Marriage in the middle of naturalization process

[ravirip]

What are the implications of getting married in India after applying N400 and before actually becoming a citizen?

I'm an Indian citizen / US permanent resident (since April 2005). I'm applying for the N400 from San Francisco on March 4th. I'm also getting married in court in India (potential date: May 16th). Judging from processing times for most people posting on this site, I'm likely to have finished fingerprinting and possibly the interview by then. Will my getting married in the middle of the naturalization/citizenship process have any impact on either my citizenship application or the Greencard application that I'll be filing for my wife-to-be in future (i.e. will her application be processed as the wife of a US citizen or the wife of a US permanent resident)? If yes, what are the alternatives and mitigation steps (other than the obvious one to wait till naturalization is complete before getting married)?

Additional information: My wife-to-be is in a Master's program in India so she will not be returning with me to the US this year. So no urgency for Greencard, which I will apply for her next year.

 

[Bobsmyth]

Getting married during process has no effect on your eligibility for naturalization.

 

[ravirip]

Thanks, bobsmyth. How about the effect on my fiance's status when I apply for her Greencard? I would have become a citizen by then, but the marriage date would be before the date of my citizenship. Would she still be able to get the greencard in 6 or so months or will it take 3-4 years?

 

[Bobsmyth]

Thanks, bobsmyth. How about the effect on my fiance's status when I apply for her Greencard? I would have become a citizen by then, but the marriage date would be before the date of my citizenship. Would she still be able to get the greencard in 6 or so months or will it take 3-4 years?

After the marriage you can sponsor her. Once you're a citizen, you would notify USCIS to update the I-130 to reflect that so that it doesn't take 3-4 years to process her GC.