cjohnston207

Here is our story, will take all the information we can gain from this site!

I am American, she is Canadian. We met 4 years ago in college and have been together ever since. She has moved home with me (sadly living with parents until we get a house) but she has her OPT and has a job in her field. Her OPT expires in May 2013. We are getting married January 3rd by the courts, nothing huge nothing special, our real wedding day is June 7th 2013 with family and friends even though secretly we will already be married.

A few questions ... is this the way to go? we figured getting married by the courts and changing her last name and what not would make it easier for the process. She won't have to apply for OPT again, I know we have to fill out all of the paper work, but do we do that before or after we marry? assuming after considering she will be taking my last name? Also we heard she will not be able to travel for about 3 months? is that correct? I know she will be applying for a travel visa, but heard it still will be 3 months?

We also are wondering is it worth it to get a lawyer? $3400 is a total we just got quoted by a Lawyer in Rochester, NY .. or is it better to do this all on our own? what else should we be looking for? Should we start the paper work NOW ..? sorry for all the random questions figured people are willing to help so why not ask for help!

If we left anything out please let us know so we can make sure it gets done!

THANKS SO MUCH

Corey

Hi,

Congratulations on your engagement. As your future wife is already in the US and your are planning to marry before her OPT training status expires, your case is looking good. Soon after your marriage ceremony you should file form I-130 concurrently with I-485 and I-765. If you want to travel you should also file I-131.

Right now, you can start by

1. Collecting evidence of your bona fide marriage such as

a) Shared financial interest (joint bank accounts, authorized credit card user, joint leases, joint electric bill, etc).

b) Pictures of you together.

2. You should take a peek at the poverty guide lines and make you that you can document an income of more than 125% of the appropriate number in form I-864P. If the poverty guide lines is a problem then you should start looking for a co-sponsor.

3. You should make sure that you have your federal income tax information for the last three years handy.

4. You should request a certified copy of you naturalization documents. You can get these from the issuing agency.

5. Schedule an appointment, for after your marriage ceremony, with an USCIS proved doctor to get the medical form I-693.

Hey,

thanks for the information, she is from canada ... and her OPT will end next May, we were thinking of getting married in August ... of next year? so that is where we were wondering? should we just go to the justice of the peace and file the paper work sometime next year and do it that way ...? and your saying I don't need a K1 fiance visa ...? in simple terms what were looking for is she wants to stay here and not worry about going back to wait and then come back, she has a job lined up as a counselling for mistreated teens ... but people keep saying is she living her? I guess the answer is yes but she is on her OPT visa card ...

thanks

Okay so now that we are engaged, what do we have to go about doing? She just received her OPT, considering she applied for that because she didn't know I was going to propose. We are speaking with an immigration's lawyer tomorrow at the College ... any specific questions we should ask? what should we do now, she has her OPT for one year, we are not planning to get married until next August, so we have some time, please let me know what needs to be done ASAP and what can wait ... I appreciate everything!

thank you!

will do ... but technically she isn't inside the US is she ... haha sorry not trying to sound stupid but she is just technically visiting going to college right?

Ok sorry I am so slow with this stuff and I am trying to help her out haha, so we don't need to file a K1 since she is already in the country? and she will be allowed to work since she has her OPT right ... whats a good guide to read ..sorry but thank you for the help!

Hello,

My girlfriend and I of 4 years are looking to get married within the year, and I am thinking of proposing next weekend, but we were talking and she just applied for her OPT from the college. She graduates in May. Can she work with the K1 and OPT or does she have to discard one of them ... please let me know exactly what needs to be done? She thinks she was told by her adviser that she can't work with a K-1 ... I could use all the information possible, please & thank you!

understandable ... so what are we looking at for costs? for everything ... I am just getting really confused on some posts, some say she can re-enter some say she is locked out .. just confusing but I appreciate the help ..

we want to marry and have a wedding, but the wedding can wait .. we are wondering is our best bet to just go to justice of the peace and get officially married and then start the process ... or is it better for her to go home and stay there and then come back and marry me later? .. now if she opts to do OPT can she do OPT and then 5/6 months into it we end up saying lets marry .. or is there stipulations to all of this ... sorry for this whole confusion, just figured you guys might know considering most went through it ... We truly appreciate it!

thanks corey

Correction: she CAN leave the US if she wants, she just won't be allowed back in until she has a visa in hand. Whereas K-1, she lives in Canada, and can come to visit US if she wants.

hey,

only issue is she doesn't want to go home and NOT work, or even if she finds a job she doesn't want to work it for 6 months then come back to USA and try and find a job ... she is looking to graduate in may and stay right here ... we want to get married definitely .. we don't mind marrying asap and having a wedding down the road .. we have done the long distance as I live 6 hours from her ... well we obviously live together now since we went to the same school but for summers and christmas we never were together ... so what im really saying is if we get married and she cant leave the us ... how long does it usually take for a green card so she can re enter canada to see family

You would marry and then file an I-130 and I-485 with medical and all supporting documents to get a green card. She would not leave the USA at all during this.

Here is the step by step guide http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

the I-130 is $420 USD

the I-485 is $1070 USD

the medical cost is ranged and different for every place you can only use a civil surgeon listed by the USCIS for the medical. https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=CIV put your zip in there and it will locate ones near you.

ok ... so, we would go to the town court, get married .. check .. then we would file paper work? or do we file paper work first .. sorry I definitely read what you wrote just making sure ... so say we marry, file paper work .. will she be able to get a job ANYWHERE? or can she not work during this time ... also you said she can't leave the country? as in the USA ... how long does that last usually? if someone dies can she or is she stuck here until it's official? sorry for all stupid questions just need help to understand

Hello,

I first want to explain our situation and hopefully ya'll can help! I "Corey" am an American citizen, born and raised. I have been with my girlfriend of 4 years "Erika", she is Canadian ... we met at college, and she will be graduating this May 2012. We are wondering what we need to do to make sure she can stay here in American and live with me when done with college ... She tells me she can only stay in the US without being married if she finds a job in her field, but her field is Criminal Justice, my Aunt works for the county and said that they don't usually hire Canadian's because they need to take the oath, and how can you if you are not an American citizen? Please let me know if you guys know any ways around this or what to do, we want to get married we just didn't want to rush a wedding or anything .. we figured we could just go to the courts and get married, be legally married and have a wedding next year or down the road, we both agreed on this ...

basically, if someone can give me some information on what I or She needs to do to make sure this works, she doesn't want to go back to Canada and start a job and then re-locate back to the USA 5 months later, she would like to just stay right here get a job and continue with life ... let me know what we both need to do? and what is our total fees possibly looking like ... anything I need to know please let me know, she is going to some US/Canada thing on Monday, so hopefully she gets information there as well...

thank you all so much!

Corey