 2017 by silkroad2000

[Cadence 20]

1. Yes. IOs seem to want documents with both your names on it. So things like bank accounts, lease, bills and such would be good evidence. My IO almost denied my application because he saw that we submitted 2 different addresses for the I-130 and I-485. He kept asking why we didn't live together. It will be on YOU to show on paper why the heck you guys aren't living together. It has to be painstakingly obvious. Personally I'd just wait to file until you guys had moved into a new place together and make it easier on yourselves. 

 

2. No need.

 

4. She still has to file an I-864 since she is petitioning you, but since she doesn't meet the income requirement, she has to have a co-sponsor who can and does meet it. Your future job that you don't even have does not count for anything. 

Edited January 23, 2017 by Cadence

[Brit1 54]

1. Yes, I think it's a good idea to open a joint bank account and try and co-mingle as many assets as possible. If you apply soon, depending on where you live, your interview might not even be until after you move in together, so you can take more evidence to your interview.

 

2. I don't think you're eligible for OPT if you marry and have an adjustment of status pending. But the good news is that ~90 days after your application you will have work authorization (by applying for the I-765 along with the I-485 and I-130). 

[silkroad2000 1]

7 hours ago, Cadence said:

1. Yes. IOs seem to want documents with both your names on it. So things like bank accounts, lease, bills and such would be good evidence. My IO almost denied my application because he saw that we submitted 2 different addresses for the I-130 and I-485. He kept asking why we didn't live together. It will be on YOU to show on paper why the heck you guys aren't living together. It has to be painstakingly obvious. Personally I'd just wait to file until you guys had moved into a new place together and make it easier on yourselves. 

Thank you very much guys!  We can add her to my insurance and also open a mutual bank account and try to get a lease for next year together as soon as possible. Also, I read somewhere that we can get letters from her parents, and uncles and some friends (True?). Do we have to wait or I can use them as evidence as soon as we open them?

 

 

Quote

2. I don't think you're eligible for OPT if you marry and have an adjustment of status pending. But the good news is that ~90 days after your application you will have work authorization (by applying for the I-765 along with the I-485 and I-130). 

Does this mean that three months after filing the application I Can work? Even before hearing back about the approcal/denial of the application? What if I start working and then later on the application is denied?

 

And a whole new question, I NEED A LAWYER. I need someone with experience of doing this process for students. How can I find them?

Edited January 23, 2017 by silkroad2000

[Cadence 20]

The reason why I suggested you wait to file until you guys moved into a new place together is because the officer who interviewed me and my husband gave us a very hard time about why we had different addresses on our I-485 and I-130. At the time of filing, we were kind of like you. We had separate residences, but I was over at his place all the time that in a sense I had "moved in". Documentation-wise, it was not so and it will not be interpreted that way by the officer. Even when I had officially moved in and had filed a change of address with USCIS months before the interview date, the officer was not interested. He focused on why our initial addresses were different. He said that based on the address alone, a different officer could have denied the application. 

 

I really can't stress this enough. Give yourselves less of a hurdle and either add her to your lease or wait to file until you guys live officially in the same place (proof being driver's license and lease). 

 

As for the bank account, think of it this way - virtually any "couple" can make a bank account together. It's one of the easiest "fake" relationship evidences. So just having one is not enough. Showing regular transaction history on it would be good to show it's legitimate at least. 

 

As for your other question about EAD (i-765) - you can work as if you had a green card with the EAD. Only thing that sucks about it is that if your green card application is denied, your EAD is terminated and you can no longer work legally.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Cadence

[Brit1 54]

2 hours ago, silkroad2000 said:

Does this mean that three months after filing the application I Can work? Even before hearing back about the approcal/denial of the application? What if I start working and then later on the application is denied?

 

Yes you can work before you hear back about your application. If it gets denied then your work authorization is no longer valid, but I don't think this is anything you need to worry about.

 

2 hours ago, silkroad2000 said:

 

And a whole new question, I NEED A LAWYER. I need someone with experience of doing this process for students. How can I find them?

 

I don't think you'll need a lawyer, it's quite a simple process really and the forms have comprehensive instructions. If you do need a lawyer then googling for someone local, or asking any fellow students is probably your best course of action.

[bunkx 25]

On 1/23/2017 at 1:50 AM, silkroad2000 said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I am a last year PhD student on F1 VISA in a top school and program. My girlfriend is American, also a PhD student in the same school. We have been dating about a year. We are planning to get a courthouse marriage soon and then send the documents so that I can get my green card. But we are planning to have our wedding later this year after we graduate. I have a couple of questions:

 

1. Would we have a problem regarding proofing our marriage as bona-fide given that we do not have any joint bank accounts or the same address yet (she practically lives in my apartment but she still has her own too. We are getting a new place in august when our leases end). We have traveled a lot together though and even twice to her home town. I have met all her family and there is a tone of photos and plane tickets. Do you recommend we go and open mutual bank accounts and credit cards now?

 

2. How long should we wait after courthouse marriage to send our documents? Is it necessary to wait at all?

 

3. Given that I am graduating in the end of summer (in 7 months), if we send the AOS, would I still be able to get OPT? What is the best course of actions for me? Do you recommend waiting and first get my OPT and then get married? 

 

4. Does she have to financially sponsor me? Currently we are both students and have full scholarships from university with waived tuition and monthly stipend. I would definitely get a job with six figure salary after I graduate.

 

PS1: I am not going to travel outside of country because my F1 visa is single entry. So, there is no worries about doing any visa fraud case. 

PS2: I am a citizen of Iran. Do you have any experience with this?

I'm in a similar position, except we're both undergrad students. I graduate in May and he still has another year. 

 

1. We immediately got a joint bank account. Two in fact, we just converted each of our checking accounts to joint accounts. I also added him on my credit cards and auto insurance. We have to live apart technically because I work in a residence hall and I have to live on campus for my job, but we added me to his off-campus apartment lease and I changed my address with the DMV, banks etc to his apartment. So on paper I live at his apartment. We will mention that we basically stayed at the residence hall during the week and his place during weekends. As long as you have a valid explanation, it should be fine. In this case it's my job, so I don't have much of a choice.

 

2. Wait until you have documents like joint account statements, name change (if any), driver's license and SSN with new names etc. Other than that you're good.

 

3. Your EAD will arrive long before you graduate. No worries. Don't bother with OPT.

 

4. My husband is unemployed, he's a full-time student. We still had to file an affidavit of support showing he has no income. His mom was our joint sponsor. As long as you have a joint sponsor, you should be fine. It gets complicated when you try to include the impending immigrant's income on the affidavit. Avoid doing that if you can.

 

PS1: That's interesting, I've never heard of a single entry F1 visa... 

PS2: Are you registered with the persian embassy over here? Give them a call, most of the time they require you report it to them if you marry. Unless it's a same-sex marriage like mine, then don't bother. Also figure out how to get an official birth certificate from the embassy if you don't have one. 

 

Best of luck, buddy!  

 

Oh and no need for lawyer. Don't waste your money. The forms are pretty self-explanatory. You should be able to figure it out being a PhD student and all  Best of luck with your dissertation also!

Edited January 25, 2017 by bunkx

[lmenko 12]

On 1/23/2017 at 1:50 AM, silkroad2000 said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I am a last year PhD student on F1 VISA in a top school and program. My girlfriend is American, also a PhD student in the same school. We have been dating about a year. We are planning to get a courthouse marriage soon and then send the documents so that I can get my green card. But we are planning to have our wedding later this year after we graduate. I have a couple of questions:

 

1. Would we have a problem regarding proofing our marriage as bona-fide given that we do not have any joint bank accounts or the same address yet (she practically lives in my apartment but she still has her own too. We are getting a new place in august when our leases end). We have traveled a lot together though and even twice to her home town. I have met all her family and there is a tone of photos and plane tickets. Do you recommend we go and open mutual bank accounts and credit cards now?

 

2. How long should we wait after courthouse marriage to send our documents? Is it necessary to wait at all?

 

3. Given that I am graduating in the end of summer (in 7 months), if we send the AOS, would I still be able to get OPT? What is the best course of actions for me? Do you recommend waiting and first get my OPT and then get married? 

 

4. Does she have to financially sponsor me? Currently we are both students and have full scholarships from university with waived tuition and monthly stipend. I would definitely get a job with six figure salary after I graduate.

 

PS1: I am not going to travel outside of country because my F1 visa is single entry. So, there is no worries about doing any visa fraud case. 

PS2: I am a citizen of Iran. Do you have any experience with this?

 

Thank you very much

A poor student!

 

We were in the same boat. My husband is Iranian, currently in his last year of his PhD. We got married in last August by a J.O.P. after dating for about a year, and also waiting a bit for a real ceremony after he gets his GC and is able to go home and so we can save up money. Not sure about where you are coming from, but for us we had to hire a J.O.P. (found one who was able to do it for $100) as courthouse weddings are apparently not really a thing here in CT.

 

1. We moved in together on September 1st (we had been basically living together too but had our own places as well). We went to the bank right after our wedding to open up a joint account. We got married August 26th and didn't send in our AOS package until October 27th. I recommend getting as much together as possible, as soon as possible. He also added me as a joint owner on his car, and on his credit card. We got our landlord to write up a lease for us to sign with both our names on it, and we included joint bank/credit statements, as well as mail addressed to us at our new place. Since we had only been living together for a short period of time, we wanted to be safe and include as much evidence as possible. I think pictures are really important, especially from the wedding. There is a list on the i-130 and I think we included almost everything on there, including a photocopy of a check for a rent payment made from our joint account with checks that had both our names on it. We also included 3 reference letters, one from my mom, dad and close friend.

 

2. You can send it right after, you need a signed copy (official from the town/city hall) of your marriage certificate to send with it. Plus, you need to get a medical exam. If you have everything you need, you don't need to wait very long after your wedding. But, from personal experience, and especially because you are an Iranian student adjusting status I recommend adding as much evidence as possible since it will already be complicated as is.

 

3. This is a tough question because processing times are all over the place right now. It might be a safe bet, but you should be able to get your work authorization before the 7 month mark, depending on when you submit and if you have an RFIE or RFE.

 

4. She needs to fill out an i 864. I technically make enough based on my fellowship award, but USCIS didn't accept it and it doesn't show up on my W-2's and there are no paychecks, which was a pain to find out after we submitted. I HIGHLY recommend getting a joint sponsor from the start, they also need to fill out an i 864. My dad filled out an i 864 for us after we got an RFIE for not having enough evidence to prove my income. I highly suggest asking her parents to do the same, if possible. There is a 99% chance they will not accept the income from either of you if you are paid through scholarships.

 

PS1: Definitely do not leave. Our hope was that we would have an interview by March so that he could travel back to Iran in time for Nowruz, but at this point everything is up in the air.

 

Good luck!

Fellow poor PhD students

 

 

[lmenko 12]

1 minute ago, lmenko said:

We were in the same boat. My husband is Iranian, currently in his last year of his PhD. We got married in last August by a J.O.P. after dating for about a year, and also waiting a bit for a real ceremony after he gets his GC and is able to go home and so we can save up money. Not sure about where you are coming from, but for us we had to hire a J.O.P. (found one who was able to do it for $100) as courthouse weddings are apparently not really a thing here in CT.

 

1. We moved in together on September 1st (we had been basically living together too but had our own places as well). We went to the bank right after our wedding to open up a joint account. We got married August 26th and didn't send in our AOS package until October 27th. I recommend getting as much together as possible, as soon as possible. He also added me as a joint owner on his car, and on his credit card. We got our landlord to write up a lease for us to sign with both our names on it, and we included joint bank/credit statements, as well as mail addressed to us at our new place. Since we had only been living together for a short period of time, we wanted to be safe and include as much evidence as possible. I think pictures are really important, especially from the wedding. There is a list on the i-130 and I think we included almost everything on there, including a photocopy of a check for a rent payment made from our joint account with checks that had both our names on it. We also included 3 reference letters, one from my mom, dad and close friend.

 

2. You can send it right after, you need a signed copy (official from the town/city hall) of your marriage certificate to send with it. Plus, you need to get a medical exam. If you have everything you need, you don't need to wait very long after your wedding. But, from personal experience, and especially because you are an Iranian student adjusting status I recommend adding as much evidence as possible since it will already be complicated as is.

 

3. This is a tough question because processing times are all over the place right now. It might be a safe bet, but you should be able to get your work authorization before the 7 month mark, depending on when you submit and if you have an RFIE or RFE.

 

4. She needs to fill out an i 864. I technically make enough based on my fellowship award, but USCIS didn't accept it and it doesn't show up on my W-2's and there are no paychecks, which was a pain to find out after we submitted. I HIGHLY recommend getting a joint sponsor from the start, they also need to fill out an i 864. My dad filled out an i 864 for us after we got an RFIE for not having enough evidence to prove my income. I highly suggest asking her parents to do the same, if possible. There is a 99% chance they will not accept the income from either of you if you are paid through scholarships.

 

PS1: Definitely do not leave. Our hope was that we would have an interview by March so that he could travel back to Iran in time for Nowruz, but at this point everything is up in the air.

 

Good luck!

Fellow poor PhD students

 

 

P.P.S. You don't need a lawyer! We went through the same process of debating if we should get one of not, but really you will be fine. You are smart, capable PhD students, just take the time and make sure everything is filled out correctly, in order, and that you fulfilled all the requirements. You got this!