Pending GC with Employment, Getting Married to US Citizen

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newyear2010

New Member
I have a pending GC through employment.My priority date is June 2004. My labor was approved and I had filed for the I 485 in Aug 2007. I am no longer working for that employer and no longer live in that city. I have moved and am working for another company.

I am getting married to a US citizen and plan to apply for the family based GC. I have a few concerns

1. My current EAD is expiring in NOV 2010, if I apply for the GC and EAD through spouse, what will happen to the current EAD? Will I still be able to work till I get the new one ?

2. What about the Advance Parole? Can I apply for a new one through the family based ?

3. Do we need to cancel the current I 485 in order to apply for a new one through family ?
 
Theres an advantage of keeping the current I-485 instead of filing for a new family based one, which is that you'll recieve a 10-year greencard instead of a conditional one. The disadvantage is ofcourse delayed citizenship since the 3-year rule will probably not apply to you because your permanent residence will not be based on marriage to a US citizen.
However, if you apply for a family-based greencard and when you're given a 2-year conditional greencard, you shouldn't (God Willing) have any problems removing your conditions especially that they'll know you were getting a greencard with or without your wife, thus this is a good evidence that you didnt just marry her for the greencard.

Now to answer your questions:
1. The current EAD should not be affected (please someone correct me if I'm wrong), and there's no need to apply for a new EAD right away.
2. The advance parole, just like an EAD, can be applied for with any I-485 application. If you read the instructions for filing for a travel document (same application for advance parole), you may notice they ask you primarily for your A# (Alien registration number), not your application number.
3. I'm honestly not quite sure about this one (I'm sure Triple Citizen may have a good answer). You have 2 options for a greencard; One with an already-approved petition and immigrant visa number, but will delay your citizenship, and another with an almost-guaranteed petition that has not yet been filed but will make you eligible to apply for citizenship in 3 years (from the date of becoming a permanent resident) versus 5 years (with a normal greencard).
 
newyear2010 said:
My priority date is June 2004. My labor was approved and I had filed for the I 485 in Aug 2007.
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What is your country and category? EB1, EB2, EB3, or other? India/China or Rest of the World?

Depending on your answer, it may better to stick to the employment-based route so you can avoid the hassles like the marriage-based interview (which can be a nightmare if you get a hostile interviewer) and removing conditions for the 2-year conditional card.
 
okalian said:
The disadvantage is ofcourse delayed citizenship since the 3-year rule will probably not apply to you because your permanent residence will not be based on marriage to a US citizen.
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Incorrect. The green card does not have to be based on marriage to benefit from the 3-year rule. The green card can be based on anything, provided that the individual has been married to a US citizen for the required 3 years.
 
EB3 India? In that case go ahead and apply for the marriage-based GC without hesitation. I don't think they will reach 2004 for EB3 India for at least 5 years. Maybe even 10.
 
Incorrect. The green card does not have to be based on marriage to benefit from the 3-year rule. The green card can be based on anything, provided that the individual has been married to a US citizen for the required 3 years.
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Jack, thanks for correcting me. I actually wasn't aware of that.
 
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