Marriage and Visa question

[Todd Rustman]

I will be marrying my fiance in October. Her visa from Brazil expires in November. How long do we have to file the proper forms? If we file them before will it be a problem when her visa expires as I am sure the paperwork will take longer? I am unsure of what to do. I know we I would have to file a I-140 form and prove this isn't a shame. Which she will go on my phone bill, bank account, insurance, etc. How long after all this does it take for her green card?

 

[newacct]

I'm assuming you're a US citizen? You would file I-130 petition (not I-140) and I-485 for AOS together (and also optionally I-765 for EAD and I-131 for AP). Each form has lots of required supporting forms and documents. It can be filed at any time after you're married. After I-485 is received, she is authorized to stay in the US for as long as I-485 is pending. You can file before or after her status expires but the sooner the better. (I think you mean status expires instead of visa because visas are only for entry and a visa's expiration has nothing to do with the ability to stay in the US.) It's hard to say how long it will take but it takes 3-6 months in most places. If she applied for EAD and/or AP (which are free to apply for, so there's no downside), she will get it in about 90 days, after which she can work and/or travel abroad so she will have most of the abilities of a permanent resident anyway.