Immigration Site

I finally received my green card in the mail. I have lived in the US since 2002 on F1 visas and luckily won dv lottery last year. It got approved may 2010 and have been a permanent resident since then.

Here is my dilemma, I will be getting married to my girlfriend of 4.5years next year (we’ve been dating since freshman year), and she is also in the US on F1 visa and currently master’s student graduating May/dec 2011.

We have several options:

1. Get married, Wait till am a citizen before filing I130 , but she will maintain her f1 status in the US by getting a PHD

2. File next year after marriage, and hope that it would take 9-12months for her PD to become current
Here is my worry with option 2 though, Due to uncertainty of visa bulletin, if After filing, and then the dates go back to being 4-5years, then she would not be able to maintain her status in the US as her I20 expires May 2012. Is there any possibility of extending I20 or transferring schools while there is a I130 pending? I would think an I20 extension would not be granted since immigration intent has been shown.

3. Get married, but wait until after she has been accepted into a PHD program with an 120 valid for another 4years before actually filling I130 cause that would save the headache of being in status at all times until the interview.

4. She actually has a job offer based on her first degree from a company in Maryland willing to sponsor H1B but I got a good job in Dallas which ill be starting after graduation. We would like to live together in the same state, therefore this is not a favorable option for us. And we also think that it could make our immigration process more complicated. So she might be turning this offer down and look for a phD program close to my work

5. Get Married and she moves back to home country to wait for the counselor processing. This could take years. I don’t believe that the visa bulletin would remain this short (9-12mths) for years to come. If It goes back to 4-5years. Then we screwed. I really want to be with her and don’t want any separation in this process. Everyone said we should have gotten married before I completed my dv process but we didn’t feel it was the right time to get married. Our families have chosen a convenient date which everyone would be available which is next year.

Sorry for the long post…..I hope you have some suggestions.Any suggestions on the best route to take are welcome

Would her graduate study and any associated OPT work last long enough for you to naturalize or really close to it?

If yes, then get married whenever and go the IR route as available as of the time of naturalization.

If you feel lucky, file for F2A category.

Congrats.

Would her graduate study and any associated OPT work last long enough for you to naturalize or really close to it?

If yes, then get married whenever and go the IR route as available as of the time of naturalization.

If you feel lucky, file for F2A category.

Congrats. No, I wont Naturalize till 2015. If she takes the job in Maryland, shell be on H1B but it means we would not be living together when i file. Have there been couples that have been successful without living together in the US?

2. File next year after marriage, and hope that it would take 9-12months for her PD to become current
Here is my worry with option 2 though, Due to uncertainty of visa bulletin, if After filing, and then the dates go back to being 4-5years, then she would not be able to maintain her status in the US as her I20 expires May 2012. Is there any possibility of extending I20 or transferring schools while there is a I130 pending? I would think an I20 extension would not be granted since immigration intent has been shown. File the I-130 ASAP to increase the chances of the PD becoming current before she has to leave. Retrogression is very unlikely before the next fiscal year (October 2011). File now and her PD probably will be current before October.

Extending F1 status while inside the US when an I-130 is pending is usually not a problem, but the I-130 should specify consular processing. If her PD becomes current while she is still in legal status, she can easily switch to AOS simply by filing the I-485. There may be a bit of a delay if they have already sent the files to the consulate, but shed still be allowed to stay in the US legally once she files the I-485.

No, I wont Naturalize till 2015. If she takes the job in Maryland, shell be on H1B but it means we would not be living together when i file. Have there been couples that have been successful without living together in the US? Yes, but they have to show that the separation was due to circumstances such as work or school, and that you have been visiting each other and communicating regularly.