Noorah101

The green card (AOS) interview will not need any input from any parent, so you are safe there.

Rene

scrubbedexpat099

It is usually best to stay on the L, if you use AP/EAD then you will be switching to adjusting status.

Rete

As Noorah/Rene advised, your mother-in-law will have nothing to do with your interview. The only ones attending are you and your wife. I'm assuming your wife is of age and that you are both adults. Do you really care about your future MIL's opinion on the type of wedding you and wife have?

If a car loan is the only thing making you want to marry quickly, then continue with the L visa and its renewal and get married where and when you both wish to marry. Your wife can always apply with you for the car loan and it would be excellent proof on the validity of your marriage for the AOS interview.

Pulaski

I believe that Petepete99 is thinking about the inclusion of a letter/ information with his CR-1 application from a parent confirming that they were at the wedding, saw the couple at locations and/or family events behaving "as a couple" etc. While such a letter/ report is often included it is certainly not necessary, and not including such a letter will likely have little bearing on the application.

If asked at the adjustment interview about the omission, which IMO is extremely unlikely, he can just say that his MIL wasn't invited, which is the truth, and he certainly won't be the first person who declined to invite his in-laws to his wedding!
I agree with this, although our marriage was under different circumstances. My wife and I agreed to fund our own wedding so that we could have the wedding that we wanted, which was a bigger and more lavish event (though not extravagant - it was a sit-down meal reception in a private room at a fancy restaurant) than my in-laws would likely have been willing to fund, and as my wife and I had both been working for some years, we were able to fund things ourselves, and were happy to do so.

Rete

You're thinking of an Affidavit which is really an unnecessary inclusion as evidence of the bona fide marriage. It is usually only included by those who are anal or those with absolutely not other evidence to provide, i.e. financial or social evidence. A letter from the HR department listing the spouse as person of contact, placing them on your healthcare insurance, added as beneficiary to company provided life insurance, joint names on a rental lease, vehicle insurance, etc. is all far superior evidence than an Affidavit.

They looked at my wedding pictures and never asked who was who. Good thing as my mother and his mother and father were all dead by the time of our marriage so they weren't in the pictures.

Pulaski

You put that more eloquently than I did - but it's not me that "thinking of it", it's Petepete99.

petepete99

Thanks for the input everybody. It's a valued opinion. I'm going to talk with the wife-to-be and see what she thinks. The car loan definitely isn't the only thing I'm thinking about here. She is self-employed and health insurance is costing her a fortune, and having the ability to apply for the green card earlier would be a good option in its own right. I think she was just a bit paranoid about it as she's a lawyer and every lawyer will be paranoid by default!

petepete99

Sorry, to clarify, I can't add her to my health insurance until we're married. I have a very comprehensive health insurance plan through work, while she has a $300 per month premium with an $8000 deductible!

Pulaski

IMO that sounds like a fairly good plan, and one that I would choose over a "more comprehensive" plan. .... We pay about $200/mth with an $8,000 family deductible, and switched to that from a more traditional health insurance policy, and it was the best thing we ever did with respect to health insurance.

Rete

Hey her premium and deductible is actually quite good for private insurance.

If, however, you are living together as husband and wife, she can go under your insurance. I know of several couples who are not married and are under their SO's healthcare policy.

PS I worked in the legal field (not an atty) for neigh on 35 years and don't know of any paranoid attorneys.

petepete99

Wow. I didn't know that was considered good. That's madness having come from the UK. But my insurance is around $54 per month with a $1500 deductible through work right now! It would save us a good amount just in the premium alone before even considering the deductible. I guess we'll have to wait a while and just go through the process. Luckily I have a supportive immigration team at work and a decent immigration attorney in PWC. It would just be nice to accelerate the process!

scrubbedexpat099

Your Employer is paying the vast majority of it.