chiggs

Hi,

I am currently here on an H1-B visa and am coming up to my two year marriage anniversary (wife is a US citizen). Firstly, I would be very grateful if someone could tell me about the process of moving from an H1-B to Green card (through marriage), what is involved, what documentation needs to be filed etc. Also, it would be helpful if someone has a ballpark figure on how long this process may take.

Many Thanks

Chris

Ray

Same as it was when you last asked ...
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...18#post5140918

Noorah101

I moved your thread to the Marriage-Based Visa forum. The process hasn't changed since you asked in August of 2007, which Ray linked to.

Rene

Noorah101

How long it takes depends on the backlog at your local district office. Could be as little as a few months, could be up to a year or more. Check processing dates at www.uscis.gov.

Rene

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Something doesn't sit right about this guy. Delaying this amount of time until the two years are up is kind of foolish IMHO unless it is for a very short period of time and even then, not advisable. Carla Freeman and her husband filed quickly and he was killed near their one-year anniversery.

I have the feeling something else is going on. If ***I*** wondering, I would think that DHS might wonder about it too.

chiggs

Folinskyinla:

What the hell is this supposed to mean as your English isn't very clear and generally quite rude!

I met my (now) wife nearly 11 years ago and we have been married for nearly the last two. The reason we didn't get married sooner is that we value our careers more than most (we can say this as we have 5 degrees between us) and so we decided to stay in our own countries. Once I was in a position, career-wise, to move I applied for positions as I preferred to move over here with a job rather than sponge off the wife.

We got married nearly 19 months ago in my home country and a few days later I moved over here with an H1-B to start my new job. Now that we have been married for nearly two years, it makes sense for me to apply for a green card via marriage to a US citizen. It is a lot more straight forward than applying through my work. Also, waiting until near our two year anniversary means that I can get a 10-yr green card rather than a conditional green card which, in turn, means dealing less with the USCIS and, as a bonus, Immigration lawyers!

Don't you think it is more suspiciuous for me to enter initially with an H1-B and then almost immediatly applying for a green card via marriage to a US citizen. Not only this, but it is pretty much a slap in the face for my H1-B sponsors to do this.


> Something doesn't sit right about this guy. Delaying this amount of time
> until the two years are up is kind of foolish IMHO unless it is for a very
> short period of time and even then, not advisable. Carla Freeman and her
> husband filed quickly and he was killed near their one-year anniversary.

> I have the feeling something else is going on. If ***I*** wondering, I
> would think that DHS might wonder about it too.

fatbrit

Yep -- lot of people seem to want to do that.

ian-mstm

You say this as though you think it matters to USCIS which process you follow! You entered legally and there's nothing wrong in adjusting status via your marriage to a USC. Perhaps you think there's a difference... the US government doesn't.


If you really want to maintain integrity with your sponsor, why not simply let them apply for your adjustment? If this is truly how you feel, then why bother at all adjusting status via your wife? Of course... you already know the answers.


Wow... sounds impressive. Between us, my wife and I have 7 degrees including a Doctorate and 3 Masters! We're an educated bunch... but that didn't stop me from putting my career on hold and adjusting status via my USC wife!

Ian

alect

Not quite sure I understand your reasoning here - why would it be a slap in the face for your H1B sponsor? When you entered on H1B they wanted you as an employee and you had no other basis (presumably) to enter on. Everybody happy! Then at some later stage if you attain another legal basis upon which to file for perm residency, why would your employer care? Doesn't it save them the cost and hassle of going through an employment based perm residency application process? If they're such a good employer then I don't think you as an employee would stay in their employ whether tied to them by H1b sponsorship or not.

hobbes79

I was here on an H-1B, got married and then waited a year before applying for the greencard.

We can boast a mere 2 bachelors, a masters and a single doctorate between us... the reason for the wait was shear bone idleness.

My visa was with a solid company, and I simply had other things to do. Not more IMPORTANT things I should hasten to add, but there seemed little to no risk of me becoming unemployed and my H-1B was good for another 3-years since it had just been extended.

Of course, upon receiving my marriage based greencard, I was laid off 2-months later...

So rather glad we got round to it! And in all seriousness, it's why if I saw anyone in a similar position to me I would say apply for the greencard pretty much right after you've said "I do" since you never can tell what's going to happen.

Anyway, I don't see anything at all suspicious with the behavior of the OP.

Noorah101

I don't see anything wrong with the OP's actions either, eveyone does things in their own time, but I do see where it would be more ideal to start the GC process sooner rather than later, in case something happens. Being part of a married couple, you might want the security in knowing your spouse has a more permanent status here than the H1B. Green card and then citizenship would mean more security, in my opinion.

Rene

Ray

I got my boy scout.. knot tying badge ...

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Relax. In my practice, I often have clients who come in with a very specific question and the described facts cause me to scratch my head. As I said in my post, if I am scratching my head, there is a good probability that DHS or sometimes ConOffs will also be scratching theirs.

All I had was your initial question and statement of facts. It caused me to scratch my head. You have now cured the itch. Which is good.

Good luck.