bandanaman

Situation: My wife is from Spain and here in the US working as a school teacher under a J1 VISA, which was set to expire June 30 2010. We married in December of 2009 and filed concurrent I-130/I-485 as well as an application for EAD (employment authorization) beginning of March. NOAs arrived a few weeks ago so process is underway.

Her work situation is extremely challenging, and it has become incredibly stressful for her to deal with. She is so unhappy and wants to quit this position.

Can she quit her job without it affecting this process? Of course, previously since her VISA was the only legal way she could remain here, she couldnt. But now that we are married, and in process, does this not basically take her VISA out of the equation? We just want to know if she decides to leave this position, whether it will change anything from our AOS filing POV.

Thanks in advance for responding..

As a follow up...After reading the guide, it appears that since she currently resides here, we would need to determine whether she qualifies to file for the I-130? How do we find this out?

Thanks!

A J-1 does NOT make someone a permanent resident (ie.. greencard holder).

In order to qualify to be petitioned for via an I-130, she needs first to be an immediate relative of a USC or with a narrower definition, an LPR (green card holder) .... which presently she is not it appears as it relates to you. As the non-resident alien, she does not file the I-130.

Understood. I think I misunderstood the term listed in the guide page that refers to "live/reside". I now understand that anyone with a J-1 visa is still a visitor.

As a follow up...After reading the guide, it appears that since she currently resides here, we would need to determine whether she qualifies to file for the I-130? How do we find this out?

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

So glad I found this site! Here is our situation.

My girlfriend is from Spain, currently teaching here in the U.S. on an J1-B VISA, which has a term scheduled to end June of 2010. We are very much in love and planning on getting married. Knowing the timelines involved, we are already doing initial inquiries into process but I wanted to get some basic advice first. Consider that ideally we are trying to avoid her having to return to Spain for any length of time.

1. Is getting married the smartest first step?

2. If we get married, is doing it in the U.S. the smartest choice? Should we do it sooner rather than later?

3. Is there anything we can do regarding paperwork that we can begin BEFORE we get married?

4. Assuming we get married no later than the end of 2009, while we are applying for an AOS, will her travel be restricted to/from U.S. and Spain while this is in progress?

5. Ive read about the HRRs. Is a waiver of this required in ALL cases where the person requesting an AOS already has a J1B?

Thanks!