Rev. Miller

Does anyone know if I as a member of the clergy can legally perform
the wedding of a green card holder and his intended bride who is an
undocumented worked who entered the US several years ago on what I
think was a tourist visa. The wedding will take place in Florida.
She did not enter with the intention of marrying anyone. How does the
intended groom get her status adjusted? I assume he would do this
following the wedding on December 30. Help. Rev. Miller

Joe Feise

Rev. Miller wrote on 11/28/2004 19:01:
    > Does anyone know if I as a member of the clergy can legally perform
    > the wedding of a green card holder and his intended bride who is an
    > undocumented worked who entered the US several years ago on what I
    > think was a tourist visa. The wedding will take place in Florida.
    > She did not enter with the intention of marrying anyone. How does the
    > intended groom get her status adjusted? I assume he would do this
    > following the wedding on December 30. Help. Rev. Miller

Performing weddings has nothing to do with immigration.
The groom can not get the status of the bride adjusted, at least not
until he is a US citizen.

-Joe

hcj1440

If they can get a marriage license, then you can legally perform the ceremony if you are so authorized by the state (and the church too I suppose!). The marriage may give them basis to apply for an immigration benefit, but marriage does not by itself give any immigration benefits. They would have to file and be granted the benefits by USCIS, so it's up to USCIS to check into her immigration status, and it's not something you have to worry about from a legal standpoint.

BTW, a green card holder's spouse is not eligible to adjust status immediately - there's a quota for that preference category and they would have to wait until a visa number becomes available. That means she's not going to be able to get legalized any time soon. And that's assuming she had a legal entry - if she did not enter legally, it's even more difficult.