AOS from F1 status

[MakPolny 0]

Hello, and I apologize in advance that my post might be a little bit chaotic, but I'm just at the beginning of my journey. 

 

I came to the US for graduate school, as the research group I was working with already during my Bachelor's is US-based. Two years in, I met my future husband. We plan to get married in January '24. I have around 1 - 1.5 years left to finish my degree, and then I can apply for up to 3 years of OPT as I'm doing PhD in a STEM field.

However, although I wouldn't be too worried about finding a job anywhere in the US after I get my degree, finding it around the city we currently live in might be more challenging - and we are bound here for the next couple of years because of my partner's child. Therefore I feel it would be beneficial to apply for AOS as soon as we're married (also, to the best of my understanding, traveling with F1 status while I'm married to a US citizen might be tricky). We plan to fill out and send the forms (I-130, I-864, and I-485) ourselves, as the money is rather tight. 

 

So far, I have a few questions: 

First, about the sponsorship. My partner himself makes only slightly above the guidance for the 3 people's household, but I do have my own income as I work at the university. Can I add myself as a co-sponsor (or should we somehow file the sponsorship jointly)? 

The other question is about taxes. I understand, that later on for the removing condition filling out taxes jointly seems like the best bet... But as I will still be a non-resident alien next spring, and my country has a tax treaty signed with the US that I'm still using (which in my case just means that $2k of my yearly income is not taxable at all), I wonder if we shouldn't wait with filing jointly a year longer. I have no idea what financial benefits might come from filling jointly, and I'm pretty sure I would have to do some back pay on the treaty, which I'd prefer to avoid. 

Last but not least - how do I find a doctor's office that would do the medical exam required for AOS? I assume the office must be somehow approved by immigration, and I'm completely lost on this step. Can I do the medical before getting married to save time, or is it frowned upon?

 

Thank you for all your replies! 

[milimelo 4,205]

Be smart and get married in December  2023- tax benefits are then there for 2023 and subsequent years (same as when having children - December better than January because of that tax break). Taxes are not the only reason to get married in 2023 - the sooner you get married, the sooner you can file AOS, get EAD/GC, the less $$ to pay for education (check with your school how to qualify for in-state tuition), the sooner to get to naturalization. 

 

USCIS.gov has locators for approved doctors who can do the medical exams. There are also lists here on VJ forums. 

https://www.uscis.gov/tools/find-a-civil-surgeon

 

 

 

[MakPolny 0]

2 minutes ago, milimelo said:

 

Be smart and get married in December  2023- tax benefits are then there for 2023 and subsequent years (same as when having children - December better than January because of that tax break). Taxes are not the only reason to get married in 2023 - the sooner you get married, the sooner you can file AOS, get EAD/GC, the less $$ to pay for education (check with your school how to qualify for in-state tuition), the sooner to get to naturalization. 

 

 

Thank you for a quick answer! We chose January because of my travel to Europe in October (I constantly find conflicting information online about the 90-day rule), and because it has a sentimental meaning for me, but I could obviously get over that. I have a tuition waiver, so I don't consider education costs (although my PI would be happy if I were on the in-state tuition), and two weeks in what seems to be a 12+ month wait to get GC don't seem like too much. From a quick Google search, I don't think we'd get too many tax benefits, too (but I must admit, neither of us is too good with taxes). 

[milimelo 4,205]

For starters, if you're thinking of 90-day rule - no such thing. 

Second of all, standard deduction is higher for married people: 

Filing Status	Standard Deduction 2023
Single; Married Filing Separately	$13,850
Married Filing Jointly & Surviving Spouses	$27,700
Head of Household	$20,800

[MakPolny 0]

24 minutes ago, milimelo said:

For starters, if you're thinking of 90-day rule - no such thing. 

Second of all, standard deduction is higher for married people: 

Filing Status	Standard Deduction 2023
Single; Married Filing Separately	$13,850
Married Filing Jointly & Surviving Spouses	$27,700
Head of Household	$20,800

 

You definitely gave me something to think about, thank you! I'm not eligible for any deduction with my current status (apart from 2k from the treaty), so that would be indeed quite a change for us

[Rocio0010 5,565]

1 hour ago, MakPolny said:

We plan to fill out and send the forms (I-130, I-864, and I-485)

You also need to send forms I-131 (travel permit) and I-765 (work permit)

 

1 hour ago, MakPolny said:

Can I add myself as a co-sponsor

Way easier and less headachy to get another co-sponsor.

 

1 hour ago, MakPolny said:

The other question is about taxes. I understand, that later on for the removing condition filling out taxes jointly seems like the best bet... But as I will still be a non-resident alien next spring, and my country has a tax treaty signed with the US that I'm still using (which in my case just means that $2k of my yearly income is not taxable at all), I wonder if we shouldn't wait with filing jointly a year longer. I have no idea what financial benefits might come from filling jointly, and I'm pretty sure I would have to do some back pay on the treaty, which I'd prefer to avoid. 

It's your call. Would you prefer to have more non- taxable money for once, or would you want a smoother ride for immigration?

 

1 hour ago, MakPolny said:

how do I find a doctor's office that would do the medical exam required for AOS?

Use this webpage

 

1 hour ago, MakPolny said:

Can I do the medical before getting married to save time, or is it frowned upon?

You can't. The validity of the medical is only for 60 days from the time you do it until you send it. This is not the chance to save time.

Your chance to "save time" is to actually file taxes jointly and take a financial hit just once if you have to.