DrBobbie24

It does sound easier but it does come with the no travel for 8-10 months until AP, correct? If we were to go to France, NOT get married (but maybe have a party with our families), come back, and later this fall or maybe next spring decide to officially get married in the US, would that still count as reentering with intent?

Is it wrong to say that my true purpose is my job? The AOS is secondary... But I guess that could be seen as a lie by omission as Mike mentioned. I'm in Wisconsin. I'm guessing that in any case, filing for an immigrant visa would still mean staying in the US the whole time. How would that be different/better than filing for AOS right away?

If we got married in here instead (let's say we cancel the whole French thing), wouldn't they be able to say the same thing? That I initially entered the US on an F1 and then got married?

That would mean filing from France though, correct? I probably misunderstood the lawyer I talked to but I'm guessing not mentioning it to the border agent isn't an option, correct? I'm sorry I know I'm probably asking silly questions I already know the answer to just in case...

Thank you both for your quick responses. I was worried this was going to be the case. If him and I got married in the US before going to France. Would I be able to travel and re-enter on my student visa or would I need to adjust status immediately? Is there an option where we don't adjust the status about getting married? Maybe wait 6 months? Would that make any difference?

Hi all, I'm an F1 visa holder on a STEM OPT extension. My EAD card is valid until July 2024 and my visa until January 2025. My fiance and I met 2 years ago (June 2021), got engaged in October 2022 and are getting married this August (2023). I am orginally from France and wanted to get married with my family so we are planning to get married in France. We're doing an official civil ceremony and then a backyard wedding. I was planning on re-entering the US in September 2023 after travelling Europe for a bit. I have a job here in the US that I would be returning to since just took some vacation for the wedding. I was planning on waiting a bit after that (a month or two) before filing to adjust my status. Is there any risk that this will understood as reentering with the intention of getting married? How long should I wait to notify the US government that we got married? Should we get legally married first in the US? Would I be able to leave the country for our French ceremony and come back? I did ask these questions to an attorney on the phone a few months back before planning everything (she said our plan sounded ok) but now that we're getting closer, I'm getting nervous and really don't want to screw myself... Thanks in advance for your help and advice.