Marriage to F1 after Citizenship and Travel of F1 person

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nikkonstar

Registered Users (C)
I got my citizenship recently and plan on getting married soon to a F1 student. But the thing is that the F1 student needs to travel in Dec 08.

So should we get married soon and not file the I-130/I-485 and hold it off until she returns in Jan 09 so that her return back to US is not an issue or should we hold off getting married until she returns back to US and then the paperwork begins ? After filing I-485, I assume the person is not supposed to travel overseas until the application decision is made, am I right?
 
I would hold off getting married until after she returns Jan 09 and then begin paperwork since the issue of intent will arise if you get married before and she would then risk being barred re-entry.
 
Bobsmyth said:
I would hold off getting married until after she returns Jan 09 and then begin paperwork since the issue of intent will arise if you get married before and she would then risk being barred re-entry.
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Thanks for the quick reply. That is clear enough. Thanks very much. :)
 
After filing the I-485, she can travel overseas if she gets Advance Parole.

I would say get married soon, then file the I-485 and I-131 (Advance Parole) right away, so the Advance Parole would be approved before December.

If she travels in December, reentering the US with her F-1, then gets married early next year, she is likely to run into trouble at the green card interview, because when the officer looks at the timeline of entering and getting married, it becomes clear to them that when she entered with her F-1 she was already planning to marry a US citizen and immigrate. That could result in denial for misrepresenting her intent at the port of entry.
 
Jackolantern said:
If she travels in December, reentering the US with her F-1, then gets married early next year, she is likely to run into trouble at the green card interview, because when the officer looks at the timeline of entering and getting married, it becomes clear to them that when she entered with her F-1 she was already planning to marry a US citizen and immigrate. That could result in denial for misrepresenting her intent at the port of entry.
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Maybe I'm not understanding this completely, but how can they determine that she was planning to marry a US citizen when she entered the US on her F1. It's not the case with the OP, but a number of people get an "arranged marriage" where they meet and finalize marriage details within a month.
 
injunguy said:
Maybe I'm not understanding this completely, but how can they determine that she was planning to marry a US citizen when she entered the US on her F1. It's not the case with the OP, but a number of people get an "arranged marriage" where they meet and finalize marriage details within a month.
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Even arranged marriages usually take some months of planning and advance notice. If the marriage happened in January or February, it is logical for the interviewer to conclude that the couple knew about the upcoming marriage in December (even if they didn't yet meet each other in December, it's almost sure they knew the marriage was going to happen). And I wasn't talking about arranged marriages, I was responding to the specific situation of this thread, not generalizing to all marriages (see the last sentence of my signature!).
 
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Thanks Jackolantern. I am not familiar with I-131. I just read about it. The thing is if I file the whole package right now, will it get approved before December for travel?
 
You have a good suggestion except for the fact that there is no guarantee that the parole will be approved on time. From all indications, it seems unlikely to be done.


Jackolantern said:
After filing the I-485, she can travel overseas if she gets Advance Parole.

I would say get married soon, then file the I-485 and I-131 (Advance Parole) right away, so the Advance Parole would be approved before December.

If she travels in December, reentering the US with her F-1, then gets married early next year, she is likely to run into trouble at the green card interview, because when the officer looks at the timeline of entering and getting married, it becomes clear to them that when she entered with her F-1 she was already planning to marry a US citizen and immigrate. That could result in denial for misrepresenting her intent at the port of entry.
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There is no guarantee of anything, but the Advance Parole is usually approved within 3 months. All three of mine were approved in 2 months or less. Others report similar experiences of approval in 1-3 months.
 
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The problem is that if the marriage is delayed until after her travel, approval of the green card will depend on hiding the truth, and the truth is that they did plan the marriage before she traveled. Once the interviewer starts diving into questions like "when did you meet, when did you start dating, when did you get engaged, etc." they can get an impression of the truth, resulting in denial. Remember that marriage-based green cards are already viewed with suspicion when there is a short time between the marriage and filing the green card, so it is not a good idea to enter the interview with any additional red flags. Marry first, get the I-131, then travel with the I-131 so it becomes unnecessary to tackle any issues of F-1 travel and immigrant intent. If it means having to postpone the trip, that's better than having the green card denied.
 
My response was based on experience. A good friend was living with her US citizen boyfriend on a TN visa. They married in the US, he sponsored her for a marriage based GC and the issue of intent never arose at the interview. Needless to say she was approved and now has her GC.

Going the advance parole route leaves things up in the air as the OP's future wife must travel in January and there are no guarantees that the advance parole will be approved by then. Looking at the I-131 processing times on the USCIS website I'd say that chances are slim to get advance parole by year's end.
 
Bobsmyth said:
My response was based on experience. A good friend was living with her US citizen boyfriend on a TN visa. They married in the US, he sponsored her for a marriage based GC and the issue of intent never arose at the interview. Needless to say she was approved and now has her GC.
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Did she marry and file the I-485 quickly after entering with the TN visa?

Anyway, neither approach is a guarantee of success or failure ... as we know, the IOs are very inconsistent. But one should look at the risks involved. Marry now and then apply for I-131, the risk is that it won't get approved before December, resulting in having to delay or cancel the trip. Travel in December and marry in early 2009, and the risk is of being denied the green card, a much more serious fate than having to postpone or cancel a single trip.
 
nikkonstar said:
The thing is if I file the whole package right now, will it get approved before December for travel?
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The Advance Parole can be obtained in one day by going to a local INS office if there is an emergency to travel. Just take the receipt notices of pending I-485 and I-131 along with airline ticket.
 
JohnnyCash said:
The Advance Parole can be obtained in one day by going to a local INS office if there is an emergency to travel. Just take the receipt notices of pending I-485 and I-131 along with airline ticket.
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The key there is "emergency travel". A few years back my wife had to provide an actual death certificate to the then INS when she needed to go back to Canada for her grandfather's funeral for emergency advance parole. They are very strict on what exactly constitutes emergency travel.
 
Bobsmyth said:
They are very strict on what exactly constitutes emergency travel.
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Not necessarily. It all depends on the interviewing officer. Some might ask for tons of documents to prove the nature of the emergency and travel itineary, while others might not ask for anything. I've had gone to INS offices across the country in the past with applicants who were seeking to obtain AP. A few years back AP used to be granted ONLY in emergency situation unlike now when every applicant can obtain it without any reason. I have had witnessed that only 13% of the officers had asked for some kind of proofs to prove the emergency need to travel; while other officers did not even bother to ask anything except receipt notice of pending I-485 and two photographs. That's all.

By the way, a few years back applicants were required to go to local INS office to obtain AP. And AP used to be granted only in emergency situation. Now, applicants can go to a local INS office to obtain an AP on the same day if they do have an emergency to travel. It's great if they have a proof to prove the emergency, but if they don't then they can just explain the officer who will be able to accommodate the applicant's request...
 
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JohnnyCash said:
By the way, a few years back applicants were required to go to local INS office to obtain AP. And AP used to be granted only in emergency situation. Now, applicants can go to a local INS office to obtain an AP on the same day if they do have an emergency to travel. It's great if they have a proof to prove the emergency, but if they don't then they can just explain the officer who will be able to accommodate the applicant's request...
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At least back then (10 years ago) the DO was very strict on what is considered emergency travel. We had to drive 3 1/2 hrs to the DO, only to be told they needed death certificate. We scrambled by calling the hospital who faxed the certificate just in time. The DO finally granted her the AP with only minutes before DO closing and one day before her departure.
 
Thanks guys for the engaging discussion and information. Looks like I am in two minds about this, whether to get married now or not. Should I seek professional opinion?

I know a person who 8 years ago got married to a US Citizen, a day before they got legally married in the US they both traveled to their home country for the ceremony. He was on F1 and she was a US Citizen. He has his green card now and from what I know from him, there werent any problems with his GC process. This was at Baltimore DO.
 
Jackolantern said:
But was that within 1 month of entering the US with a TN?
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She was on a TN for several years and was living with him at the time. She re-entered the US on a recent visit back from Canada, got married within 2 months and applied for I-485 within 1 month after marriage.
 
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