F1 student, married US citizen, currently in the USA.

[molecularpepsi 0]

hi all, the topic title says it all, i guess. the only thing i should add is that, we had a religious marriage ceremony overseas and then reentered the states with my F1 visa. at the time i wasn't considering changing my status. we then got a marriage certificate here in the USA and had a civil ceremony at the local county clerk. we recently decided that it would be best for the both of us if i applied for a green card, we just want to make sure whether we should hire a lawyer or not considering that we had a religious ceremony overseas then got married again here in the USA. i'm not sure if that's legal or not. my visa is still valid for another 3 years if that makes any difference.

anyway, i appreciate any advice or pointers as my wife and i really don't know what we're doing.

thanks in advance.

[Little_My 463]

Start by reading the guides for filing concurrent I-130 and I-485 petitions - that is what you will be doing. Read the guides here on VJ, and download those forms from USCIS website along with the instructions and take your time going over those.

I don't think the religious ceremony has any bearing really - when you say religious, do you mean it was not a legally binding marriage ceremony? As long as you are legally married, you can file for AOS based on marriage to a USC.

In my opinion, no need for a lawyer unless there is something else to your case, should be a pretty straight forward thing.

Start by reading the guides for filing concurrent I-130 and I-485 petitions - that is what you will be doing. Read the guides here on VJ, and download those forms from USCIS website along with the instructions and take your time going over those.

I don't think the religious ceremony has any bearing really - when you say religious, do you mean it was not a legally binding marriage ceremony? As long as you are legally married, you can file for AOS based on marriage to a USC.

In my opinion, no need for a lawyer unless there is something else to your case, should be a pretty straight forward thing.

[Myopia 93]

hi all, the topic title says it all, i guess. the only thing i should add is that, we had a religious marriage ceremony overseas and then reentered the states with my F1 visa. at the time i wasn't considering changing my status. we then got a marriage certificate here in the USA and had a civil ceremony at the local county clerk. we recently decided that it would be best for the both of us if i applied for a green card, we just want to make sure whether we should hire a lawyer or not considering that we had a religious ceremony overseas then got married again here in the USA. i'm not sure if that's legal or not. my visa is still valid for another 3 years if that makes any difference.

anyway, i appreciate any advice or pointers as my wife and i really don't know what we're doing.

thanks in advance.

Where did you get married? Depending where you got married, your religious marriage may be legal.

If it was just a nikkah with an Imam and witnesses that was done in the masjid/home/etc that was performed, in the UK for example, then it would not be legal for immigration purposes as the UK does not recognize religious ceremonies that are done without a license.

However if you married in a land where the nikkah is legally recognized then it would be legal for USCIS purposes.

I got married religiously and civilly to my husband at separate times in a state that a) recognizes religious marriages that are performed without a license and b) allows a man and woman to marry more than one time to the same person.

We got married religiously first then married civilly on the advice of a lawyer which was good advice as I later discovered that USCIS can deny I-130/I-485 marriages that are not recorded even if they are legal in the state that you live in (Ie. Common law marriages) I wanted to play it safe. I also sent USCIS a letter detailing the fact that we were married religiously.

I have read about one couple who were denied adjustment because they did not mention the fact that they were married outside of the US, They had come to the US and married in the US and used that secondary date for their adjustment. Both marriages were legal yet they were denied for concealing the first marriage.

[Maxximus1074 14]

Hiya,

my thoughts here.... so you entered the US with your valid F-1 status, so that definitely qualifies you for the AOS process.

You then mention that you got your marriage license and marriage ceremony in the US at your county offices, got your certificate.

You can add any evidence of your overseas marriage, if anything, USCIS will accept the marriage certificate from the US authorities as a valid marriage and so lets you do the AOS.

Good luck on your AOS journey, feel free to ask as more and we'll share our thoughts and experiences.

Maxximus

[molecularpepsi 0]

hi guys

i appreciate all the advice, it's great to hear from people who've been through this before and know what to expect.

the religious ceremony we had was legally binding in the country where we had it.

my main concern is, whether or not my entry to the USA is considered illegal? since i entered with my F1 visa even though i was already married to a US citizen, although at the time i was not interested in applying for a green card, so we didn't apply for one overseas. will this effect my chances of obtaining an AOS?

thanks again everyone!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You had a valid F1 visa and entered for the purpose of going to school. You're fine.

[conny26 0]

I thought as soon as you get legally married you need to apply for a Greencard, but I guess we all only have a half knowing. Maybe someone will asnwer you with the same exprience, but I am sure there wont be to many problems.

If you go to University they mostly have free immigration lawyers or people that know about that stuff. We also ask one when we weren't sure about one form. Also most normal immigration Lawyer offer a free consultation.

Good Luck

[Maxximus1074 14]

of course its better to file for AOS sooner then later, but there is no timeframe that you need to file.

As soon as you do though you will lose your F-1 student status - OP, when you came back to the US married back home, it wasn't illegal as you still have/had your valid F-1 status and got inspected about that at the airport.

You will lose your F-1 because this is a non-immigrant, temporary stay permit in the US but with greencard you become a permanent resident that is an immigrant. With marriage to a US citizen you will be able to file for AOS based on this, so even if you have to or did for other reason quick going to school, it will be forgiven because of the marriage.

Just my thoughts

Maxximus

[molecularpepsi 0]

thanks for all the great advice!

i feel much better now!

i really appreciate all the prompt replies.

THANK YOU!

[Maxximus1074 14]

thanks for all the great advice!

i feel much better now!

i really appreciate all the prompt replies.

THANK YOU!

you're welcome