F1 student marrying USC wanting to stay on F1

[mriv27 0]

My fiancee and I have a complicated immigration situation.

I am a US citizen, he is on an F1 visa. He is in medical school (3 years left) which will then require postgraduate training (residency 3-5 years). He has a scholarship from his home country for medical school that requires him to go back to "pay back" the scholarship with service in that country and he is in a special international program in medschool that does not allow him to change his visa status. We are planning a destination wedding in December which is more of a symbolic ceremony and were planning on going to city hall for the legal papers. We do not want to file for a greencard for him, we do not want to file for AOS, he is required by his government to stay on the F1 and therefore he has no true intent to immigrate. As opposed to most people on this forum we truly just want him to be able to stay on his F1 and are planning on leaving the US when he finishes his training. However he still needs to come in and out of the country on his F1 visa for at least the next three years, but most likely 8 years. He also needs to renew his F1 visa as it expires next summer.

Should we just delay the legal marriage to avoid trouble? Should we do it after he renews his F1 so they don't give him trouble for being married? Is it ok to do it now since we don't have plans for filing for AOS or petition for a greencard anytime soon since we are planning on living abroad? Will having a symbolic ceremony abroad mess with any of this?

Thanks for the help!

[Super King 26]

To my knowledge, you can't do residency on F-1 visa. He has to get H1b or J-1 visa for residency. Being married to USC won't be hurdle in getting H1b or J-1 visa down the road. Good luck.

[Boiler 43,437]

Plenty of people are married to US Citizens but do not wish to immigrate to the US.

It is not a requirement

[LBeachey 44]

Are you sure his visa is F-1 as it sounds more like a J-1 which typically requires a 2-year home residency before one can apply to immigrate to the US. He may have signed a contract with his home country obligating him to do more.

I might have him check with the international student office at his school how marriage might effect his J-1(F-1?) status though I think it won't really effect it. You just can't apply for a green card for him.

Obviously, once you go to City Hall you are legally married. The symbolic ceremony you speak of may or may not be considered a legal marriage depending on the customs/laws of whatever country you plan on doing this in.

If you are OK to committing to spending the required time in his home country, I don't think you will have any issues with your intended plan.

[marriedguy 34]

You can get married in another country and he can keep his F1. But he might get into problems if he ever tells at POE he is married.

[medicalguy 11]

I don't understand how his government can bar him from changing his visa status to a permanent resident if he is on an F1? Forgive me if it sounds like a naive question, but what's the harm of changing to a green card, and perhaps become a US-Citizen (if you apply for AOS now after marriage, AOS would take 6-8 months to get a green card and 3 more years after that apply for citizenship). He can still go back to his home country to serve his obligations for 3 years afterwards.

When he starts his medical residency, he will most likely be asked to apply for a J1 visa. J1 is a non immigrant visa, and you have to prove non immigrant intent. Most times you won't have a problem proving that because with graduate medical education, your J1 is attached to a 2 year home residency requirement. Sometimes it can get tricky when the applicant declares that he / she is married to a US Citizen. If he is lucky to get his program to sponser an H1B then that would be a better option due to dual intent.

[mriv27 0]

Thanks for the help!