Marrying someone on an F-1 visa

C

Chazwick

New Member
Ni! I'm new here, and have been trying for a few weeks to find what I need to know. It's difficult to find complete and accurate information as immigration seems to encompass so many different situations.

I'm a US citizen. My girlfriend is here on an F-1 student visa from Mexico. She is in college and works on campus. She's currently looking for jobs for OPT. We want to get married. We talked about next fall, though after more talking it may be quite a bit sooner. I really want to make sure we do this right and don't run into any legal issues that could screw things up. I've been stressing a lot about it and hoping somebody can enlighten me a bit about the process: what we each have to do in order to get married and her be able to stay, as well as what order we go about things in.

For instance, I found some information that made it sound like the $420 form for me and the status adjustment application come first, but then I read that you need a marriage certificate for te status adjustment application.

Could we just go get married next week if we decided to, or are there forms we need before that too, and if not, how long after the wedding do we have to file our respective forms. I'd hate to ask someone to break it down step by step -- though that would be amazing ;) -- but if anybody knowledgable on this particular issue can provide some information or even point me to an up to date and accurate resource, that would be wonderful.

We really want to get married and a big part of our waiting is because we don't even know where we are supposed to start. I just feel confused at the moment but. Thanks for any help you can share.

If anybody needs more information, please let me know.
 
You can get married and get ur license in one day if u want in washington dc, different state different rules but u have to bring proof of id and legal age

After the marriage is done wait and request for copy of marriage license and you could start processing your change of status and you as sponsor for yiur wife famiky based greencard
 
Chazwick said:
Ni! I'm new here, and have been trying for a few weeks to find what I need to know. It's difficult to find complete and accurate information as immigration seems to encompass so many different situations.

I'm a US citizen. My girlfriend is here on an F-1 student visa from Mexico. She is in college and works on campus. She's currently looking for jobs for OPT. We want to get married. We talked about next fall, though after more talking it may be quite a bit sooner. I really want to make sure we do this right and don't run into any legal issues that could screw things up. I've been stressing a lot about it and hoping somebody can enlighten me a bit about the process: what we each have to do in order to get married and her be able to stay, as well as what order we go about things in.

For instance, I found some information that made it sound like the $420 form for me and the status adjustment application come first, but then I read that you need a marriage certificate for te status adjustment application.

Could we just go get married next week if we decided to, or are there forms we need before that too, and if not, how long after the wedding do we have to file our respective forms. I'd hate to ask someone to break it down step by step -- though that would be amazing ;) -- but if anybody knowledgable on this particular issue can provide some information or even point me to an up to date and accurate resource, that would be wonderful.

We really want to get married and a big part of our waiting is because we don't even know where we are supposed to start. I just feel confused at the moment but. Thanks for any help you can share.

If anybody needs more information, please let me know.
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We found the following source of information to be of tremendous help: Ilona Bray, J.D., Fiance & Marriage Visas, 8th Edition, ISBN 978-1-4133-2052-7. Based on the detailed information provided, you will be in a position to handle the process from A -Z yourself. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the responses already and thanks for the book suggestion. I'll check it out. Money is tight. I should be able to get a raise soon, before we get married but the forms are so pricey and paying for the help of an immigration lawyer on top would be excessive if unnecessary.

So, how long after we marry do we have to do the application for green card? Is there a grace period to file or is it something we have to immediately? That's another concern. Thanks!
 
Pending what other people that know better say, I would think that as soon as you get married you can file the I-130 since the instructions state you can file it a) for your spouse b) if you are a US citizen so by the time you are married both conditions apply.
I think the only difference in the waiting is that your wife will get a temporary or conditional (I believe is the proper term) green card which will expire in 2 years and then you will have to apply to remove the conditions --once you've been married long enough and you stay married and they have a chance to make sure your marriage is in good faith, etc etc. This would not be the case if you guys were already married and had been for a number of years before applying for the green card.
We got married mid November of 2012 and applied for my green card in February of 2013. It's all been good so far.
 
1) get married . you will need your marriage certificate.

2) apply to USCIS for your wife's Green Card:
you need forms : I485 ,I 765, I 130, I 131, I 864 or I 864A, I 693, I 325A x 2 (for both of you) .
Even it sounds scary it's not and theer are tons of examples and people on forums that can help you.
you can get these forms from here:

http://www.uscis.gov/forms

and there are instructions for each of them.
You will send them all at once to a specific address you can find in the forms.
Ask as you go and you will be fine. (As long as your wife entered country with inspection and did not commit any serious crimes.)
 
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