Marrying someone on a student visa

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Wowbagger_TIP

New Member
My girlfriend is here on a student visa. She's been here for about 3 years now. I'm a US citizen. We're planning to get married at the end of this month, but we're unsure about what forms we need to file to get her permanent resident status. I'm thinking we just need to file an I-130, but the uscis website seems to focus on the process of bringing someone into the country to marry rather than marrying someone who is already here legally. Can anyone explain the process to me? I really need the help right now :) Thanks!
 
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thanks

She currently has a work permit that is good until her visa expires, several months from now. Should she still file for a work permit? Is the I-131 the right form for advance parole, or is it something else? I was looking at the uscis application procedures here:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/LPRApplication.htm

Does she need to file all of those at the same time? Thanks for the help.
 
If she wants to work, she should still file for a work permit. An EAD for a student is incidental to their status, so if their status changes, their work permit is instantly legally voided even if the expiration date hasn't been reached yet.

She also should not under any circumstances leave the USA without first being approved for Advance Parole, or her application will most likely be considered abandoned and she will not be allowed back into the country.

A piece of advice: get a lawyer. Yeah, it's really expensive and will set you back several grand, most likely, but the process is so terribly messed up, and the smallest mistake can earn your wife a one-way ticket back to her home country, so get a good lawyer to do this for you.


Wowbagger_TIP said:
She currently has a work permit that is good until her visa expires, several months from now. Should she still file for a work permit? Is the I-131 the right form for advance parole, or is it something else? I was looking at the uscis application procedures here:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/LPRApplication.htm

Does she need to file all of those at the same time? Thanks for the help.
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