Can we Marry on an F-1 visa?

[mariaandnic 1]

Hello, My fiance is Canadian and has been in the states for 2 years on an F1 visa as a fulltime student. He will graduate next may (2014) and we want to be able to have our ceremony and move in together and have him be able to get a job set up before he graduates! We do not want him to get stuck at home this summer if we file for a K1 visa and dont get it in time for him to return to the fall semester.

Do we HAVE to file for a K-1 visa? If we DO then how do we make sure he can return to school despite the application status of the K1? If NOT, do we need to worry about proving that our relationship is legitimate and he had no intent to immigrate on his F-1 (love letters, pictures, friends, etc.)?

Can we just go get our marriage license and apply for his green card right now?, while he is here on his F-1 visa? how long will that take? can he go home and work in Canada for the summer and return on his F-1 visa for school, if we get married now? Should we wait til the school year starts again in the fall to get the marriage license and file the green card or permanent resident application?

please help if you can with CREDIBLE information

[Inky 1,111]

Moved from spousal visa forums to adjustment of status from work student tourist forums as OP is not filing a spousal visa but asking about adjustment of status from an F-1.

If you get married now file for a green card now - he does not leave the country until he has the green card, no going back to Canada to work.

Here is the step by step guide for filing adjustment of status for a green card while inside the USA after marriage. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

If you want to get married now, and he wants to go back to Canada after that then he cannot come back and adjust status. You would have to file a spousal visa and that takes a year.

It does not sound like a K-1 or a spousal visa are the proper items for you. You seem to need to adjust status for him to obtain a PR card right away and stay inside the USA.

[Inky 1,111]

Your duplicate topic has been removed, please post only once and wait for answers.

[mariaandnic 1]

Hello, My fiance is Canadian and has been in the states for 2 years on an F1 visa as a fulltime student. He will graduate next may (2014) and we want to be able to have our ceremony and move in together and have him be able to get a job set up before he graduates! We do not want him to get stuck at home this summer if we file for a K1 visa and dont get it in time for him to return to the fall semester.

Do we HAVE to file for a K-1 visa? If we DO then how do we make sure he can return to school despite the application status of the K1? If NOT, do we need to worry about proving that our relationship is legitimate and he had no intent to immigrate on his F-1 (love letters, pictures, friends, etc.)?

Can we just go get our marriage license and apply for his green card right now?, while he is here on his F-1 visa? how long will that take? can he go home and work in Canada for the summer and return on his F-1 visa for school, if we get married now? Should we wait til the school year starts again in the fall to get the marriage license and file the green card or permanent resident application?

please help if you can with CREDIBLE information

Thankyou so much for the info!

If we do apply now, or soonish, then how long will it take for the green card to "process"? and will he be a legal resident during this "waiting" time as a Student? Will the School need to know that he applied for a green card/change in status?

[Inky 1,111]

Thankyou so much for the info!

If we do apply now, or soonish, then how long will it take for the green card to "process"? and will he be a legal resident during this "waiting" time as a Student? Will the School need to know that he applied for a green card/change in status?

They only need to know when he gets the green card because he will no longer need or use F-1 status.

He will have to go to an interview and pass it for the green card to be issued, Usually takes some months for the process so better to start early than late. He only becomes a legal resident when the green card is issued. He will be in a " period of authorized stay " while the application is pending.

I'm not sure if its in the guides but he will need to take a medical at a civil surgeon listed for your state and that must be included with the forms. Heres the website locator for civil surgeons https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=CIV

[mariaandnic 1]

this has been very helpful! thankyou for your time! at this point, he will probably have to return on his F-1 visa to home and put some affairs in order, then come back in may/june so we can get started while living with my parents.

about the "proof of income" - can anyone cosponsor us? i only make about $5000/yr on while being a fulltime student. does it have to be a family member, or is a close family friend also acceptable?

[VikingMamma 2]

this has been very helpful! thankyou for your time! at this point, he will probably have to return on his F-1 visa to home and put some affairs in order, then come back in may/june so we can get started while living with my parents.

about the "proof of income" - can anyone cosponsor us? i only make about $5000/yr on while being a fulltime student. does it have to be a family member, or is a close family friend also acceptable?

I'm not in the same position as you regarding the Adjustment of Status, but I was also a full-time student until this past year (our interview is today!). I had almost no income the past year because of having our daughter and before that averaged around 3k per year... So, I got my mom to be a joint sponsor (meaning she also had to file an I-864 Affidavit of Support with the supporting documentation just I liked I did) and no problems. If you plan on moving out of your parents house shortly after being married, I recommend this option... If you plan on living with your parents for quite some time, you can always just have your parents file I-864As as household members. Hope that helps!

[mariaandnic 1]

I'm not in the same position as you regarding the Adjustment of Status, but I was also a full-time student until this past year (our interview is today!). I had almost no income the past year because of having our daughter and before that averaged around 3k per year... So, I got my mom to be a joint sponsor (meaning she also had to file an I-864 Affidavit of Support with the supporting documentation just I liked I did) and no problems. If you plan on moving out of your parents house shortly after being married, I recommend this option... If you plan on living with your parents for quite some time, you can always just have your parents file I-864As as household members. Hope that helps!

thankyou, it does help

[Inky 1,111]

this has been very helpful! thankyou for your time! at this point, he will probably have to return on his F-1 visa to home and put some affairs in order, then come back in may/june so we can get started while living with my parents.

He cannot move here on an F-1. He cant come back and stay after marriage and adjust status. That is visa fraud and comes with a ban from the USA.

He can enter and marry you but then he has to leave and go back to Canada until you file for the CR-1 petition and he obtains a Spousal visa, that takes a year or more. There is no point to go home and put things in order. You marry now and file now or he just moves back to Canada and stays there until the Spousal visa is finished.

[mariaandnic 1]

He cannot move here on an F-1. He cant come back and stay after marriage and adjust status. That is visa fraud and comes with a ban from the USA.

He can enter and marry you but then he has to leave and go back to Canada until you file for the CR-1 petition and he obtains a Spousal visa, that takes a year or more. There is no point to go home and put things in order. You marry now and file now or he just moves back to Canada and stays there until the Spousal visa is finished.

Ok, i understand, i didnt mean that he'll go and get everything and move in. I just mean to visit his family and say hi to friends. he wont actually be moving here, when he comes back, we will immediately get our marriage license and send in the forms. is that ok? since he is just going home to visit like he normally does for school and breaks? or is it not ok still and he has to stay here no matter what we do. his F1 is still valid and everything!

and im a little confused here. If we marry now, he stays here, as a student and works ON CAMPUS legally on his F1 visa and we petition for the change of status as soon as we have our license, then its ok? he can be here during the pending time right?

[seth2013 39]

Now that you've decided to get married, he cannot leave the country. He cannot go back, even just to visit. It's visa fraud. You can apply for advance parole in your application, and once that's granted THEN he can go visit.

And yes, he can work up to the legal limit on his F-1 visa.

Good luck.

Edited April 10, 2013 by sethless

[mariaandnic 1]

Now that you've decided to get married, he cannot leave the country. He cannot go back, even just to visit. It's visa fraud. You can apply for advance parole in your application, and once that's granted THEN he can go visit.

And yes, he can work up to the legal limit on his F-1 visa.

Good luck.

Ok, its making sense now! thanks for clearing that up! So if he stays, doesnt go home or anywhere, does is matter how SOON we get our marriage license? Can we wait til July for instance? or does it need to happen like ASAP? Also, we will be living in two different spots cause im going to school somewhere else, so is that going to be a problem for proof of marriage? is a bank statement enough, along with personal testimony?

[seth2013 39]

You can wait till July, don't worry about that. You might be asked why you guys aren't living together in the interview, but if you guys are going to different schools I think that there won't be a problem that way. Bank accounts together are very good evidence. Also get lots of proof you've visited each other if you can. Personal affidavits are good, but they don't hold as much weight as co-mingled assets.

[Inky 1,111]

Ok, i understand, i didnt mean that he'll go and get everything and move in. I just mean to visit his family and say hi to friends. he wont actually be moving here, when he comes back, we will immediately get our marriage license and send in the forms. is that ok? since he is just going home to visit like he normally does for school and breaks? or is it not ok still and he has to stay here no matter what we do. his F1 is still valid and everything!

and im a little confused here. If we marry now, he stays here, as a student and works ON CAMPUS legally on his F1 visa and we petition for the change of status as soon as we have our license, then its ok? he can be here during the pending time right?

No - he cannot leave at all until he has the green card.

Marry now - file the paperwork to adjust status and get his work permit etc. He stays put, does not leave, no vacation to Canada until he has his green card. Then he can go visit and tie up any loose ends.

[mariaandnic 1]

You can wait till July, don't worry about that. You might be asked why you guys aren't living together in the interview, but if you guys are going to different schools I think that there won't be a problem that way. Bank accounts together are very good evidence. Also get lots of proof you've visited each other if you can. Personal affidavits are good, but they don't hold as much weight as co-mingled assets.

Ok, i see now, thankyou so much for helping me understand this. Its so complicated. Just to clarify. We are doing Nothing illegal or wrong, by having him stay in the states this summer and work on campus with his F-1, when we are ready in July we can get our marriage license and fill out all the forms for a Green card and everything. Then he is in a "pending application" time but he is legal to be here and his school will have no problem correct? After he graduates he can find a job and we will have our ceremony with family and freinds. If this sounds accurate then i think i understand it all. now i just need the forms and stuff, i have a few links for travel.state.gov and everything. Thankyou for your help.