J1 to Spouse Process

[cosmok8 0]

Hi there,

I am new to this website and really looking for some guidance on how to get my boyfriend to stay in the US as we are planning to marry. He comes to America each summer from Jamaica on the J-1 visa to work. This summer, we want to get married and apply for the adjustment of status so he can get his green card. In this case, he is already in the US for his J1 visa, but has a limited amount of time to stay legally. If we married as soon as he arrives, would be file both i-130 and i-485 at the same time and just hope he is approved for permanent residence in time? Or, if we do this and he has to go home, are we even able to complete the process while he is in Jamaica and I am in America? Or does it not matter because if he is approved for the i-130, he is able to come back to America for interviews? I just want a general guideline for this timeframe because a friend has advised starting the process right away in order to get it started, but I am nervous for when he has to go back home at the end of his J1, and then he ends up not being in America to complete this process? I understand I am not hearing from any lawyers right now I'm just looking for any other personal experiences or guidance from someone who has completed this process. Thanks so much!

[Kaemouzy 16]

First and foremost coming to the US on a nonimmigrant visa with the intention to adjust status is fraud. Secondly some j1 visa are subjected to a two year residency rule which means that a person cannot adjust status until they return to their country not residence for two years. If you want your boyfriend to legally reside in the US I would suggest you do the CR1 visa.

[cosmok8 0]

6 minutes ago, Kaemouzy said:

First and foremost coming to the US on a nonimmigrant visa with the intention to adjust status is fraud. Secondly some j1 visa are subjected to a two year residency rule which means that a person cannot adjust status until they return to their country not residence for two years. If you want your boyfriend to legally reside in the US I would suggest you do the CR1 visa.

I kind of saw this response coming. We don't necessarily have this intention which is why I wanted to know if it is even possible. He is coming to visit just on a visiting visa for the holidays. We are just trying to decide if we wait until the summer when he has more time here or if we can start the process in December. After reading the CR1 page, it seems like we would be able to get married in December when he is here and then begin the CR1 process when he is still overseas and get that started so we could be together sooner. Would this affect his J1 status for the summer if he is still planning on that? 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

38 minutes ago, cosmok8 said:

I kind of saw this response coming. We don't necessarily have this intention which is why I wanted to know if it is even possible. He is coming to visit just on a visiting visa for the holidays. We are just trying to decide if we wait until the summer when he has more time here or if we can start the process in December. After reading the CR1 page, it seems like we would be able to get married in December when he is here and then begin the CR1 process when he is still overseas and get that started so we could be together sooner. Would this affect his J1 status for the summer if he is still planning on that? 

"This summer, we want to get married and apply for the adjustment of status so he can get his green card."  You clearly stated this intention. You will not find anyone on this website who will advise you to commit immigration fraud. If you are serious then get engaged. File for a k1. Or- get married and file for a CR1. Like the above poster stated you need to find out if his J1 has a 2 year residency rule to figure out a timeframe. 

[cosmok8 0]

2 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

"This summer, we want to get married and apply for the adjustment of status so he can get his green card."  You clearly stated this intention. You will not find anyone on this website who will advise you to commit immigration fraud. If you are serious then get engaged. File for a k1. Or- get married and file for a CR1. Like the above poster stated you need to find out if his J1 has a 2 year residency rule to figure out a timeframe. 

Yes I should’ve framed that differently, I didn’t know that before when I made the post that it was immigration fraud as I just started researching this process, and I just found that out while reading other things on this cite so I had a feeling someone might respond with that, which is good to know now and I certainly don’t want to commit that. But that was not my intention from the start. Now I am looking into the CR1 and K1 options. His J1 does not require a 2 year residency and I do already know that, he has told me that before, I just don’t understand the implications of that now. If we are able to marry when he visits for 2 weeks in December, will he still be able to get his J1 visa to work for the summer? Or can he not get that with the I-130 and everything else in the works?

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

3 hours ago, cosmok8 said:

Yes I should’ve framed that differently, I didn’t know that before when I made the post that it was immigration fraud as I just started researching this process, and I just found that out while reading other things on this cite so I had a feeling someone might respond with that, which is good to know now and I certainly don’t want to commit that. But that was not my intention from the start. Now I am looking into the CR1 and K1 options. His J1 does not require a 2 year residency and I do already know that, he has told me that before, I just don’t understand the implications of that now. If we are able to marry when he visits for 2 weeks in December, will he still be able to get his J1 visa to work for the summer? Or can he not get that with the I-130 and everything else in the works?

I'm glad to hear you found out more while researching. There is definitely a lot to learn regarding immigration and thats good you are educating yourself. I realize you said he wants to come next year but as of until Dec 31 J1 visas are banned and there is no telling if it will continue into next year, especially with the way COVID is significantly increasing daily. If he was subject to the 2 year residency requirement he would not be able to immigrate during this time- are you sure that he does not require it (I'm just curious how he would know if he doesn't already have the visa) I don't have personal experience and I hope someone can help you out but in regarding to obtaining a J1 he has to show ties to his home country and that he plans on returning after the visa expires. This would lead me to believe it would be very hard for him to obtain a J1 with a pending immigrant petition as well. 

 

Hopefully someone else can chime in. Keep searching through the forum as well. Here is the official site of J1 so you can search though it as well see if you can find anything https://j1visa.state.gov