Trying to apply for a green card

J

james84

Registered Users (C)
hi everyone, this green card achievement sound like someone trying to make heaven, lol. i don't think it time to laugh, let go into business. my question is base on some condition running around me which is stopping me not to apply for a green card.
I just got married to my wife who is a u.s citizen but right now she take benefit from the government which are (1) food stamp (2) the house we living in right now is been paid by the government (3) Her health insurance is from the government.

what we have together right now is (1) light bill (2) phone bill (3) cable bill (4) car insurance and some things we both together.

All i want is a simple answer, can i apply? please i need an answer. am so confuse

Thanks
 
james84 said:
All i want is a simple answer, can i apply? please i need an answer.
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You can apply if you entered the US legally, and your immigration status doesn't carry any active barriers against adjustment of status (e.g. J-1 with the 2-year HRR, or prior overstays that triggered the 3-year or 10-year ban). You might need a co-sponsor to make up for your wife's insufficient income, unless you already have legal employment in the US.

So what is your current immigration status?
 
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If you are working, your wife needs to update her records to ,make sure she and you are entitled to the benefits she is now receiving.

Better still, she should get a job or two or three and pay her and your bills. In her situation, no one should agree to be a cosponsor as it places them in a very risky financial situation.
 
Even if you fall out of student status, you can file for adjustment of status as an Immediate Relative of a USC (spouse). Family or friends who are USCs or LPRs can file additional I-864s or, if household members, I-864As. YOUR lawful income can be added to hers. SHE MUST file an I-864 even with zero income.
 
Thanks for all information you have given to me but there is still one more information which i need to know, like i said before that my wife income is not enough to sponsor me and she don't want me to file for a green card for now because we just got married. she want me to prove to her that i did not get married to her due to green card and am also in support of that but she said if i can apply for a work permit without applying for a green card that she his in support of that so what i want to ask is that, can i apply for work permit alone.
Am not really concern about the green card, all i want, is for me to get a job and also prove to my wife that i love her.

Thanks
 
If you don't apply for a green card, you can't obtain the unrestricted employment authorization that you would get through the green card process.

But with your F1 status you can apply for OPT which would allow you to work in a job in your field of study for up to a year after you graduate. In your last semester before graduation, consult your school's international student office about it. There is a narrow window of X days before and after graduation when you are eligible to apply.

After, during, or instead of your one year of OPT, you could apply for H1B status if you can get an employer to sponsor you.

Delaying the green card process for a marriage-based case has an advantage -- if you have completed at least 2 years of marriage when the interview occurs, upon approval you will directly get an unconditional 10-year green card. Otherwise, if you haven't met the 2-year mark, you initially get a conditional 2-year green card, and when it is about to expire you'll have another round of paperwork (and fees) and possibly another interview to extend it to a 10-year card. Getting divorced or separated before the 10-year card is approved makes things more complicated.
 
I so much love the information you gave to me, i don't know how to thank you but to say thank you very much. For now, i will love to apply for a work permit alone for me to take my wife out from government benefit, remember i told you that my wife takes food stamp, the house we living in right now is been paid by the government also health insurance. Question, can i apply for work permit alone? i don't care if there is restriction.
 
james84 said:
I so much love the information you gave to me, i don't know how to thank you but to say thank you very much. For now, i will love to apply for a work permit alone for me to take my wife out from government benefit, remember i told you that my wife takes food stamp, the house we living in right now is been paid by the government also health insurance. Question, can i apply for work permit alone? i don't care if there is restriction.
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Reread my above post. Without any green card application, you can apply for particular types of tightly restricted work permits such as OPT* or H1B, but you're not eligible to apply for the unrestricted work permit unless you also apply for a green card with the adjustment of status process.

i don't care if there is restriction.
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You have to care, because the restrictions determine if and when you can get it or use it. For H1B, if it's approved you can't start working before October 1 (unless it's for a quota-exempt organization such as a university). For the after-graduation OPT, there is a small window of time before and after your graduation date when you can apply for it.

I hope you're also aware that you can work on campus for up to 20 hours/week (40 hours during the summer break) without a work permit.


*OPT is allowed only if your F1 is for a degree program, not a short-term non-degree program like English as a Second Language.
 
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