Girlfriend with F-1 Visa and I want to propose

[Jason Katzif 2]

Hello everyone,

 

I’m a U.S. citizen based out of Fresno, California and I would like to propose to my Colombian girlfriend of 2 years. For context, she is currently on a F1 student visa which will expire at the end of 2025. On her current visa she is unable to travel outside of the U.S. 

 

My ideal scenario is to visit Colombia around the time her current visa expires and surprise her with the proposal in her home town. From there we would stay in Colombia for ~6 months before returning back to the U.S. and get married by the end of next year. Is this possible? And if so, what would be the best path to make this happen? 

 

I’m fairly new to the restrictions and steps involved here so your help/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Jason

[OldUser 7,188]

9 minutes ago, Jason Katzif said:

On her current visa she is unable to travel outside of the U.S. 

I don't believe it's true for most F-1 visa holders. Students get time off and can travel outside the US during breaks.

[OldUser 7,188]

12 minutes ago, Jason Katzif said:

. 

 

My ideal scenario is to visit Colombia around the time her current visa expires and surprise her with the proposal in her home town. From there we would stay in Colombia for ~6 months before returning back to the U.S. and get married by the end of next year. Is this possible?

How would she reenter the US once her visa expires? Spousal visa takes 1.5-2 years to be issued.

 

I recommend popping a question, marrying and adjusting her status before F-1 visa expires. That way she wouldn't have tobe stuck outside the US for 2 years.

Edited Friday at 01:46 AM by OldUser

[Ontarkie 14,346]

~~Duplicate thread removed. Please only post one thread for the same or related topic.~~

[Jason Katzif 2]

16 minutes ago, OldUser said:

How would she reenter the US once her visa expires? Spousal visa takes 1.5-2 years to be issued.

 

I recommend popping a question, marrying and adjusting her status before F-1 visa expires. That way she wouldn't have tobe stuck outside the US for 2 years.

Okay thank you for your response.

 

I’ll need to confirm with her again if she can visit Colombia during breaks.

 

If so, would the following work? (Her F1 expires in December 2025)

- August proposal in Colombia

- August go back to the U.S. to complete marriage (this would be the K1 correct?)(what would be the timeline for this to complete and we can travel internationally?)

[OldUser 7,188]

51 minutes ago, Jason Katzif said:

Okay thank you for your response.

 

I’ll need to confirm with her again if she can visit Colombia during breaks.

 

If so, would the following work? (Her F1 expires in December 2025)

- August proposal in Colombia

- August go back to the U.S. to complete marriage (this would be the K1 correct?)(what would be the timeline for this to complete and we can travel internationally?)

No, K-1 would take a year or so before visa is issued.

Marry before her visa expires in the US. This removes a lot of headache. You can have traditional celebration in Colombia later on advance parole or when she has GC.

Edited Friday at 02:54 AM by OldUser

[Jason Katzif 2]

47 minutes ago, OldUser said:

No, K-1 would take a year or so before visa is issued.

Marry before her visa expires in the US. This removes a lot of headache. You can have traditional celebration in Colombia later on advance parole or when she has GC.

I’ve confirmed that she was originally on a J1 visa and now is on a F1 Student status with OPT.

 

So to confirm I would follow the normal marriage process in the U.S? And then once that’s complete we would have no more restrictions? Is there any unique forms or requirements I’d have to complete given she’s from Colombia? 
 

Thank you again for your help with these questions.

[OldUser 7,188]

19 minutes ago, Jason Katzif said:

So to confirm I would follow the normal marriage process in the U.S? And then once that’s complete we would have no more restrictions

Yes, get marriage license and marry her like you'd marry an American lady. As long as you and her are free to marry (e.g. not currently married) you'll be fine.

 

After marriage you'll have to file for her adjustment of status, that's a bunch of forms, roughly $1500-2000. Once she gets GC she can stay in the US indefinitely. She can travel before receiving GC if she pays for advance parole.

[EmilyW 1,495]

Marry her.  Adjust status.

 

On the bright side, while this will mean she can't leave the US for a while, she seems motivated to stay here, so that's a good thing.

[Dashinka 24,697]

10 hours ago, Jason Katzif said:

Okay thank you for your response.

 

I’ll need to confirm with her again if she can visit Colombia during breaks.

 

If so, would the following work? (Her F1 expires in December 2025)

- August proposal in Colombia

- August go back to the U.S. to complete marriage (this would be the K1 correct?)(what would be the timeline for this to complete and we can travel internationally?)

No, she cannot enter the US with a non-immigrant visa with the intention to get married and adjust status as this would be immigration fraud.  This plan would work if she planned to return to Colombia after her OPT is complete and then you proceed with a spousal visa via consular processing.

 

Your best bet is to propose now while she is in the US (you can video chat her parents to ask their approval if that is important), then file the I130/I485/I131/I765/I864 so she can adjust status.  Then once the I131 or green card is approved, you can travel to Colombia and have a celebration with her family.

 

Good Luck!

[SalishSea 18,020]

Make sure she is okay with not being able to work or travel for up to 8-12 months.  Adjustment of status is not fast.

[OldUser 7,188]

12 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

Make sure she is okay with not being able to work or travel for up to 8-12 months.  Adjustment of status is not fast.

If he does it soon, it would be OK as she's on F-1. Based on what OP describes, she doesn't even travel overseas while on F-1. It's definitely worth discussing, especially how she feels about having a small ceremony here and big celebration in Colombia a while later. I wouldn't wait until her visa expires to propose, this will disrupt her life for 2+ years. Marrying soon means she'll likely get GC sometime in first half of 2026.

[Dashinka 24,697]

33 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

Make sure she is okay with not being able to work or travel for up to 8-12 months.  Adjustment of status is not fast.

May not be a big issue relative to work as long as she still has a valid F1/OPT.  Could be an issue for travel until the AP is approved.

[Jason Katzif 2]

17 minutes ago, OldUser said:

If he does it soon, it would be OK as she's on F-1. Based on what OP describes, she doesn't even travel overseas while on F-1. It's definitely worth discussing, especially how she feels about having a small ceremony here and big celebration in Colombia a while later. I wouldn't wait until her visa expires to propose, this will disrupt her life for 2+ years. Marrying soon means she'll likely get GC sometime in first half of 2026.

Thanks everyone. So based on everyone’s advice this is where my heads at:

 

- Propose & Marry

- File for her adjustment of status (I130/I485/I131/I765/I864)

- Wait 8-12 months for I131 or green card to be approved then travel to Colombia and have the celebration with her family.

 

You mentioned she can travel before receiving her green card if she pays for advance parole. How quickly would we be able to travel back to Colombia with this route? And what would the extra cost be?

[OldUser 7,188]

4 minutes ago, Jason Katzif said:

Thanks everyone. So based on everyone’s advice this is where my heads at:

 

- Propose & Marry

- File for her adjustment of status (I130/I485/I131/I765/I864)

- Wait 8-12 months for I131 or green card to be approved then travel to Colombia and have the celebration with her family.

 

You mentioned she can travel before receiving her green card if she pays for advance parole. How quickly would we be able to travel back to Colombia with this route? And what would the extra cost be?

As far as I know, 3-9 months is a typical timeline for Advance Parole approval (I-131)

 

The cost is $630