F1 student marrying US citizen but want to avoid immigrant intent

[anonHippo 0]

I am an Indian citizen born in India. I am currently on Stem OPT valid until July 2026. I want to get married to my US citizen fiance in January 2026 in the US and then have a religious ceremony in India in May 2026. I also have a couple of international travel plans for work until September 2025.

I want to figure out the best way for me to do all this without falling afoul of the 'immigrant intent' test when returning to the US after getting married. I believe I have a strong case for O1A - would switching to this visa when I go to India in May 2026 help? Would it be difficult to get the O1 visa since I will be married to an US citizen at the time? To be honest, I don't even know if I eventually want a green card or settle in the US permanently, but USCIS will presume immigrant intent.

[OldUser 9,158]

31 minutes ago, anonHippo said:

I am an Indian citizen born in India. I am currently on Stem OPT valid until July 2026. I want to get married to my US citizen fiance in January 2026 in the US and then have a religious ceremony in India in May 2026.

One way to deal with it is to postpone ceremony in India until you get GC. Then you can travel anywhere without worrying about having immigrant intent when returning to the US.

Edited May 17 by OldUser

[JeanneAdil 6,945]

if you travel international in 2025 and knowingly intend to marry in US in 2026 ,  u have to answer that question truthfully at POE

you have immigrant intent