GC holder wants to marry H1B

[hopeofgc]

Hi Gurus,
My friend who is in US on H1B and applied for GC (Labor stage currently though), is planning to get married to GC holder in India. She is pursuing her master's education in India. She got GC through her family based green card. So, she keeps her GC active by visiting US for every 6 months or 1yr.

1) Can he come back to US on H1B visa after getting married to GC holder?

2) For him to obtain GC, does he need to apply for new GC process based on his spouse GC, family based GC or something. Not sure what kind of visa to apply? or does he need to continue GC process through H1B via his employer ? Which one comes faster ?

Please reply gurus. I appreciate the responses.

Thanks

[ari4u]

Originally Posted by hopeofgc

Hi Gurus,
My friend who is in US on H1B and applied for GC (Labor stage currently though), is planning to get married to GC holder in India. She is pursuing her master's education in India. She got GC through her family based green card. So, she keeps her GC active by visiting US for every 6 months or 1yr.

1) Can he come back to US on H1B visa after getting married to GC holder?
Yes. H1B visas allows dual intent.

2) For him to obtain GC, does he need to apply for new GC process based on his spouse GC, family based GC or something. Not sure what kind of visa to apply? or does he need to continue GC process through H1B via his employer ? Which one comes faster ?
At the present moment, his wife can only apply for I-130 and wait for 3-4 years to get approved and PD to become current. Only after that, he can apply for I-485 and change his status. Cant really tell which is faster, but whichever comes fist, he apply through it. Till that point, he needs to maintain his own legal status and I-130 would not give him any additional status.

Please reply gurus. I appreciate the responses.

Thanks

[amishah]

Originally Posted by hopeofgc

Hi Gurus,
My friend who is in US on H1B and applied for GC (Labor stage currently though), is planning to get married to GC holder in India. She is pursuing her master's education in India. She got GC through her family based green card. So, she keeps her GC active by visiting US for every 6 months or 1yr.

1) Can he come back to US on H1B visa after getting married to GC holder?

2) For him to obtain GC, does he need to apply for new GC process based on his spouse GC, family based GC or something. Not sure what kind of visa to apply? or does he need to continue GC process through H1B via his employer ? Which one comes faster ?

Please reply gurus. I appreciate the responses.

Thanks

Yes he can come back on his GC after married to a GC holder because H1-b has dual intent.
To obtain a GC through spouse, his spouse will have to file for I130. Since she is a GC holder it will take 5-6 years for a visa number to be available for him. During that period of time, he will have to maintain his own status. Once she becomes a Citizen, the process will be much faster.

[hopeofgc]

Originally Posted by amishah

Yes he can come back on his GC after married to a GC holder because H1-b has dual intent.
To obtain a GC through spouse, his spouse will have to file for I130. Since she is a GC holder it will take 5-6 years for a visa number to be available for him. During that period of time, he will have to maintain his own status. Once she becomes a Citizen, the process will be much faster.

Thanks ari4u and amishah for your responses.

One thing wasn't clear about is visa number for family based visa. Correct me if i'm wrong.......i think there is no LC involved in this case of filing I-130. Since no LC means no PD, right? What is the PD cut-off date for family based GC ?

Ok other thing is she is studying in India. Got her GC couple years back. Does she has to live in US continuously for 'n' number of yrs to become for US citizenship. Not sure what is the eligibility for US citizenship -- for GC holders?

[ari4u]

Originally Posted by hopeofgc

Thanks ari4u and amishah for your responses.

One thing wasn't clear about is visa number for family based visa. Correct me if i'm wrong.......i think there is no LC involved in this case of filing I-130. Since no LC means no PD, right? What is the PD cut-off date for family based GC ?


Look here for the preference category information for family based green cards
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/r...m#anchor156900

All immediate relatives of a USC are not subjected to a visa number limit as visa numbers are immediately available to them. Other relatives have to wait for a visa number.

You are right. There is no LC involved here as it is not an employment based GC, but you still have to wait for your PD to be current and I-130 to be approved before you can apply for I-485 and change your status as you fall under the second preference category. Look here for the current dates http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_2631.html



Ok other thing is she is studying in India. Got her GC couple years back. Does she has to live in US continuously for 'n' number of yrs to become for US citizenship. Not sure what is the eligibility for US citizenship -- for GC holders?

Yes. Look here
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/index.htm

[hopeofgc]

Thanks ari4u.

First of all, I-130 need to be filed for this process and upon approval the person can file for I-485 based on visa number available.

How is PD date obtained from? Is it the filing date of I-130 date? or filing date of I-485 date?

Also, can he continue the GC through his employer which is in progress [LC stage] ?


Thanks.

[krakow007]

I-130 is just a petition to file AoS for an immediate relative and has nothing to do with the actual 485 application which is the AoS app. So PD for your 485 will always be connected to your filing of the 485 app.
Your friend can continue the employment based GC app. It's just that when filing out different forms, questions like "have filed for xxx before" have to answered carefully based on where the other applications stand.

HTH

[ari4u]

Originally Posted by hopeofgc

Thanks ari4u.

First of all, I-130 need to be filed for this process and upon approval the person can file for I-485 based on visa number available.
Thats correct (for this case)

How is PD date obtained from? Is it the filing date of I-130 date? or filing date of I-485 date?
The NOA for I-130 would have the PD printed on it. This will give an idea of how long it would take to process and approve the I-130.

Also, can he continue the GC through his employer which is in progress [LC stage] ?
Yes, he can have two parallel GC applications being processed. The first one to get approved will cancel the others.


Thanks.