Will legal ceremony timing affect I485 approval?

[leleane]

I am a US citizen. My fiance (here on an F1 visa) and I are planning to get married this Spring and have a wedding party both here and abroad. If we have the legal ceremony after we return from abroad and then start the I130 and 485 process is that timing likely to cause any problem in the I485 approval process? From previous posts it looks like having the legal ceremony prior to traveling with the F1 may cause problems on reentry.

 

[Jackolantern]

Being married to a US citizen (or even having known plans for marrying a US citizen) is grounds for refusal of entry with an F1 visa. So your plans could result in your future spouse being stuck outside the US for months, without getting to file I-485 in the first place (resulting in having to pursue the green card process through a consulate).