Help! What happens to my J when I marry US citizen?

C

chandradeux

New Member
I need some help. I am here on a three year J 1 teacher exchange visa. This is my third year. I am finished with school in June. My boyfriend and I want to get married in February. I have some questions...(By the way, I'm Canadian.)
1. Am I required to change my J 1 as soon as I marry, or can I finish the school year on the J 1 even though I am married?
2. Will my sponsor penalize me?
3. How long will I have to wait to get my work card, or can I continue automatically with my work permission? I want to get it in time for the next school year.
 
> 1. Am I required to change my J 1 as soon as I marry, or can I
> finish the school year on the J 1 even though I am married?

No you don't have to change it. However, you might not be able to re-enter the US on your J1 once you are married to a USC. It expresses 'immigration intent' which is not allowed when entering on J1. However, USCIS doesn't hold getting married against you while you are here.

> 2. Will my sponsor penalize me?

LoL, I don't know your husband. But otherwise why should your sponsor penalize you ?

> 3. How long will I have to wait to get my work card, or can I
> continue automatically with my work permission?

Do you have a 'foreign residency requirement' (it would be noted somewhere on your visa or your DS2019 sponsorship form ?

If you don't have it, your husband can file an I130 (immigrant petition), I485 (adjustment of status) and I765 (work permit) request on day1 after you guys are married. After that, it takes 3months+ to get the work permit.

You could also file for continuation of your J1 sponsorship (if the I94 form in your passport says D/S). As long as you don't leave and re-enter the country on this visa, they don't care whether you got married in the interim. Only when you apply for a new J1 stamp in your passport they ask about marriage to a citizen.

> I want to get it in time for the next school year.

Timing is important here. Chances are, you would want to extend your J1 sponsorship instead of banking on the EAD to go through.

Another option is to remain on J1 and to file for 'consular processing'. This would mean that you have to go to a consulate in canada for your green-card interview. It can be faster than going the 'adjustment of status' route, depending on how long the wait for an immigrant visa interview in canada is these days.
 
I was asking about the penalty because I thought that if I were to get married while on the J 1 I would have to give it up because I would want to adjust my status and start the residency process. Therefore, I thought that I would become ineligible to work because of my change of status.
Are you saying that I can continue working on my J 1 as though nothing has happened? It doesn't become invalid once I begin the immigration process through marriage?
I am 100% sure that my sponsoship program will not extend my J 1 past this year...;)
 
> It doesn't become invalid once I begin the immigration process through marriage?

It doesn't become invalid for you to continue working on it. You are just restricted in your ability to leave and re-enter the country (although, as a canadian citizen you wave your passport at the border anyway, or do they really log you guys in these days ?)

> I am 100% sure that my sponsoship program will not extend my J 1 past this year..

Related to the marriage or just because your program is finished ?
 
I have been married to a U.S. citizen since 2003 and I have renewed my J-1 visa twice since then (once in my home country and once in Canada). Marriage is not seen as immigration intent, per se. Only if you try to change your status based on your marriage (apply for permanent residency) do you run the risk of being rejected a J-1 renewal. In no case, however, can I imagine that you are in any risk when travelling on a valid J-1 visa. It is only when you need to renew your visa that they would consider your intent, and just being married to a U.S. citizen is not sufficient grounds for rejection (in my experience).

Of course, if you initiate the process of changing your status, all bets are off. I have seen recommendations that you not leave the country during that process. Good timing is essential here.
 
one question for chandradeux (thx)

Dear chandradeux,

Good luck! I am sure everything will be fine and congratulations on getting married.

I would have a question for you, please.

How did you get teacher exchange visa? Was it done directly by school district where you have been working, or was there another company involved?
I am quite interested in transfering my visa to J1 and teaching under exchange program.

Would you please share your experince and possible contact - I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks!

felix
 
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