Where to begin

[jj13 12]

Well lets see I'm a Canadian going to be marrying an American and I'm currently going to school in the US.

We're just getting the paperwork together so that once we get married it will just be a case of sending it in and waiting and waiting and hopefully getting some where sooner then later.

Just a few questions though:

I was told that when we file the papers in the US I'm allowed to stay in the us.

Can anyone give me a break down on the paperwork and the fees that go with it ?

Does it really generally take only 90 days to get EAD? (I'd like to be working so it'll cut down on some of the fees and so we're not so poor...we're both students)

Anyways this seems like a great board and I can't wait to get all this expensive paperwork done

[JJWashington 0]

Welcome to VJ

[MargotDarko 0]

Well lets see I'm a Canadian going to be marrying an American and I'm currently going to school in the US.

We're just getting the paperwork together so that once we get married it will just be a case of sending it in and waiting and waiting and hopefully getting some where sooner then later.

Just a few questions though:

I was told that when we file the papers in the US I'm allowed to stay in the us.

Can anyone give me a break down on the paperwork and the fees that go with it ?

Does it really generally take only 90 days to get EAD? (I'd like to be working so it'll cut down on some of the fees and so we're not so poor...we're both students)

Anyways this seems like a great board and I can't wait to get all this expensive paperwork done

If you entered on a student visa and you've since decided to marry, then yep, you can (and should) stay in the US and file the I-485 and I-130 together for adjustment of status. The reason you can adjust status is because you entered legally without intent to immigrate.

See the guide here about adjustment of status. That will help you with the forms, and USCIS.gov lists the separate fees for each form. I believe the I-130 is $355 and the I-485 (which includes the EAD and Advanced Parole now) is $1,010.

Yep, it does generally take about 90 days after filing the I-485 with the request for work authorisation to get the EAD and be able to work. Once you have the EAD, you can apply for an SSN if you don't already have one.

Here's the tricky part - since you now have intent to marry and immigrate permanently, if you return to Canada before you have your green card, it can be risky coming back in. If you return to Canada and then come back in before anything is filed, then you'd be committing visa fraud. The safest thing will be to file everything right away and not go back to Canada until you have the green card. The second safest thing is to not visit Canada until you have advanced parole.

There's a forum here about Adjustment of Status that should be helpful. When you post to ask questions, make sure you always make it clear that you entered the US on a student visa, that you're currently in the US, and that you did not have intent to immigrate when you entered. Otherwise, you'll get quite a few annoyed people thinking you're trying to commit visa fraud.

[jj13 12]

Yeh that definitly wasn't my intention in the beginning I came for school but time changes things and well here I am....I just want to make sure I'm doing everythign as straight forward and by the book as possible...so that hopefully theres little problems as possible

thanks for the info

[payxibka 10,047]

It may not apply but did you enter on a student visa of some sort? If so, does the visa have an HRR requirement?

Edited September 24, 2007 by fwaguy

[jj13 12]

I'm on a F1 and theres no HRR

[MargotDarko 0]

It may not apply but did you enter on a student visa of some sort? If so, does the visa have an HRR requirement?

I made the (hopefully safe assumption) that it doesn't apply as she's from Canada. Can someone from Canada on a student visa sometimes have that requirement?

EDIT - Oops! Posted this at the same time.

To the OP, sounds like you'll be perfectly fine. The adustment of status guide is good here. One tip I've picked up is that your reason for adjusting status is tricky to state. Since you're submitting the I-130 with the I-1485, the right choice doesn't sound logical. I'm sure you'll find info on that though.

Edited September 24, 2007 by MargotDarko