H-1B lottery rejected (most likely), but my company is willing to wait if I decide to get married

[saria_514 0]

So I was basically in the Masters quota, and haven't heard anything back officially about the H1B yet. At this point, I am assuming the worst (esp. because everyone else I know who applied and got selected). My boyfriend (of almost 5 years) and I agreed that we could get married as an alternative, but I want to know what the logistics of that situation are?! Like, if I got married tomorrow, what do I need to do after that to keep working? And usually how much time between the marriage and the eligibility to work?

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Is your fiance a US citizen?  What's his legal status?

 

Currently, it takes about 4 months to get work authorization after the spouse of a US citizen files to adjust status.  With a job, you will probably qualify for an expedite.

[Coco8 1,042]

If you are in the US and get married, you won't be able to work for several months. You will apply for a new EAD when you do your adjustment of status (AOS) and once you get the EAD, you can work. I'm sure your company will wait for you because it will be like a long vacation (maybe 3 months?). You can get EAD expedited if you have a job offer.  You won't be able to leave the country for several months, though. 

 

You should put all the paperwork together now. Even before you marry you can start looking up the forms and putting information in. It is going to take you a while to get everything sorted through. 

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by Coco8

[saria_514 0]

10 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

Is your fiance a US citizen?  What's his legal status?

 

Currently, it takes about 4 months to get work authorization after the spouse of a US citizen files to adjust status.  With a job, you will probably qualify for an expedite.

Yeah, he's a U.S. citizen! 

[saria_514 0]

6 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

If you are in the US and get married, you won't be able to work for several months. You will apply for a new EAD when you do your adjustment of status (AOS) and once you get the EAD, you can work. I'm sure your company will wait for you because it will be like a long vacation (maybe 3 months?). You can get EAD expedited if you have a job offer.  You won't be able to leave the country for several months, though. 

 

You should put all the paperwork together now. Even before you marry you can start looking up the forms and putting information in. It is going to take you a while to get everything sorted through. 

 

Yeah, they said they'd be willing to wait for sometime! Which is amazingly generous, because I'm not exactly senior level or anything. About 3 years of work experience, so not entry level either. Anyway, do you know where I even start looking at the requirements? I'm setting up meetings with attorneys for consults in the meantime.

[Coco8 1,042]

People on this board are going to tell you that getting a lawyer is a waste of money. They do the easy work and you have to fill in all the forms anyway. 

 

Check out this thread:

There is a checklist and the form numbers. This website has "guides" (see menu at the top) with information on how to fill in the forms. If you have questions you can post them on the forum and people will help you. I haven't filled those forms so I cannot help with that. 

[saria_514 0]

Ah, thank you! This is incredibly helpful!

[saria_514 0]

4 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

People on this board are going to tell you that getting a lawyer is a waste of money. They do the easy work and you have to fill in all the forms anyway. 

 

Check out this thread:

There is a checklist and the form numbers. This website has "guides" (see menu at the top) with information on how to fill in the forms. If you have questions you can post them on the forum and people will help you. I haven't filled those forms so I cannot help with that. 

 

Thank you so much! You're amazing!

[Coco8 1,042]

1 minute ago, saria_514 said:

 

Thank you so much! You're amazing!

[Jojo92122 1,924]

When does your current work authorization end?

 

Get marry as soon as possible.  File for AOS.  Request an expedited EAD based on a job offer letter from your employer.

[saria_514 0]

2 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

When does your current work authorization end?

 

Get marry as soon as possible.  File for AOS.  Request an expedited EAD based on a job offer letter from your employer.

It ends soon (6/15). Was waiting on H-1B results to do the marriage thing, ha.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

You're probably going to have some down time.  3 weeks is not enough time to get marry, file for AOS and get your EAD expedited.

 

Get marry today.  File for AOS with the expedited EAD request.  Make an Infopass and try to get an expedite that way also.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Jojo92122