Theophilus

My UK fiance is on a J-1 visa through August. She will return to the UK for 4 months to finish school. She does not have the 2-year residency requirement.

Is it possible to get married on the J-1 visa before August?
If it is, what is the process for her to then move to the United States to live permanently with me?

Ideally - we want to be married and settled in to the US by around January. Do you have any alternative ideas?

ian-mstm

Yes.


Once you have a copy of your marriage certificate, you start the process by filing form I-130. In about 8 -10 months, she'll end up with an immigrant visa and will become a PR the day she enters the US.


If she doesn't need to return to the UK right away, marry her and once you have a copy of your marraige certificate file an I-130, I-485, I-864, I-131, I-765, and G-325A (+ all supporting docs) and she'll eventually adjust her status from within the US and will become a PR. This usually takes 6-8 months.

Ian

Theophilus

Thank you Ian,

If we do not get married on a J-1 Visa this summer - what would be the best way to get married in the UK around Christmas time and then move back to the States?

Noorah101

You will need a special visa to marry in the UK. You obtain the proper visa, travel to the UK and get married. Then you file the I-130 to the service center in the USA (you can remain in the UK for as long as you're allowed on your visa). About 8 to 10 months after filing the I-130, she gets her immigrant visa, and moves to the USA.

If you get married in the UK in December 2010, she will immigrate to the USA around August - October 2011.

Rene

Noorah101

Adjustment of Status has been speeding up quite a bit, and is usually done in less than 6 months nowadays. Of course no guarantee yours will follow suit, but just updating the current time frame.

When does she need to return to the UK? If you marry now and file AOS in June, she may or may not have her AP (travel document) by August so she can go back home. So if going back to the UK is 100% required right at the end of her J-1, then AOS is probably not the route you want to take.

Rene

Theophilus

To clarify Rene,

She has to be in the US for AOS? Her flight leaves to return to the UK Sept. 2nd.

Noorah101

For Adjustment of Status (AOS), you guys get married now in the USA, then file the AOS package of paperwork right away. Once that is filed, she is allowed to stay in the USA until a decision is made on her AOS (currently taking less than 6 months). Part of the AOS paperwork is an application for Advance Parole (AP), which is a travel document that allows her to travel outside the USA without abandoning her AOS. It typically takes about 60 days to get AP in hand. So if you marry and file AOS by the end of June, she MAY have the AP in hand by the end of August. But, if there's a glitch, she also might NOT have it in hand by then. If she leaves the USA without having AP in hand, she will abandon the AOS process completely and you'll have to start over with the Immigrant Visa process, with her in the UK.

Rene

jeffreyhy

T,

Cross out the words "on [a][the] J-1 visa", that's not relevant to getting married in the USA. It doesn't matter how she got into the USA, if she's here she can get married to you here.

Then move on to the question of her immigrating.

Regards, JEff

meauxna

Marry in a civil ceremony now, file the petition for your new spouse, she finishes her J-1 program, goes back to the UK & finishes her classes and roughly around January, she should have completed her Immigrant Visa application.

She gets her green card + status when she arrives and eeryone lives happiily ever after.

That's one other idea.

meauxna

There are three possible ways for her to immigrate based on marriage with you.

1) K-1 Fiance visa. The will require you to marry in the US after she gets the visa, and then apply for AOS to get her Permanent Residence status. Takes about 5-6 months from start to visa-in-hand.

2) Immigrant Visa. You can't start this until you are married. It takes 6-8 months from first filing to visa in hand. Applicant gets Permanent Resident status at entry with the visa.

3) AOS/Adjustment of Status. For those in the US legally on a visa/similar (like the J-1). Requires you to be married to begin, applicant is 'land locked' until their travel document arrives (est 3 months) and must be available for an interview with spouse in the US. Aprox 6 months from filing to green card, YMMV.

Theophilus

If I was able to get legally married within the next 2 weeks - so by July 4th. What do you think the likelihood of recieving the AP in hand by Sept. 2nd? And what are the consequences if we do not receive the AP in hand by Sept. 2nd?

Also,

I am currently looking for a job as I have just returned from school - will that impact any of this?

Theophilus

Also, what are the chances that she would be rejected on Adjustment of Status?

Noorah101

It typically takes about 60 days to get AP in hand after filing AOS. So, if you get married and file AOS by July 4, it's possible she could have AP in hand early September. Or, she might not. There is simply no guarantee. If you receive an RFE (request for further evidence) from USCIS, for example, that delays receiving the interim benefits (EAD and AP). There's no way of saying for sure when she'll receive AP, esp when you need it by an exact date.

If you choose to go the AOS route, I would NOT count on having the AP by the time you need it, and then be pleasantly surprised if you get it on time.

Keep in mind also that if she gets AP on time and goes back to finish her course overseas, she MUST return to the USA to attend her AOS interview, even if it conflicts with her class schedule. She must appear in person for the AOS interview on the date it's scheduled by USCIS.

There are no particular consequences of not receiving the AP within a certain date. The consequences come if she LEAVES the USA before having AP in hand. In THAT case, her AOS is abandoned and you start the process over, this time for an Immigrant Visa so she can immigrate to the USA from overseas. She would not be able to return to the USA to resume the AOS process.

Yes. You, as the USC spouse, will need to file an I-864 Affidavit of Support as part of the AOS package. If you don't earn enough income, you can use a joint sponsor, though. So it will impact it, but there's a way around it.

You can also use assets (cash in the bank works best), if they equal 3x the amount you would have needed in income. For details, go to www.uscis.gov, Forms, I-864 and I-864P.

Rene

Noorah101

I'd say the chances are fairly low of a denied AOS, assuming she otherwise qualifies for an approval (i.e., no criminal history, no health issues, etc). The fact that she came in on a valid visa (J-1) helps. If it had been a visitor's visa or VWP, that would have been different.

Rene

meauxna

Based on Alllllll the information you have provided about her?

It's always a good idea to have your case reviewed by an immigration attorney, before filing, when the applicant has an immigration history of any kind (yours does), a criminal history, mental or major medical issues.. basically anything from the list of ineligibilities.

The rule of thumb is 60+ days to receive the AP, from application date. We don't run a book here, so we can't lay odds on 'chances' etc. Because you are at risk of running off half-cocked, errors can be made, which delay results (or provide undesirable results).

If your spouse files for AOS and does not receive the Advance Parole, and leaves the US, the AOS is abandoned. She would have to start a new petition + application for immigrant visa and the fees for AOS are gone.