help?! getting married on a f1 visa

[mrs_gonzo 9]

So here is my situation:

I came to America in 2009 on a J1 visa to be an au pair. After 16 months I got the opportunity to study here, so I filed COS to get my F! without leaving the country and got approved. I have been a student ever since and my I-20 is valid through December 2013 and my sponsor would support me beyond that and pay for me to go to a 4-year-institute. therefore, getting married just to stay here is not the case.

My boyfriend of 5 years (we have been together since 2007) finally proposed to me a few months ago and we now plan to get married. After being in this relationship for so long, I don't want to wait anymore to finally be with the man i love, so we are planning to get married the end of this year, around the time I finish the fall semester.

the thing is that I go to college in Virginia and he lives in California. We were hoping that we can get married in November, which is about 3 weeks before my finals. Is it possible for us to get married and file AOS right away, but I return to VA for 3 more weeks to finish the semester? or can we get married in November and then I go to Virginia to finish school, move to CA and then file AOS? or would it be smarter in general to just finish the semester and get married in December to just stay there?

I have also heard, that i have to remain a full-time student until USCIS approves my new status. since I would move from east coast to west coast, and international students are required to take classes on campus I would not be able to maintain my f1 status. I am worried about what to do here. Can i just notify the school and show them proof of our marriage and that we are filing AOS? I do not want to do anything wrong, but i am afraid that the school will report me? I could transfer to a school in California, but I do not want to take that step. I dont want to transfer colleges on a f1 visa with the intentions of getting married. It may be easier but It doesnt sound like the right thing to do.

Or would it be wiser for us to get married after the next semester, then i return to Germany and we file then for him to get his wife to the US? Or should I just go back to apply for the fiance visa? I really do not what to do, all i know is that after 5 years I do not want to wait anymore.

thanks!

[LindaC1990 23]

I am kinda confused.

You mean you don't want to go to school anymore after this Fall semester?

[Angeltots 9]

So here is my situation:

I came to America in 2009 on a J1 visa to be an au pair. After 16 months I got the opportunity to study here, so I filed COS to get my F! without leaving the country and got approved. I have been a student ever since and my I-20 is valid through December 2013 and my sponsor would support me beyond that and pay for me to go to a 4-year-institute. therefore, getting married just to stay here is not the case.

My boyfriend of 5 years (we have been together since 2007) finally proposed to me a few months ago and we now plan to get married. After being in this relationship for so long, I don't want to wait anymore to finally be with the man i love, so we are planning to get married the end of this year, around the time I finish the fall semester.

the thing is that I go to college in Virginia and he lives in California. We were hoping that we can get married in November, which is about 3 weeks before my finals. Is it possible for us to get married and file AOS right away, but I return to VA for 3 more weeks to finish the semester? or can we get married in November and then I go to Virginia to finish school, move to CA and then file AOS? or would it be smarter in general to just finish the semester and get married in December to just stay there?

I have also heard, that i have to remain a full-time student until USCIS approves my new status. since I would move from east coast to west coast, and international students are required to take classes on campus I would not be able to maintain my f1 status. I am worried about what to do here. Can i just notify the school and show them proof of our marriage and that we are filing AOS? I do not want to do anything wrong, but i am afraid that the school will report me? I could transfer to a school in California, but I do not want to take that step. I dont want to transfer colleges on a f1 visa with the intentions of getting married. It may be easier but It doesnt sound like the right thing to do.

Or would it be wiser for us to get married after the next semester, then i return to Germany and we file then for him to get his wife to the US? Or should I just go back to apply for the fiance visa? I really do not what to do, all i know is that after 5 years I do not want to wait anymore.

thanks!

Did you mean you want to get married this 2012 or 2013? Because you can get married anytime you want, and can stay until 2013 on a student visa. As the person above commented, did you not want to study anymore once you are married? That might be a red flag and would sound like you stopped school once you are filing for the green card. You can continue school until December of 2013, if that sponsor is willing to support you til then and beyond that.

Once your i-90 expires, you have an extra 2 months to stay in the US. You may either file your AOS before your i-90 expires, or before your extra 2 months come up. But do not extend beyond 2 months after your i-90 has expired. Once you have filled for AOS application, your status would be "pending on AOS", or something like that, and that makes you legal to stay.

If you are filing your AOS while still completing your school, it doesn't matter at all.

Just a thought to that is, once you leave the country, it will be more difficult to get you back in.

Let me know if you need anything cleared up.

[Little_My 463]

As soon as you are legally married, you file for AOS. Once you have filed for AOS, you will no longer be under F1 status and therefor also no longer bound by the F1 rules. You can either..

1. Get married, file for AOS, stay in school in VA until you have finished your degree - just be prepared to show plenty of proof of bonafide marriage and also proof of why you are not living together, since living apart may be considered a red flag. Given the length of your relationship, I don't think this would be an issue

2. Get married, file for AOS, you drop out of school and move to California.

3. Get married, file for AOS, you drop below full time but remain a student in your program to be able to complete your studies.

It won't matter that much either way, all the above options are perfectly legal and viable. The main things to avoid are overstaying your current visa status, and leaving the US before you guys are married and have filed for AOS since you now clearly have immigrant intent, and returning with the F1 visa with immigrant intent would pose a problem. Beyond that, you're most likely looking at a fairly straight forward AOS case. The one thing you guys should pay attention to is being able to give legitimate reason for living apart, and showing strong proof of your relationship.

[mrs_gonzo 9]

I want to get married this year. But i would be moving to California. Why would I want to get married and then still live 2500 miles away from my husband? My thing is that until my AOS gets approved, I would still be considered an international student. As an international student, you have to take classes on campus and cannot take all online classes. So maybe i should transfer to a school in San Diego first and then file AOS? I of course want to continue my studies, and I have already looked in all kinds of different schools in california.I would not get my degree until next year, since i just started studying. the fall semester is my 2nd semester here, but I have been in the states since 2009.

[mrs_gonzo 9]

As soon as you are legally married, you file for AOS. Once you have filed for AOS, you will no longer be under F1 status and therefor also no longer bound by the F1 rules. You can either..

1. Get married, file for AOS, stay in school in VA until you have finished your degree - just be prepared to show plenty of proof of bonafide marriage and also proof of why you are not living together, since living apart may be considered a red flag. Given the length of your relationship, I don't think this would be an issue

2. Get married, file for AOS, you drop out of school and move to California.

3. Get married, file for AOS, you drop below full time but remain a student in your program to be able to complete your studies.

It won't matter that much either way, all the above options are perfectly legal and viable. The main things to avoid are overstaying your current visa status, and leaving the US before you guys are married and have filed for AOS since you now clearly have immigrant intent, and returning with the F1 visa with immigrant intent would pose a problem. Beyond that, you're most likely looking at a fairly straight forward AOS case. The one thing you guys should pay attention to is being able to give legitimate reason for living apart, and showing strong proof of your relationship.

Yea we have been in a distant relationship for all this time, but we have a lot of proof, that we are in a serious relationship. Stuff like shared bank accounts since 2010, shared family plan, a million boarding passes, since we get to see each other every 2 - 3 months, bank statements etc etc. i am not really worried about that part. But if I was to move there and drop out of school, wouldnt my college report me? and I would get deported maybe even before USCIS got a chance to look at our application?

[Little_My 463]

As soon as USCIS receives your AOS application, you'll enter a new period of authorized stay that is in no way dependent on your F1 status. You won't be bound by the F1 regulations anymore, and you'll be authorized to stay in the US until you have a decision on your AOS application.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

So, as you stated, the only reason you want to get married is so you can avoid international tuition?

Edited May 29, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[pasportit 7]

Get married, apply for AOS, transfer schools and move to CA. Dropping out of school just because of marriage is irresponsible, and you will regret that choice.

[mrs_gonzo 9]

So, as you stated, the only reason you want to get married is so you can avoid international tuition?

No of course that is not the reason. as mentioned I have a sponsor you is already paying my out of state tuition and is willing to continue. getting married has nothing to do with paying tuition or wanting to stay here. If i could I would bring my man to germany with me, but he has his own business in san diego and can hardly speak german. so it is easier for me to move there with him. Do you think i would be with someone for 5 years if I just wanted to get married?

Get married, apply for AOS, transfer schools and move to CA. Dropping out of school just because of marriage is irresponsible, and you will regret that choice.

I plan to transfer to a college in california after my AOS has been approved. I love going to school and I am a grade A student. why would I want to throw that away? I just want to be with the man I love, therefore I want to move to cali first. and after we have bought our house and are settled and our case is approved I plan on continuing with my studies

[mrs_gonzo 9]

my only concern really was what to do about the school. It was not about not going there any more, because I love school, but how i can maintain my f1 status when I am 2500 miles away from campus. As mentioned earlier, international students are not allowed to only take online classes and have to be present on campus. thats why i did not know what to do.

After the next semester I am able to transfer. (I have to accomplish 18 units to get in to that school and a min GPA of 2.5, mine is 4.0). So what i am thinking now is to apply for the college now for the spring semester, get married in november and move to cali in december after my finals. I could then start college in Jan while our case is pending, right?

i am just trying to do the right thing here.

[grrrrreat 109]

Once you have filled for AOS application, your status would be "pending on AOS", or something like that, and that makes you legal to stay.

You're right, once you apply for adjustment you are not overstaying and you will not be placed in removal proceedings. Technically, you don't really get a new status. In technical terms, the Attorney-General has waived the overstay regulations for applicants who apply to adjust from a nonimmigrant status, and any removal proceedings are deferred pending adjudication of the I-485.

[grrrrreat 109]

my only concern really was what to do about the school. It was not about not going there any more, because I love school, but how i can maintain my f1 status when I am 2500 miles away from campus. As mentioned earlier, international students are not allowed to only take online classes and have to be present on campus. thats why i did not know what to do.

After the next semester I am able to transfer. (I have to accomplish 18 units to get in to that school and a min GPA of 2.5, mine is 4.0). So what i am thinking now is to apply for the college now for the spring semester, get married in november and move to cali in december after my finals. I could then start college in Jan while our case is pending, right?

i am just trying to do the right thing here.

Why not transfer your I-20 from your original school to your new transfer school after you finish finals? This shouldn't be a problem as far as maintaining F-1 status as long as you are attending classes. Then, after January when you're ready you can file I-485 to adjust your status. You can keep going to school during the adjustment until you become an LPR.

If you stop going to classes, then yes your I-20 will be cancelled and you will be out of status. However, you won't be removed while your adjustment application is pending.

The other option, if you're not sentimental, is to get married and adjust status now. Once you are an LPR you can go to school wherever you want--or not go to school--without any problems.

[mrs_gonzo 9]

Why not transfer your I-20 from your original school to your new transfer school after you finish finals? This shouldn't be a problem as far as maintaining F-1 status as long as you are attending classes. Then, after January when you're ready you can file I-485 to adjust your status. You can keep going to school during the adjustment until you become an LPR.

If you stop going to classes, then yes your I-20 will be cancelled and you will be out of status. However, you won't be removed while your adjustment application is pending.

The other option, if you're not sentimental, is to get married and adjust status now. Once you are an LPR you can go to school wherever you want--or not go to school--without any problems.

yes... im going to my college this week to register for my classes and then I am going to get my application ready for the college in Cali. If everything works out i will get married in november and I can start school over there in the spring semester... so getting married and going to school would go hand in hand, and i would not have to worry to be out of status etc.

Thanks everyone for your comments, this really helped me a lot

[mrs_gonzo 9]

Sorry to bother you all again. My desired college in CA now told me that there is a slight chance, that even if I apply on time, I may not be able to officially transfer until the summer or most likely fall semester of 2013. In that case I would take a break from college until after we have filed AOS and hopefully get approved. I now understand that I am not necessarily violating any F1 rules since our case would be pending. So I can just apply for AOS and notify my current school as soon as I receive a letter from USCIS saying they have my application?