need help

[redmond 0]

hello i would like to marry my Korean fiance soon. She is on a J-1 visa. we live in Redmond Wa. we just got the marriage certificate. she would like to know if she is illegally here for a while after marriage can she still apply for a green card? also i would like to know if the I-129f petition for alien fiance is the document i as the American need to fill out? we had originally intended to marry in august. things changed her job ended early so we have to do everything now and are still pretty clueless about the process. thanks any information and advice will be greatly appreciated.

[pushbrk 12,979]

hello i would like to marry my Korean fiance soon. She is on a J-1 visa. we live in Redmond Wa. we just got the marriage certificate. she would like to know if she is illegally here for a while after marriage can she still apply for a green card? also i would like to know if the I-129f petition for alien fiance is the document i as the American need to fill out? we had originally intended to marry in august. things changed her job ended early so we have to do everything now and are still pretty clueless about the process. thanks any information and advice will be greatly appreciated.

If you have a "marriage certificate" you have a wife, not a fiancee now, so no, the I-129F is for a fiancee visa process. Whether your wife can adjust status now depends on whether her J2 visa has a home stay requirement. Look directly at the visa in her passport and see what it says. If there's no home stay requirement, click on the word "Guides" at the top of any page here and follow the one for Adjusting Status from Student and other visas.

[redmond 0]

If you have a "marriage certificate" you have a wife, not a fiancee now, so no, the I-129F is for a fiancee visa process. Whether your wife can adjust status now depends on whether her J2 visa has a home stay requirement. Look directly at the visa in her passport and see what it says. If there's no home stay requirement, click on the word "Guides" at the top of any page here and follow the one for Adjusting Status from Student and other visas.

oh sorry i meant marriage license. her visa says two year rule does not apply.

[pushbrk 12,979]

oh sorry i meant marriage license. her visa says two year rule does not apply.

Then marry when ready and adjust her status.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

***** Moved from K1 to AOS from work as OP's soon-to-be wife has a J1 *****

As your fiance entered the USA with no intention to get married, she is elligible to Adjust Status (=AOS) once you two are married (see the Guides at the top of every VK page for how to do this). It's best to file for this as soon as possible after marriage, and she should not leave the country until she has her greencard in hand.

[redmond 0]

***** Moved from K1 to AOS from work as OP's soon-to-be wife has a J1 *****

As your fiance entered the USA with no intention to get married, she is elligible to Adjust Status (=AOS) once you two are married (see the Guides at the top of every VK page for how to do this). It's best to file for this as soon as possible after marriage, and she should not leave the country until she has her greencard in hand.

ok thanks for the help. i'm sure we'll be needing more help in the near future too. so i'll be back.

[pushbrk 12,979]

***** Moved from K1 to AOS from work as OP's soon-to-be wife has a J1 *****

As your fiance entered the USA with no intention to get married, she is elligible to Adjust Status (=AOS) once you two are married (see the Guides at the top of every VK page for how to do this). It's best to file for this as soon as possible after marriage, and she should not leave the country until she has her greencard in hand.

Please think in terms of "no intention to immigrate" (as in marry AND stay) as the intention to marry alone, has no impact on eligibility to adjust status.

Here's an example, to illustrate my point. Judy is a college student from the UK with a B1 visa allowing a six month stay and multiple visits. She and John want a June wedding and a summer honeymoon, after which she plans to return to college abroad. No problem, so far, right? Time passes and six weeks into the marriage, Judy finds she's pregnant and decides it would be better to just stay and have the baby here. She entered the country for a wedding and a honeymoon, so definitely with the intention to marry. Is she eligible to adjust status? You bet your britches she is.

Edited February 28, 2011 by pushbrk

[redmond 0]

ok so we re looking at the i-485 is that the correct adjustment of status form? also since she is considered illegal what can she put as her status?

[Little_My 464]

She is not "illegally here". If I've understood correctly, she is currently here as a J-1 visitor, correct? First, as people before me haev pointed out, you need to make sure she does not have a home stay requirement attached to her visa - meaning, that she would have to spend a specific period of time (usually 2 years) in her home country after the J-1 expires.

If she does not have that requirement, then you first need to get married, and then file. You will be filing for I-485 and I-130. I assume you are the US citizen, so you will be filing the I-130 petition. I would start by reading all the guides that are here and instructins from USCIS site that are relevant to your case.

[pushbrk 12,979]

ok so we re looking at the i-485 is that the correct adjustment of status form? also since she is considered illegal what can she put as her status?

At most her current status might become "J-1 overstay". Forget about the forms for the moment and study the applicable guide for adjusting status from a student visa. It will tell you about the forms but more importantly the process. You'll be filing several forms between the two of you, all at the same time. Do the homework. This is a do it yourself site, so the emphasis is on DO and SELF. We're here to offer guidance on what you don't understand AFTER you study the guides and the instructions for the forms.