Immigration Site

I have a green card already. I am planning to bring my fiancee on F1 and then get married here.
Can anybody clarify the following doubts:

(1) After the marriage, is it legal to apply for her permanent residency while she is on F1 or do I have to wait until she is done with the studies.

(2) If it is legal to apply for her permanent residency while she is on F1, will she be able to go outside the country and come back without any problem considering the fact that her GC is in progress?

Appreciate your help on this.

Thank you.

It is perfectly legal for you to apply for her GC. But be aware that it would take something like 3 to 4 years for her to get her GC.

Also, a note of caution. F1 is supposed to have an inherent non-immigrant intent. USCIS might not look kindly if she marries you the second she lands in America as a non-immigrant student. This could potentially pose a problem at the time of her adjustment of status to Permanent Resident, unless you happen to become a naturalized American Citizen by then. In my opnion, you should probably give it some time (6 months or more) before you decide to get hitched, after she lands. As far she going in out of the country on F1, I dont see any problems.

Thanks a bunch Mr. Catch_22.

One more quick clarification. Does the F1 status become invalid the moment GC is applied after marriage?

Thanks in advance.

No, F-1 become invalid when you file your I-485 and it is accepted.
In your case you need to file the I-130 , then wait for your I-130 to be approved takes 2-3 years depending which country you belong to.
Once your I-130 is approved your spouse will be given a Alien number and a immigrant petition visa number, you use the approved notice and apply for adjustment of status (I485) application, with affidavit of support and medical and filing fee. Once the I-485 is accepted your spouse will be given a reciept , this will make her F-1 invalid and she will be on pending AOS status.

Good luck