F1 marrying a GC holder

A

anxious80

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I am asking this on behalf of my friend who recently got engaged to a girl.

My friend has an F1 visa which has expired about 2-3 years ago but his I-20 is still valid. The girl he got engaged to was sponsored by her ex-husband and she is expecting the GC in mail in two months (As per her).

After reading through the posts this is what I understand. After she gets the GC she sponsors my friend(ie after getting married). Then my friend has to wait 4-5 years to get his GC. While waiting he has to maintain his int'l student status and will not be allowed to work in USA besides OPT option.

As long as my friend keeps his I-20 valid is he eligible to stay in USA during this process, even though his F1 visa has expired?

Does this mean that my friend can only work and does not have to maintain his student stats after 4-5 years??

Please correct me if I am wrong anywhere.

Thank a lot for any help.
 
as far as I remember she cannot sponsor him for 5 years after getting her GC through marriage. Read the instructions to I-130.
 
anxious80 said:
As long as my friend keeps his I-20 valid is he eligible to stay in USA during this process, even though his F1 visa has expired?
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Is his I-94 valid, either with a D/S expiration or a date that is in the future? And has he continued to be a student at the specified school ever since entering the US with the F1?

If the answer to either question is NO, he is out of status, and marrying a green card holder will not allow him to stay legally in the US. If his F1 status was maintained, he could continue to study, but his green card wife still can't sponsor him for 5-6 years.
 
thanks for the info guys.

i read the instructions for I-130. found out that a person who received their GC by a virtue of prior marriage cannot sponsor their current husband/wife unless five years have elapsed.

Jackolantern: So after five yrs if she sponsors him, how long does the process usually take?
 
anxious80 said:
thanks for the info guys.

i read the instructions for I-130. found out that a person who received their GC by a virtue of prior marriage cannot sponsor their current husband/wife unless five years have elapsed.

Jackolantern: So after five yrs if she sponsors him, how long does the process usually take?
Click to expand...

4 to 5 years
 
Guys, I just found out that the girl has her conditional GC for two years now and she will be receiving her GC which expires in 10 yrs in two months or so.

The scenario changes now I guess, this means she has to wait three more years to become a citizen and also sponsor my friend. Is that right?

Is it possible that the they both marry after she gets her GC and then apply for sponsorship after three years because I heard that if a citizen sponsors the process it only takes 6 months to an year. If thats true will my friend still be allowed to stay in the US with or without maintaining his student status until the process is complete?
 
when she becomes a citizen, she can sponsor him right away. It's going to be just about 5+ years after she becomes an LPR anyway.

he must maintain his status until he can apply for AOS in about 4 years from now.
 
He should but does not have to maintain status since being out of status is forgiven for spouses of citizens. But its usually very risky to rely on this.
 
thanks for the info guys.

after the girl gets her Unconditional GC and she files a divorce with her husband. will that create any kind of trouble for her? I mean will immigration suspect her good faith marriage that right after she got her uncoditional GC she has divorced the husband who sponsored her and is now marrying an F1 student?

How long do you think the girl should wait after her divorce to remarry with my friend or it does not matter anymore as she will have the 10yr GC by then?
 
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