Question about marrying gf on student visa

[jkffk 0]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a bit of help and advice on my girlfriend and my situation. I'm looking to see what our options are and what each option means and entails for us.

A little background:

She is a Chilean citizen, and has been in the United States for the past 11 years as a student. The family that brought her here to put her through school are close family friends, so I've known her pretty much since day 1.

She and I started dating about 2 years ago, in April of 2010. In June 2011, she graduated from her Masters program, and I believe she received her student/work visa (not quite sure which it is) in September of 2011. This visa is good for only one year, and at the end of the year, if she does not find a company to sponsor her, she will have to leave.

Her Masters is in education and she's had a tough time finding any jobs that will sponsor her. She is looking to be a teacher, and unfortunately, her visa arrived too late for her to take any teaching jobs that would have started in August 2011. She's worked some part-time jobs since then, but nothing that will sponsor her.

She's currently interviewing for teaching positions that would start this fall, but by the time she starts that job and they sponsor her, her current visa might run out and it'll be too late. Timing-wise, it just doesn't seem like it will work out in her benefit.

Now, where I come in:

I've known since we started dating that we would get married. I am madly in love with her and do not want her to leave. I'm not sure if I'm 100% ready to be married, to go through with a traditional engagement and wedding, etc at the current moment, but I don't want her to go. I'm thinking about legally marrying her soon to ensure she stays here, but holding off on a true/traditional engagement/wedding until we're both married.

Questions

• What steps would it entail for us to get legally married? We're in Chicago, IL if that helps or changes anything.
  
• How long after we get married would it take for her to get the necessary documents/paperwork to work here without needing sponsorship?
  
• What are those documents? Green card? Different visa? Would she be a true citizen?
  
• If we were to do this, is there any holding or waiting period before she would be able to work? Ideally the teaching job she gets will start in August or early September, so if there is a few month delay, I'd know that we need to do this sooner rather than later.
  

Any other advice you all can share?

Thank you all for your time and help. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

Take the opportunity to become acquainted with the wealth of information available at this site, and in particular, the Guides. The information can assist you in determining your future course of action.

Good luck.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Questions

• What steps would it entail for us to get legally married? We're in Chicago, IL if that helps or changes anything.
  
• How long after we get married would it take for her to get the necessary documents/paperwork to work here without needing sponsorship?
  
• What are those documents? Green card? Different visa? Would she be a true citizen?
  
• If we were to do this, is there any holding or waiting period before she would be able to work? Ideally the teaching job she gets will start in August or early September, so if there is a few month delay, I'd know that we need to do this sooner rather than later.
  

Any other advice you all can share?

Thank you all for your time and help. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

1. You have to find out what to do to get married in Chicago. The local government should have a website telling you what to do. It varies by state.

2. If should take 3-6 months for a Greencard once you apply.

3. You would be applying for Permanent Residence (Greencard). This is not citizenship in any way. Google "Permanent Resident"

4. Once you apply, you can get a temporary work authorization in about 3 months. pretty guaranteed. The Greencard itself might get approved shortly thereafter or a few months later. You would have a mandatory joint interview with her.

You can feel however you want, and marriage is fun and scary, but once you marry, you will be married, you will have to prove that you are married and have a real relationship, etc.

[William33 110]

Moved to appropriate AOS forum.

[Mike Z 8]

Questions

[*]What steps would it entail for us to get legally married? We're in Chicago, IL if that helps or changes anything.

lets start with the easy part getting married.

you'll need a marriage license from cook county. (if you want to do this in another county/state, different rules may apply. some have residence requirements)

http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/vitalrecords/marriagelicenses/Pages/default.aspx

check what documents you need. think its a birth certificate for her + passport ; US passport for you.

you need to wait a day after that document is issued before you can actually get married. (and in cook county only)

marriage afterwards is totally up to you (and your budget)

the cheapest/simplest option is at the marriage court in cook county. (think its like $20-30).

if you want someone to come to your wedding venue you can hire a pastor or retired judge etc. as long as they are authorized to perform marriages in the county.

google will give you a bunch of options.

its just as valid from a legal point of view.

a week or so later you get your marriage certificate which you can use to apply for AOS.