Marriage to an American citizen

[Kimber Soak]

Please help me answer the following questions.

One (that's me) who has H1B and a pending employer sponsored green card still in the Department of Labor certification stage for many years marries an American citizen from another state who has disability income --

1. Can the alien spouse leave the employer and move to the citizen's state while waiting on Immigration to recognize the marriage and send the proper papers to the alien spouse (temporary green card, employment authorization, etc.)?

2. What happens to the pending employer sponsor green card process -- do I stop the process -- how? (Should both the marriage and employer sponsored green card applications be approved together -- do I owe anything to the lawyer who processed the latter?)

3. What happens to the alien spouse when the marriage occurs -- can the spouse work another job or should she be dependent on the citizen's income?

4. Is there anything an alien spouse can do while waiting on the pending green card application process through marriage papers?

5. Can personal savings, retirement savings of the alien spouse contribute towards the income that the couple should live on based on USCIS guidelines for marriage immigration petitions? Will income be considered only for the year the marriage documents are submitted?

Thank you so much.

 

[wagecuck3]

First of all you do not receive any status or immigration benefit just from marrying a US citizen. Your spouse has to petition for you on form I-130 and you have to file form I-485. Usually these two forms are filed concurrently.

After you have filed the forms you can leave your employer and move to your spouse's state and be able to legally stay in the US while you are waiting for them to make a decision on your application. Be sure to always notify USCIS of your change of address.

Since your employer was still in the Labor Certification stage, it's up to them whether or not they want to continue with it. They cannot interfere with your spousal immigration process without your consent.

When you file the I-130 and I-485, then you can also concurrently file form I-765 in order to obtain a work permit. This usually takes 3-5 months. Once you receive the work permit, you can work for whatever company you want or engage in self-employment. You can renew this work permit as many times as necessary until the I-485 is approved or denied.

Your assets and income will not count toward the income requirement. If your US citizen spouse does not meet the income requirement, then they must find a co-sponsor. I believe that USCIS considers income from the current year and past years, and in addition, if they believe that your spouse may not be in a position where it is likely that they will be able to continue earning enough income in the future, then they will issue an RFE and you may need to find a co-sponsor.

 

[newacct]

Your assets and income will not count toward the income requirement.

The intending immigrant's income and assets do count in the sponsor's household income and assets for the I-864 if the intending immigrant is the sponsor's spouse or living in the same household as the sponsor, and the intending immigrant is working legally in the US.

 

[wagecuck3]

The intending immigrant's income and assets do count in the sponsor's household income and assets for the I-864 if the intending immigrant is the sponsor's spouse or living in the same household as the sponsor, and the intending immigrant is working legally in the US.

Thanks for the correction, looks like I was mistaken about this point.