On a F1 Visa awaiting for OPT EAD Card

[Isabelle F 0]

I am currently on an F1 Visa and awaiting my OPT EAD card and my boyfriend and I just got engaged. I was wondering if anybody here had the same situation? I was also wondering if any of you decided to get married in your home  country and just returned to the US to finish your OPT/Studies and apply for change in status (Green card through marriage) or do I have to marry my fiance in US Territory? I ask cause there's definitely no better way to wed than being around your friends and family and in my case that's in my home country. 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

7 minutes ago, Isabelle F said:

I am currently on an F1 Visa and awaiting my OPT EAD card and my boyfriend and I just got engaged. I was wondering if anybody here had the same situation? I was also wondering if any of you decided to get married in your home  country and just returned to the US to finish your OPT/Studies and apply for change in status (Green card through marriage) or do I have to marry my fiance in US Territory? I ask cause there's definitely no better way to wed than being around your friends and family and in my case that's in my home country. 

The best route I think you can take is: get married legally on paper, file for AOS through marriage along with EAD and AP. It'll take 4-8 months for AP to come through. Meanwhile, you can plan your wedding in your home country. When you have AP, go back and have a wedding. This plan will work only if you plan to have that wedding more than 1 year from now. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Is your fiancé a US citizen or LPR? (We have seen spouses of LPRs expecting to be able to immediately adjust status)

 

”no better way to wed than being around your friends and family and in my case that's in my home country”

.. either your your fiancé either doesn’t think the same as you or is prepared to put your family above his ...or is he also from your home country originally?

[Isabelle F 0]

9 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Is your fiancé a US citizen or LPR? (We have seen spouses of LPRs expecting to be able to immediately adjust status)

 

”no better way to wed than being around your friends and family and in my case that's in my home country”

.. either your your fiancé either doesn’t think the same as you or is prepared to put your family above his ...or is he also from your home country originally?

he is a US Citizen. Also, he's prepared to put my needs above his, which means his family flying to my home country instead of the other way around. But a lot of people have suggested that it's better to get married in the US first then adjust status and just have a 2nd wedding in my home country.  

1 hour ago, USS_Voyager said:

The best route I think you can take is: get married legally on paper, file for AOS through marriage along with EAD and AP. It'll take 4-8 months for AP to come through. Meanwhile, you can plan your wedding in your home country. When you have AP, go back and have a wedding. This plan will work only if you plan to have that wedding more than 1 year from now. 

Yeah, most of the other articles says that too. It's just sad since it's harder for my friends and family to come to the US since most of them would need a visa and it's not necessarily easy to get one at this point in time.

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

38 minutes ago, Isabelle F said:

Yeah, most of the other articles says that too. It's just sad since it's harder for my friends and family to come to the US since most of them would need a visa and it's not necessarily easy to get one at this point in time.

It's not sad. Your friends and family want to attend a wedding, and you WILL have a wedding, at home. Right now, it's just a paper exercise to get legally married. You go to the county office and you sign a piece of paper. Big deal. 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

40 minutes ago, Isabelle F said:

it's better to get married in the US first then adjust status and just have a 2nd wedding in my home country.

Not a second wedding. You can just have the one big wedding and have it in your country, as mentioned. Just get sign the papers to get legally married, in order to file and get the travel document. It's a matter of practicality. I mean, the other way of doing it is consular processing.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

2 hours ago, USS_Voyager said:

Not a second wedding. You can just have the one big wedding and have it in your country, as mentioned. Just get sign the papers to get legally married, in order to file and get the travel document. It's a matter of practicality. I mean, the other way of doing it is consular processing.

Exactly.