Hi I am a US citizen who is engaged to an international student on an F-1 visa. My girlfriend graduated from school on 12/12/2019 and currently living with me in the US on her 60 day grace period which will end on 2/14/2020.
We are getting married at the end of this January and we have prepared most of the forms but we are still waiting for her birth certificate to be translated and sent over. This has made us worried in case this will delay our ability to mail the I-485/I-130 forms to USCIS and receive an answer before her grace period ends on 2/14. I called USCIS but they couldn't give me a very clear answer.
My question is if we get married and send out the paperwork but USCIS doesn't receive the forms/notify us before her grace period ends, would my girlfriend have to leave the country or risk her application being rejected since she overstayed while waiting for the reply based on the gap of status? Would it be better for her to apply for OPT to extend her stay if that were the case?
We are getting married at the end of this January and we have prepared most of the forms but we are still waiting for her birth certificate to be translated and sent over. This has made us worried in case this will delay our ability to mail the I-485/I-130 forms to USCIS and receive an answer before her grace period ends on 2/14. I called USCIS but they couldn't give me a very clear answer.
My question is if we get married and send out the paperwork but USCIS doesn't receive the forms/notify us before her grace period ends, would my girlfriend have to leave the country or risk her application being rejected since she overstayed while waiting for the reply based on the gap of status? Would it be better for her to apply for OPT to extend her stay if that were the case?