Wedding Ceremony Abroad - US Legal Marriage Before or After?

[JoshG 0]

Greetings,

I am engaged to a Thai national who is an H1b holder in Virginia, US. We are leaving for Thailand in 60 days and I'm weighing the benefit of going through a legal marriage in Virginia before the trip against the potential travel problems that we may encounter if her status changes and her H1b is void (which I assume would happen immediately after the legal marriage in VA takes effect).

Should we try to make it legal now or wait until we return? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Please forgive me if this question is not in the correct forum.

Josh

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Greetings,

I am engaged to a Thai national who is an H1b holder in Virginia, US. We are leaving for Thailand in 60 days and I'm weighing the benefit of going through a legal marriage in Virginia before the trip against the potential travel problems that we may encounter if her status changes and her H1b is void (which I assume would happen immediately after the legal marriage in VA takes effect).

Should we try to make it legal now or wait until we return? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Please forgive me if this question is not in the correct forum.

Josh

Getting married in the USA will not change her status. You would be able to apply for AOS after marriage. She could remain here during the AOS. I am not sure what happens if you leave during the AOS and are not available for an interview which you can pretty much count on. I would advise getting married before her current visa expires, filing for AOS and remaining here until AOS is complete. You could file for an AP at the same time as the AOS.