Just a teeny weeny question

E

Elwinski

New Member
Hi to all :D

I'm originally from the UK, and entered America on an F1 visa one year ago.
During that time, i met someone, and we plan to marry in the fall of 2010. I've read much of a discussion about falling in and out of your F1 visa status after you get married. I'm wondering if after you marry, do you have to continue school?(I intend to) And would an international student who has married, continue to pay international fee's, or start normal USC fee's?
Also what is involved in the medical examination? Do they require injections? I'm asking because i hate needles and want to prepare myself :D

Okay i asked a few more teeny weeny questions... :p

Thanks in advance
 
Is your future spouse a US citizen?

You don't lose your F1 status solely by getting married. But if you marry a US citizen or permanent resident and then leave the US, you're likely to have trouble using the F1 visa to reenter the US, because being married to a US citizen or permanent resident is an indicator of immigrant intent, and the F1 visa requires nonimmigrant intent.

If you want to keep your F1 status after getting married, you will have to keep attending school. And as long as you are in F1 status, you keep paying the international/out-of-state fees.

However, once you file the paperwork to adjust status (form I-485 and supporting documents) to permanent resident, which you can do if you marry a US citizen, you are no longer in F1 status. But then you won't need to study any more, because the pending AOS keeps you in legal status whether you study or not. To travel, you would apply for a document called Advance Parole and use it instead of your F1 visa to reenter the US.

Many states (I believe most) allow you to pay the state-resident tuition rate if you wait 1 year since filing for AOS.

The medical exam will involve taking blood, so that's at least one needle. Vaccinations are also required, but you may be able to escape most or all of them if you have records of doing them before (but one or two may have to be redone if it was too long ago). Another needle is when they give you the TB skin test.
 
Yeah, most states do allow in-state tuition after a year of waiting. You may want to check with your school. I wasn't allowed to pay in-state tuition until I had my GC.
 
jupiter07 said:
I wasn't allowed to pay in-state tuition until I had my GC.
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Which state was that? That would be the first state I've heard of where AOS is insufficient. Did they at least count the one year starting when you filed for AOS, instead of making you have to wait for one year post-GC approval?
 
Jackolantern said:
Which state was that? That would be the first state I've heard of where AOS is insufficient. Did they at least count the one year starting when you filed for AOS, instead of making you have to wait for one year post-GC approval?
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I asked after I received my 485 NOA cos I wanted to pay instate tution, and they told me that unless I got the real GC, I cannot pay instate tution, regardless of how long it takes. But I got my GC in less about 6mths but in those months I paid outstate tuition. It didn't make sense cos after my 485 was accepted, I started to register for less than full load, so technically, my F1 was not valid and I couldn't fall back on it if my 485 was denied. Yet I wasn't considered a resident to pay instate. ANd even after I got my GC, I had to supply other evidence to justify my residence in AL i.e. DL, paystub, insurance etc. Glad to be out of there.
 
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Wow, thats crazy they'd make you wait until you got your GC.

I actually asked the school i was in the other day, and thankfully i only have to wait one year. I reside in CA. What the women who i asked didn't know, was if i could still go to school and do a few units instead of the full 12 units? I really want to continue my education but it would seem silly to me if had to pay a year more international fees when i don't have to, no?
 
Wow, thats crazy they'd make you wait until you got your GC.
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it's really not that crazy. In most states you must have had a GC for a year in order to be eligible for in-state tuition, but being married to a state resident helps because that may be taken into an account.
 
LucyMO said:
it's really not that crazy. In most states you must have had a GC for a year in order to be eligible for in-state tuition, but being married to a state resident helps because that may be taken into an account.
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In my state you didn't have to have a GC for year. You just had to have a GC, not AOS. But I agree it is fairly common.
 
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