ChuckM

Get your GC Fedexed to you with insurance and tracking.  Come back in with your Greencard.
 
What you're suggesting is illegal and sounds like a plotline from a Cheech and Chong movie.

I had my oath ceremony this morning. The actual ceremony took one hour, but I ended up being there for 3.5 hours because of all the procedures before and after the ceremony. I have already registered to vote, updated my social security record and applied for a US passport today. It has been a busy day, but also a great one. Best of luck to all of you, and soon you will be fellow citizens!

I got my interview yesterday. Appointment at 10:15AM, interviewed at 11:30AM, nothing special: questions, tests and approved. Newark does the oath the same day but then they kind of lost my application. I was not called and missed the 2:00PM and 3:30PM ceremonies. Finally they accepted to look for it around 4:00PM and found it. Many people could not take the oath because their certificate could not go through the new system and it seems that they have still a lot of issues with it. Thankfully mine went through (another man in the same situation had to leave after waiting the whole day for nothing) and I took the oath with the last people before 5:00PM. I am an new american citizen! Thanks all for sharing.

I highly doubt the school is telling you to ask for permission to get married or stop your AOS.
 
However,
- you can't be in F-1 status if you're not actively enrolled in school. Part of the F-1 regulations are that you have to be enrolled as a student
- you want to gain work experience - do you have employment authorization? Do you have OPT? If not, you'll have to wait until you get your EAD (about 3 months after you file your i-130/i-485/1-765/i-131)
- have you already submitted your AOS forms? (fill in your timeline!) if not, do this ASAP-http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2
- if they terminate your F1 status which they should because by not taking classes you can't be in F1 status, you are out of status, but that is forgiven for spouses of USC (which is why it's important to file ASAP)
- in general, people recommend you stay in status while AOS is pending, so to maintain F1 status by following classes or working on OPT - but that's not an absolute requirement. This is just so in the unlikely event your AOS gets denied, you don't accrue unlawful presence
- part of your F1 regulations is that you inform them of every change in address, status (including marital status and immigration status) etc. So they have every right to ask you to inform them when you get married or move, because this is how you got to the US in the first place
 
Bottom line: they can't stop you from getting married or filing for AOS. But if you don't follow the rules for F-1 status, they can terminate your F-1 status.
 

My husband is a Seyed. We did all his paperwork with "Seyed Mohammad" as his first name.  I think as long as you pick a way and stick with it throughout the process, you'll be fine.  I chose that way because all his documents from Iran listed the Seyed.
 
P.S. -- Feel free to contact me directly with any questions you have.  I'm happy to pay-it-forward.

When the forms ask for Native Language, also use the native language, for the signatures, it does not matter as long it is consistent. My wife always signed her name on all immigration forms using Roman alphabet. I have never asked her, but as elaborate as her signature is, I am sure she has been using it for a long time.
For her address, I had her email the address in farsi, then I carefully copied it into the forms. We did occasionally mail things back and forth, but most of the time we knew enough people traveling back and forth from Iran to the US and vis versa to enable us to exchange documents this way as well.

Hello:
I wanted to post my travel experience as a US citizen because I had so much pride in showing my US passport.
First my travel was to my home country Tunisia and France and back to the US. Second I respected the entry and exit laws of each country by showing the appropriate passport.
So I was traveling to my home country mainly with my wife and three kids. I always overthink stuff when it comes to laws and that happened to me when I applied for my ROC and citizenship and traveling to my country lol.
I also had fear because of what was going on in the world these days, and I was afraid that I wouldve been picked by authorities in paris and the US just because of my origin, name, religious belief.
Traveling day comes took all passports ( me and two of my kids were dual citizens, my wife and my other kid are just US citizens). When I went to my home country I presented my Tunisian passport. Entry was quick, no questions asked.
On a side note my parents had their interview for IR5 visa, however the guards couldn't let me and 2 other US citizens in the embassy because of security measures even when we showed our US passports ( they said we needed an appointment to get). I thought to myself what if it was an emergency will an appointment be necessary?
When we were traveling back to the US we had a long layover in paris. Of course getting out Tunisia I showed my Tunisian passport. Coming to paris I showed US passports for all family members. I thought we were going to be asked questions about how long our stay was, do we have any money... However the officer just stamped our passport and let us go. At that moment the happiness I had when we were let in was great. The pride I had in showing a US passport in a foreign country was so awesome. ( I know some of yall are probably thinking this guy is a weirdo, but it's all right lol).
So after our layover,we were coming back to the US. I was scared honestly. The last time I came back to the US (with a green card) from my home country, a US representative was in the gate to question me and some other people ( some were US citizens). I didn't get offended and I understood it was a security measure to protect the country which I support. This time though no one was in the gate but flight representatives. As I said I always overthink stuff, and I start imagining what could go south in the boarder. So we come to the US and I told my wife they might question me and run all kind of screenings about me and I started freaking out. My wife said, relax nothing will happen. And boy she was right. I presented my US passport for all family members, the officer was smiling and joking with the kids man that put me at ease. he asked how long were we out of the country, did we go to other countries, did we bring anything prohibited? and than he stamped all of our passports and he said Welcome Home. I almost cried hearing those 2 words. I missed the US more than I thought I would. Going to France and Tunisia made me appreciate the US, made me love the US more and made me realize that the US is my home country too. It made me realize that I want to spend the rest of my life in the US.
I don't know about yall but I was so proud showing my US passport, getting it stamped. That made me feel like I belong here. That I might not be a born American but Im 1000% American. It made me feel like I belong to THE GREATEST NATION on earth.
That was my story.
Yall have a good day.

OP, have your lawyer draw up wills, medical powers of attorney, and similar documents that will confirm your legal, financial, and personal commitments to each other. These documents make excellent evidence for removing conditions later, too.

I have had 45 minute layover in Dubai before, flying Emirates. At the gate I was met by Emirate staff and escorted to the connecting flight, bags made it as well, The airlines know what you need and will help you make your connections. 3 hour is not a problem at all.

We never had such thought or expectations, yet the early Bio was necessary in our case because of a little thing know as life. To say that those who decide to take care of something when it is more convenient are dummies is rather narrow minded.

We did back in September without a problem. While checking in there was a little line and the guy asked a group of us what time our appointments were and if we were early, someone behind us had was there just on time, the guy infront of us was a little early, I said we were three weeks early, he just laughed and told use to wait. He go a supervisor to come and look at our paperwork and sign off on the early appt. We were out the door in 30 minutes.

I had a wedding (civil marriage), wedding celebration (party to celebrate marriage) one month after the wedding, Religious wedding 7 months later to satisfy requirements in my wife's country and finally a wedding banquet on the 1st anniversary of our civil marriage in my wife's country.
You can do pretty much anything you like as long as you satisfy the marriage in 90 days requirement. The civil marriage is our official anniversary but we celebrate the religious wedding as well.

You can also try islamicfinder.org, they have a nice phone app.

I joined my wife in Ankara for the interview. I had all of the paperwork with me, she only needed to bring her passport and her Shanasnameh (birth certificate). I brought all the information I sent with the K-1 Application, everything I sent to the Embassy and additional documentation from that point to the interview. I was not allowed to enter the embassy, my wife said that at the intake, someone went though all of the information she brought with her and selected a sample of the information and told my wife only to bring this to the interview. This included all the pictures and travel records, but only a few of the email phone records. The interview was mostly based off of the pictures with my wife describing our travels together, Istanbul and Dubai. The only problem was that since my wife had blank pages on the shanasnameh, she did not translate those pages, like marriage and children. We needed to go get these translated that day and return to the embassy the next day with the complete translation. This cost an additional $70. I think my wife had the shanasnemeh translated originally in Iran for less than $20. If you or your fiance have any questions, please let me know, I am glad to help. The whole process was such an experience.

This is America, you butter get used to it.

My wife has adjusted wonderfully. My biggest fear was that she would miss Iran so much because she was only leaving to marry me. She really loved her life in Iran and specially her job as a flight attendant. With Viber and Skype she is able to talk and see her friends and family almost every day and there is enough of an Iranian ex-pat community in Minneapolis that it seems like we are sometimes in Iran.
The delay in our case was our own doing. When the notice came for our interview date, we had exactly 6 days to go to Ankara, get the medical and go to the interview. At the time my wife was in Tajikistan training for her work and I had promised her family that I would be in Ankara with her. I contacted the Embassy and they changed our June interview date to December. We did not have any RFE from the interview, there was one small issue in that her shenasname was not translated for the pages that were blank, and they did not accept it, but told her to come back the next day with the complete translation. We were able to take care of this easily. I was not allowed to go to the interview with her and they asked her to do the interview in English to prove that we could communicate. We then delayed her entry into the US so she could complete her contract with her airline job and so she did not have to come live in Minneapolis in the middle of the winter.
You may have some delay, every male spouse/fiance I have seen has gone into AP for some time for additional security checks. Don't be discouraged by this.
My wife has been working and volunteering since she received her work permit. She has interviewed with Airlines and I think that she will get hired as flight attendant before too long.
Good luck in your journey. It was a long process for us, but it was worth every minute. In May, I will make my second trip to Iran to visit my wife's family. If you have any question, please ask here in the forums or you can also message me.
Chuck

People fear what they do not know. That's true in Bavaria, or in Arizona, maybe especially in Arizona! My fiancé is from the UK, and there are a few people in my life who think it's ok to make jokes, "if he was from Mexico you wouldn't have to go through all this, he could just walk over the border like the rest of them." Hey, guess what? My engagement is not an opportunity for you to proudly display your ignorance!
Perhaps now would be a good time for you to learn a little "Southern grace," U.S. style. The next time someone says something hurtful or stupid, you just smile as sweetly as you know how, and say, "well, bless your heart," (or the German equivalent.) In Savannah, GA, where I went to school, that's Southern for "go $* yourself," and when done properly, it can make you feel a whole lot better. Best of luck!

It is not necessary and in some(most?) instances, the petitioner is not even allowed in the Embassy. I went to the interview with my then fiancee and was stuck waiting in the cold December rain in Ankara.

The AOS/ROC fees are negligible compared to what your new wife will spend on things that she absolutely has to HAVE.