Jason Katzif

Thank you for the clarification. I will disregard that option and go with the original steps to get the advance parole approved first. I greatly appreciate all of your guidance/advice. If there’s any additional documentation or resources that you think would be helpful for me when completing the AOS and AP that would be very appreciated as well. Thank you again!

Thank you. Does everything below look accurate? - Propose & Marry - File for her adjustment of status (I130/I485/I131/I765/I864) Also have I-693 completed by a civil surgeon. - Wait 3-9 months for I131 (advance parole) to be approved - Once AP is approved we can travel to Colombia and have the celebration with her family (Green card will be approved in 8-12 months) On a side note, I have one other question regarding her current status and ability to travel. As mentioned, she was originally on a J1 visa and now is on a F1 Student status and has until the end of 2025 before her OPT 1 year timeframe is finished. Is she able to travel outside of the U.S now? She’s received mixed answers from here student counselors in the past and is afraid to travel internationally because the lack of certainty. If she is able to travel now then my idea would be to take a trip to Colombia soon and propose in front of her family, then we can come back to the U.S. and complete the steps above.

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?

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.

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?)

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