F1 OPT to GC Questions

[RileyM 2]

Hello,

 

I have 2 main questions, one of which I think I already know the answer, but would like reassurance. Background:

 

My boyfriend is a French citizen, been in the US for 7 years on F1, currently on his OPT until June 30, 2022. (I am a US Citizen). We visited his family for the holiday in France, he returned to the US on Jan 15. We have been long distance for the past year, but have been together for 2 years now as of February, lots of photos, evidence, and travel receipts. We decided that he would move in with me and try to get a job here so we could close the gap. So, after the holidays he flew here and has secured a job and is working with his OPT authorization (never exceeded his 90 days of unemployment). We have decided we want to get married and adjust his status as soon as we can so there hopefully would be only a short break between the end of his OPT and getting the combo card. So questions:

 

1) 90 day rule. I see a lot of forums saying this isn't real, but every lawyer still seems to advise it. Is it safer to follow it just for speed of case processing? If we do follow it for filing the AOS application, does it matter if we get married before then so we can then have some time to establish more evidence of bona fide marriage? (i.e, adding him to my health insurance, etc.)

 

2) On I-485, it has you list all addresses for the last 5 years. He forgot to update his address in SEVP for the period from September-December 2021, but it is now current to reflect my address. Do we still include that address on I-485? He has a driver's license with that address but will be getting a new one in our current state with my address now hat he has moved here. I'm assuming this is also a minor issue but wanted to see if it could cause any unexpected issues.

 

Thanks!

[canadian_wife 1,822]

There is no 90 day rule and certainly no rule to speed up the process.  Any lawyer that says that - lose their number. 

 

And yes, include any and all addresses.  Don't compound a mistake with an intentional omission.

 

Good luck 

[RileyM 2]

1 minute ago, canadian_wife said:

There is no 90 day rule and certainly no rule to speed up the process.  Any lawyer that says that - lose their number. 

 

And yes, include any and all addresses.  Don't compound a mistake with an intentional omission.

 

Good luck 

That's what I figured for both, just wanted to double check. Thank you!

[JeanneAdil 6,494]

the 90 day rule is for those coming on a K1 fiancee visa/  they must marry within 90 days of arrival

it has nothing to do with other visa types

[wagecuck3 31]

The 90 day rule is subtle. Immigration lawyers either are not aware of the subtlety, or they know that their clients will not understand the subtlety so they give them overly cautious advice.

 

As the State Department Foreign Affairs Manual explains, if a nonimmigrant, within 90 days of admission to the US, engages in conduct that is inconsistent with their status, then they may be presumed to have misrepresented their intentions at the time of entry. So for example, if an F-1 student, within 90 days of admission, drops out of school and starts working illegally, then they may be presumed to have lied when they told the immigration officer that they were coming to the US as an F-1 student. On the other hand, if an F-1 student, within 90 days of admission, filed for a green card (let's say, based on an EB2 NIW I-140 self-petition concurrently filed with an I-485) but also stayed in school while the green card is pending, they have done nothing wrong. They engaged in the activities they were admitted for, while also seeking to change the terms of their admission through the lawful channels for doing so (applying for an adjustment of status). So they would not have to fear the 90 day rule. But lawyers will be overly conservative and tell you not to do the second thing, even though there is no policy that forbids it.

[RileyM 2]

On 2/6/2022 at 5:49 PM, wagecuck3 said:

The 90 day rule is subtle. Immigration lawyers either are not aware of the subtlety, or they know that their clients will not understand the subtlety so they give them overly cautious advice.

 

As the State Department Foreign Affairs Manual explains, if a nonimmigrant, within 90 days of admission to the US, engages in conduct that is inconsistent with their status, then they may be presumed to have misrepresented their intentions at the time of entry. So for example, if an F-1 student, within 90 days of admission, drops out of school and starts working illegally, then they may be presumed to have lied when they told the immigration officer that they were coming to the US as an F-1 student. On the other hand, if an F-1 student, within 90 days of admission, filed for a green card (let's say, based on an EB2 NIW I-140 self-petition concurrently filed with an I-485) but also stayed in school while the green card is pending, they have done nothing wrong. They engaged in the activities they were admitted for, while also seeking to change the terms of their admission through the lawful channels for doing so (applying for an adjustment of status). So they would not have to fear the 90 day rule. But lawyers will be overly conservative and tell you not to do the second thing, even though there is no policy that forbids it.

Thank you! This is the best explanation I have seen. Since he'll be finishing out his OPT as intended we should be just fine then