Will USCIS come to drag my wife away? F1 married USC, drops school

[SlicedBread]

Hi everyone, I'm a US citizen who met a wonderful woman from the UK.

She was here as a student, we met, and married three years later. We have all the proof in the world that our marriage is real.

She came here as an F-1 student, but slowly came to be very disillusioned with her school and her course of study. She can't wait to leave that school. She hasn't chosen a new major, let alone another school.

We recently got married and are about to file our AOS. We have read many forum posts implying that filing the AOS means she's now not obligated to maintain F1 status, and not obligated to go to school.

Okay, suppose we file the AOS tomorrow, we get the receipt, and she doesn't even start school. Here's our question - Does she become some kind of illegal alien?

Does she need to fear walking to the corner store, lest she get spotted by an alert cop and detained for deportation? Will they come looking for her? Will the USCIS send big men in black suits to drag her away and send her back to Europe? Will they write nasty letters asking her to turn herself in at the soonest InfoPass appointment?

Yes, we know quitting school may look bad at the interview, but for her emotional well-being, quitting school is the best thing for her, and besides we are very confident we can prove a bona fide marriage.

So what is the worst that she has to fear, if she files an AOS and doesn't go to school? What is the US government likely to do?

 

[Jackolantern]

Relax! She entered the US legally and is married to a US citizen, so once she files AOS she will maintain legal presence until the AOS is decided, whether or not she attends school.

For the F-1 students who have attended school for less than a year when they got married and quit school, quitting school can look very bad in the interview because it creates the impression that obtaining the student visa was just a farce with no genuine intent to study. But with 3 years of attendance, she wouldn't have that problem.

However, she should still notify the school's international student office with the AOS receipt so they can record her new status. Otherwise her lack of attendance may cause them to report her to USCIS for violating the terms of the F-1 visa. And because USCIS is an organization where the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, they won't necessarily ignore the report.

 

[Concerned4us]

If you have any doubts about the correct way to proceed, consult with an attorney to get you started.

 

[SlicedBread]

However, she should still notify the school's international student office with the AOS receipt so they can record her new status. Otherwise her lack of attendance may cause them to report her to USCIS for violating the terms of the F-1 visa. And because USCIS is an organization where the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, they won't necessarily ignore the report.

Thanks for the reply. We are trying to be calm, however, we still worry precisely because the school's International Student Office (ISO) supervisor said they'd report our marriage to SEVIS, the arm of the USCIS that deals with F1 student visas.

This is what we mean about that school. Even though it's a big school in a big city, there's a feeling of unreliable incompetence about it. That ISO supervisor was almost like a friend to us. She knew us, she liked us, she told us not to worry about getting married, and cheered us on.

The moment we tell her about the marriage, in a disorganized and hurried manner she says, "I report you to SEVIS now, you no longer in status", and pretty much hung up on us. We were stunned and worried.

We heard and immigration lawyer say once that F1 violation reports were terrible, because overstaying F1 visas is exactly how the 9/11 terrorists got into the US, so the USCIS gives high priority to such reports of F1 violations.

We are hurrying to file the AOS now, before the semester starts, and before she misses any classes so that technically she never fails to comply with F1 requirements. But, as you say, the right hand and the left hand ...

So what happens if the USCIS or its SEVIS section is holding a report from the school that she's violated the terms of her F1, as you darkly warn in your reply? What is the realistically worst-case scenario?

 

[VisaNutz]

OP, nothing happens if the school reports anything!!
Just file all the papers PROPERLY. That means, I-130, I-485 with ALL required papers, and she will be fine.

 

[Jackolantern]

The moment we tell her about the marriage, in a disorganized and hurried manner she says, "I report you to SEVIS now, you no longer in status", and pretty much hung up on us. We were stunned and worried.

She was being an idiot. Merely getting married to a US citizen (or to anybody else) doesn't violate F1 status.

Anyway, she still needs to go to the school and show them the AOS receipt. Once that is done, they will update her status in the system and she will no longer be subject to SEVIS monitoring.

So what happens if the USCIS or its SEVIS section is holding a report from the school that she's violated the terms of her F1, as you darkly warn in your reply? What is the realistically worst-case scenario?

In most cases nothing happens, except that USCIS makes a note of it for future reference. For example, suppose she stayed in the US for several months after being reported for going out of status, then left the US and applied for a tourist visa. They could use the knowledge of her going out of status to deny the tourist visa.

But as far as deportation is concerned, they rarely send anybody to arrest the F1 violators unless there is a very high rate of such violations at a particular school.

 

[f1study]

We heard and immigration lawyer say once that F1 violation reports were terrible, because overstaying F1 visas is exactly how the 9/11 terrorists got into the US, so the USCIS gives high priority to such reports of F1 violations.

Lawyers say any and everything to make it sound serious, so that people find it necessary to hire them. I don't think it's that much of a big deal.
I'm also F1 visa, attended school for 3 years then dropped out without completing my degree, then married USC. I'll have interview in 3 weeks and will post the result here. If you come back to this forum and check then, you'll see if this could cause any difficulty.

 

[Tee22]

Lawyers say any and everything to make it sound serious, so that people find it necessary to hire them. I don't think it's that much of a big deal.
I'm also F1 visa, attended school for 3 years then dropped out without completing my degree, then married USC. I'll have interview in 3 weeks and will post the result here. If you come back to this forum and check then, you'll see if this could cause any difficulty.

Any update?