Marry with GC or wait until the citizenship ?

H

handxx

Registered Users (C)
Hi

I have a really complicated situation right now which I can not find much solutions.. If you give me some input and advice , I really appreciate it .. So here is the story ,

My gf has been in the US for 2 years with J1 visa. She was working as an AUPAIR and by August 5th her visa expired. Since she is in grace period, she can stay here until Sept 5th .. I have a gc and I will have my citizenship interview in 10 days. We have a very limited and short time to decide what to do.

I guess I can marry with her while I have my gc and she can get a GC too. But, some people also say that if I become a US citizen, process can be much easier and less painful.. As I said I will have the interview in 10 days but I am not 100% certain that when I can have my oath or finish the whole citizenship process.

1) So if you guys can give me some idea what are the difficulties to marry with a GC , compared to US citizen ? How long the whole process can take if i marry her while I have the GC or become a Citizen ?

2) Another question is lets say we wait until I become citizen. She will be out of status by that time, if I marry her while I am citizen but she is out of status , does this case make things really hard ? Because she will be out of status , do you think the authorities will delay the process ? She is a doctor and she worries about her career and she says if she gets out of status, it will show up on her background ..

3) One last question is , lets says we got married and I become citizen because of job purposes if I need to go abroad for a year or so , Can she travel with me after she gets her GC or she has to stay in the US for a certain amount of time ?


If you write your opinions , I really appreciate it. We are tied up right now , have no time so please help...
 
for question #3: on a conditional green card (valid for two years) you have to be in the us for at least 6 months out of the year
 
Overstays are over-looked when AOSing through marriage to a US citizen.

handxx said:
2) Another question is lets say we wait until I become citizen. She will be out of status by that time, if I marry her while I am citizen but she is out of status , does this case make things really hard ? Because she will be out of status , do you think the authorities will delay the process ? She is a doctor and she worries about her career and she says if she gets out of status, it will show up on her background ..
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She can't file I-485 based on marriage to you while you are still a permanent resident*, so as far as immigration is concerned it really doesn't help to get married before you become a citizen.

Note that although your interview is in 10 days, you don't become a citizen until the oath, which could be more than a month after the interview. And I assume she has already secured a waiver for her 2-year home country residence requirement or her J1 wasn't subjected to that requirement in the first place. If that assumption is wrong, she will have to leave the US and wait out the 2 years.


*unless you wait about 5 years or more for the FB2A PD to become current
 
Hi, yes I it was said before be careful with the 2 year requirement, if she is not subject to it, the out of status is not a problem if you file a petition for her and she starts the AOS (I-485). She will be in AOS status.

You can apply being a GC holder, but only I-130 and not I-485 at the same time because she won't get a visa number automatically, she will have to wait some time (maybe a few years) before she gets it. but as soon as you become a US Citizen you can call and upgrade the petition and she will get a visa number right then, then she can apply for AOS (I-485).

Good Luck!.
 
Thanks for your valuable comments. However, I am little bit confused with that 2 year waiver issue .. I am not familiar with the J1 visa at all so I am not sure what you guys mean by 2 year waiver..

My gf came as an AUPAIR as I said , after her first year she said she extended her program 1 more year. Also, as far as I know she said if she needs to get another J1 AUPAIR visa, she said she has to wait 2 more years in her native country .. Those are the only info I know for right now..


So lets say, she goes back to her native country and if she has that 2 year waiver requirement , even I am a US Citizen , I can not bring it her ? Or will it be so diffcult to get over that 2 year waiver rule ?

IF you guys explain to me , I really appreciate it , thanks a lot..
 
Even if you are a USC, she will require a waiver. The difficulty depends on the specific circumstances. Consult an immigration attorney with a practice in her home country as well as the US.
 
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