My nephew (US Citizen) met his girlfriend five months ago at a social gathering. They did not know each other prior to her arriving in the US. She is from Indonesia and is here on a 6-month B-2 tourist visa, visiting family members. Love happens and they have been seriously dating. Her return ticket is at the end of February and they are dreading doing long-distance. She is past the deadline to extend her B-2 (and we hear those usually get denied or negatively affect your immigration history). She can also apply to a local English institute and get a change of status to F1, however she doesn't want to do that. She had a career back in Indonesia, but took a break to visit family in the US.
Recently they had a discussion and they both wanted to get married. I told him, slow down and think it through. But since they are already grown adults, I can only give them advice and hope for the best. What is the process for doing this option? Should they hire an immigration lawyer? And what are some other things to mention about this approach?
My suggestion was to do long-distance, and visit each other. But with the new administration, they fear that it will be harder for her to come back to the US. I wish I had more time to research, but Googling and trying to learn these things are making my head spin.
