Marriage to Green Card holder
- Thread starter ashleeann
- Start date
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
When you enter with the visa waiver you can't stay in the US to adjust status unless you are the spouse, parent, or under-21 child of a US citizen (and even they are quite restricted when using the visa waiver). So you will have to leave the US by the end of your 90 days for the visa waiver.
When you say his green card application just got "accepted", do you mean approved (green card itself has arrived)? Or do you mean that he submitted it within the past few weeks and got the I-485 receipt? What is the basis of his green card ... his employer sponsored him? His parent? His sibling? DV lottery? Does he have an H1B or L1 visa?
Your answers to the questions above will affect if/how/when you can return to the US if you marry him.
When you say his green card application just got "accepted", do you mean approved (green card itself has arrived)? Or do you mean that he submitted it within the past few weeks and got the I-485 receipt? What is the basis of his green card ... his employer sponsored him? His parent? His sibling? DV lottery? Does he have an H1B or L1 visa?
Your answers to the questions above will affect if/how/when you can return to the US if you marry him.
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Thank you for the reply Jackolantern, my boyfriends application was approved, not his actual green card and he has been told it could take up to nine months until he hears whether or not he has been approved for a green card. He is currently here on an 01 visa which is employer based. Thanks
ananga73
Registered Users (C)
You need to return to your home country before your 90 days expire otherwise you will be in a world of hurt with USCIS. Trust me you don't want to get on the bad side of that agency. Your boyfriend is not in the position to be able to sponsor you until he gets his green card, and even then if you overstay, he will not be in a position to help you until he becomes a citizen which is a good six or more years off.
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
Not true. If the boyfriend's GC is employer-based and they get married prior to getting the actual GC she will automatically get a derivative GC.
Who filed for the GC?
ananga73
Registered Users (C)
Which part of " my boyfriends application was approved, not his actual green card and he has been told it could take up to nine months until he hears whether or not he has been approved for a green card. " was not clear? The boyfriend petition has already been filed and apparently is in the process of being evaluated.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
It's confusing when you say his application was approved, because when people say that it generally means the green card itself is approved.
It seems like you mean the petition was approved. The petition would be the I-130 (if family-based), or I-140 (if employment based). The I-485 then comes after the I-130/I-140 (or concurrently with the I-130/I-140 in some situations), and I-485 approval = green card approval.
So now you need to explain the basis of his green card -- employer or relative, which relative. That will determine whether you can get a derivative green card if you marry him. If you're not eligible for a derivative green card, you will have to wait years. But in any case you still need to leave the US before your 90 days are up.
Thanks for all the responses, he hasn't really told me much about it so I'm not entirely sure, he told me the approval letter was for his petition to get a green card and that it doesn't mean that he definitely will get a green card. It is employer based, neither of us have relatives in the U.S. I have been coming here since November under the visa waiver programme, always leaving before my 90 days were up but returning two weeks later and was told last time I came into the country that if I did it again they wouldn't let me in, so we're really at a loss of what to do and don't have a lot of time to play around with.
If OP is correct and he is an O-1 non-immigrant, he may be a self-petitioner under EB-1 EA. IF he marries BEFORE the I-485 has been approved, THEN follow-to-join benefits could apply. The problem there is that such s filing is usually a concurrent I-140 and I-485 which get adjudicated at the same time, so it may be too late already.
IF that is the case, he may file an I-130 as soon as the marriage has taken place. It then is dependent on the wait for the F2A category for the particular country (most are at around 3 years waiting time).
Ultimately, more information is required for a more accurate response.
IF that is the case, he may file an I-130 as soon as the marriage has taken place. It then is dependent on the wait for the F2A category for the particular country (most are at around 3 years waiting time).
Ultimately, more information is required for a more accurate response.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
You'll need to get the details from him and return to this thread so we can have the relevant information to give you a proper answer. But on the face of it, it seems like you would be eligible for a derivative green card, but only if you leave the US and pursue it through the consulate in your country.
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TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
Lots of it, like what petition, who filed it and in what category. Minor details, really.
Based on what she has provided just now, your post was 110% wrong.
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
Yes. It means that if you marry him before his consular interview or I-485 approval, you will get a GC.
Concerned4us
Banned
Since OP is so confused about the actual circumstances, a consultation with an attorney is the best thing that they could do.
I guess here is the thing as I understand it...First of all get married...second whenever your 90 day period is over you leave US and comeback after few days/weeks...Third just by getting married you won't get ssn/work permit etc. you will need to file appropriate paperwork for that since your BF filed his paperwork as single. Now obviously if you are in serious relationship get married ASAP that will make your case stronger regardless of paperwork worries because even if don't marry him you will have to leave the country so why not to get married now and you might be saved from the hassle of getting conditional GC. However, before considering any of these you have to make your case really clear so everyone reading can understand it! good luck.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
That helps, as this information confirms our expectation that it's an employment-based petition.
The other important pieces of information to help us figure if/how/when you can immigrate include the priority date, whether the category is EB1, EB2, or EB3, and whether he was born in India or China (India and China have longer than normal waits for EB2 and EB3). Also find out if he has filed the I-485. You also need to confirm if the petition is directly for him, or if it's for his parent.
Most likely yes (depending on the facts you provide), but you won't be able to get the GC by staying in the US, because you entered with the visa waiver. You must leave the US within the 90-day limit of your visa waiver, and pursue the GC via follow-to-join through the US consulate in your country, or return with an appropriate visa. There is an outright ban on adjustment of status through employment-based petitions if you entered the US with the visa waiver.
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