Need Urgent Help/Advice Regarding Marriage

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futurediplomat

Registered Users (C)
I need some urgent advice here and would be grateful if someone could please help me. I've been in F-1 student status in the U.S. since 1999. I recently finished graduate school and my I-20 states that I am expected to have completed my studies by May 15. Since it is said that F-1 nonimmigrants have 60 days to leave the country and today is May 28, can someone please help tell me how much time I have left to be in the U.S.? I would like to know, if possible, an estimated official date by which I would have been expected to leave the country.


I'm thinking about getting married to a U.S. woman I've been seeing casually...on and off for almost close to a year now, in a couple of weeks. However, we've never lived together, as it is forbidden in my culture to begin living with a woman prior to the official marriage, hence my name isn't yet on any of the bills or leases and we don't have a joint bank account either. I'm very worried and nervous that all of this could work against me if I do go for an interview, and I'm still in the process of getting to know the woman in question.


Does the USCIS actually spy on all individual couples to make sure that they live together?
 
futurediplomat said:
I need some urgent advice here and would be grateful if someone could please help me. I've been in F-1 student status in the U.S. since 1999. I recently finished graduate school and my I-20 states that I am expected to have completed my studies by May 15. Since it is said that F-1 nonimmigrants have 60 days to leave the country and today is May 28, can someone please help tell me how much time I have left to be in the U.S.? I would like to know, if possible, an estimated official date by which I would have been expected to leave the country.


I'm thinking about getting married to a U.S. woman I've been seeing casually...on and off for almost close to a year now, in a couple of weeks. However, we've never lived together, as it is forbidden in my culture to begin living with a woman prior to the official marriage, hence my name isn't yet on any of the bills or leases and we don't have a joint bank account either. I'm very worried and nervous that all of this could work against me if I do go for an interview, and I'm still in the process of getting to know the woman in question.


Does the USCIS actually spy on all individual couples to make sure that they live together?
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It sounds to me like what you really need to be worrying about is the fact that you are considering entering into a fraudulent marriage just so she can file paperwork for you. I can tell you that NO ONE, and that includes USCIS, looks on that favorably. As for when you have to leave the country, International Student Affair Department, or whatever it is called at your school, will be able to answer that.
 
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You have 60 days after the completion of grad school to leave US. You could apply for OPT and stay for a year and look for job. You don't need job offer to apply for EAD under OPT. Your means of marrying and applying for AOS seems fradaulent and you could be barred from entering US forever if USCIS finds out.
 
Re:

What is it about my application that would look fraudulent in their eyes? Is it the timing of the marriage? The fact that I'm trying to do it when I have only a limited time left to stay in the country? Does it seem rushed? I'm not eligible for OPT this year. I doubt that I'm the only person out of the millions of couples in the U.S. who've tied the knot who's doing this.
 
I'm not eligible for OPT this year.
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why not?

in any case, since you already graduated, it's too late to apply since your OPT needs to start within 60 days of your graduation date (that's your grace period).
 
futurediplomat said:
What is it about my application that would look fraudulent in their eyes?
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well, let's see - you are considering marrying a "U.S. woman you've been seeing casually"... well, not once did you say - I love this woman dearly and would like to spend the rest of my life with her....
 
When you get called for interview, you have to show proof of shared life together (bills, leases, may be many more things). If you show up and don't show any evidence of shared life, you might be in trouble. Also if you get called for stokes interview, there might be a lot of trouble, considering you are only casually seeing this woman.
 
Regardless of how many have done it before and how many will do it in the future, marrying for the sake of immigration benefits is not right, period. So please do not marry someone just ot prolong your stay in the US. You seem to have a desire to be a future diplomat. As the son of a diplomat I'll tell you one thing. Diplomats never ever let others know what they think. Their entire profession is based on keeping others guessing about their intentions :)

futurediplomat said:
What is it about my application that would look fraudulent in their eyes? Is it the timing of the marriage? The fact that I'm trying to do it when I have only a limited time left to stay in the country? Does it seem rushed? I'm not eligible for OPT this year. I doubt that I'm the only person out of the millions of couples in the U.S. who've tied the knot who's doing this.
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Re:

Thanks for your responses, folks. I will move in with my American girlfriend and the marriage will be based on love, without a doubt. I have a few other questions, if you guys don't mind. Suppose an academic institution were willing to issue me an H-1 visa, to file for me, could immigration refuse to accept my petition just because I'm currently within that 60-day grace period and time is running really fast and not working in my favor?

Finally, I did hear that foreign nationals who do get married to U.S. citizens must remain married to their spouses for at least five years, failure of which they might lose their permanent residency status.
 
If the marriage will be based on love, why do you need to know the minimum length the marriage needs to last in order for you to not lose your PR status?

futurediplomat said:
Finally, I did hear that foreign nationals who do get married to U.S. citizens must remain married to their spouses for at least five years, failure of which they might lose their permanent residency status.
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futurediplomat,

You are a shame to the culture you say you belong to that does not look favorably upon live-in relationships, yet here you are totally willing to get into a fraudulent marriage.
I don't know what to say, excuse my language, but the word douche randomly entered my mind.

For your own sake and that of your "US woman", do not do what you are planning to.
 
vaca100 said:
futurediplomat,

You are a shame to the culture you say you belong to that does not look favorably upon live-in relationships, yet here you are totally willing to get into a fraudulent marriage.
I don't know what to say, excuse my language, but the word douche randomly entered my mind.

For your own sake and that of your "US woman", do not do what you are planning to.
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it any better, Vaca100. Let's ignore this guy so this thread will go way on its own.
 
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