I 130 Approved- Spouse legal status.

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pnunna

Registered Users (C)
Hi there,
I am a permanent resident and I applied for my wife's I 130 in November of 2009. It has been approved last week and we got a letter asking us to apply for I 485. I have a couple of questions.

1)My wife is currently on her F1. Once she applies for her 485, what will her legal status be if she gives up her F1 status? Will she still be considered legal? I already checked the September bulletin. She is eligible to apply for 485.

2)Also, I am anticipating that I will be a citizen in the next 2 to 3 months. Will there be any benefit in my wife applying as a Citizen's spouse vs a GC holder's spouse given that I 130 has already been approved and 485 is current?
Thanks.
 
pnunna said:
Hi there,
I am a permanent resident and I applied for my wife's I 130 in November of 2009. It has been approved last week and we got a letter asking us to apply for I 485. I have a couple of questions.

1)My wife is currently on her F1. Once she applies for her 485, what will her legal status be if she gives up her F1 status? Will she still be considered legal? I already checked the September bulletin. She is eligible to apply for 485.

2)Also, I am anticipating that I will be a citizen in the next 2 to 3 months. Will there be any benefit in my wife applying as a Citizen's spouse vs a GC holder's spouse given that I 130 has already been approved and 485 is current?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

My advise to you is this: You can wait till you are a citizen, process that will likely be complete in the next 2-3 months as you indicate. Did you already submit your N400 or plan on filing for one? Once you are sworn in, you can apply for the AOS using your US citizenship, because she doesn't have to wait for a visa number. All you will have to do, attach copy of your US citizenship, copy of NOA from the I-130, plus all AOS forms, I-485, G-325a, I-864a, I-693, plus others, then mail it to Chicago. With you as a GC holder, it will be a waste of money to file for her AOS, especially as I suspect that she won't be eligible to adjust for a while.

Once she files for AOS, he F1 status will become void, except that she won't be in any legal violation as she is "now" in the immigrant bus to a greencard station. Yes, she will still be legal, except I would advise her not to travel unless she obtains an advance parole. Once again, the benefits of apply for her greencard as a US citizen are huge, like huge balls, immediate visa will be available and your case will likely be adjudicated this year, depending on your District Office.

Best wishes and enjoy your upcoming citizenship quest...
 
Thanks for the speedy response. Since the VISA bulletin indicates a date of 01JAN10 and we have a priority date of November 2009, doesn't that mean a VISA number is available right away?

If VISA number has no relation to 485 being current, can I apply for 485 now and upgrade my status as a sponsor to a US citizen later.
To answer your question below, I already filed for my N400 and my fingerprints are complete. I am waiting for an interview call.


The reason I am in such a rush is my wife has a masters and enrolled in another Masters program just to keep her F1 status going. I will save both time and money for my wife is he gets on the 485 GC bus. Please let me know what you think.
 
OP, Nov 09 PD is not current as of right now. However, according to the September visa bulletin, it will be current.
So, your spouse will be eligible to file 485 (along with other forms such as I-765/I-131 if needed) on September 1. Once she has properly filed a 485, her F-1 status doesn't matter anymore.
 
Thanks again VisaNutz. One last question.
My wife has to make a decision as to continue in school or not by September 9th.
So if she files for I 485 on September 1st, does her F1 status get invalidated on September 1st or does she have to wait for some kind of receipt notice to validate her status as in AOS ?
Please let me know.
Thanks.
 
Once I-485 is filed and you get receipt confirmation then her F1 status does not matter. Once in I-485 she is in legal status irrespective whether she wants to continue school or not. With EAD & Pariole she can work & travel. It is far better than current F1 status where she can not work and even will not travel because of I130 is approved i.e. Intent immigrate issue. You can always upgrade I-130 later once you are US Citizen.
 
pnunna said:
So if she files for I 485 on September 1st, does her F1 status get invalidated on September 1st or does she have to wait for some kind of receipt notice to validate her status as in AOS ?
Click to expand...

Her F1 status doesn't immediately get invalidated by filing the I-485, but she would be unable to use the F1 visa to reenter the US after foreign travel. She will have to wait for Advance Parole before leaving the US. Once she gets the I-485 receipt, she should show it to the International Student Office (or whatever they call it) so they can update her status to reflect that and get her off the SEVIS and I-20 lists.
 
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