H1-B marryning US citizen

E

engineer_mech

New Member
Hi,
I am working with the company in US on H1-B visa.I am planing to marry my girlfriend, who is a US citizen.My marriage date is 2 months later in India.So my questions are

1. What is the overall procedure for applying for Green card for the person on H1-B visa marrying a US citizen.

2. Will it be helpful or any faster in the processing time if I marry now in US and get my marriage certificate here and then get married in traditional way in my home country.

3. Is there any web site link that provides the complete list of documents needed to file for green card based on marriage.

4. What is the processing time once the application is filed.Does it vary from one city to another or is it same.

Thanks

E. J
 
All of what you are seeking is available on this forum in the FAQs and other threads. You are an engineer, read up :)
 
Here are my responses based on my own experience. If you have the money for it, use a lawyer's services.

1.You'll need to submit I-130, I-485 and optional I-765 and I-131. EAD and Adv. Parole are not necessary unless you plan to switch jobs during the proceedings. H1-B will suffice as travel document. However, if you do switch jobs and want to travel without getting a new H1-B stamp, you will need AP document. I've read in a few forums that you are in a grey area of immigration once you submit your paperwork so it might be better to plan on staying put in the US after the papers are filed.
2. As long as you get your marriage legally validated either here or in India, you can use the related legal document as proof of marriage for the initial application. A lawyer advised me that if you had an Indian legal document, it might hold more weight than a US one just because of the additional effort involved in going to India and getting married would add more validity. However Indian marriage law doesn't make it easy to get your marriage registered etc. in India as easy as the County Clerk's office here.

3. Here's a thread from another forum that might help
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417753

4. Processing time varies case from case to case. Check this link, no two cases are alike!
http://www.trackitt.com/usa-immigration-trackers/i130-i485-tracker/
 
Hi,
I am working with the company in US on H1-B visa.I am planing to marry my girlfriend, who is a US citizen.My marriage date is 2 months later in India.So my questions are

1. What is the overall procedure for applying for Green card for the person on H1-B visa marrying a US citizen.

**Check the filing procedures. After you are married you have to file the
I-130
I-485
I-131 Parole if you want to travel outside the US

2. Will it be helpful or any faster in the processing time if I marry now in US and get my marriage certificate here and then get married in traditional way in my home country.

*It is better to get married here first and then file the paperwork and then get married in your home country after. That is what I did, we got married in our home country 2 months after the GC interview.

3. Is there any web site link that provides the complete list of documents needed to file for green card based on marriage.

*go to www.uscis.com or the thread here. people have posted what needs to be filed

4. What is the processing time once the application is filed.Does it vary from one city to another or is it same.

*it varies, check the processing times on www.uscis.gov

Thanks

E. J


GOODLUCK!
 
dr. lha is correct for as long as the interview doesnt take place before you decide to leave the country. in my case i left the US while my name check was pending so they took my i-94 which as a result the IO told me i had to file for parole otherwise i wouldnt be let in. he explained that although my h1 is valid for work, for travel without the i-94 i might get into trouble. this was just based on my experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top