H1b - out of status - marrige
 

Hi I am a USC and my fiance is here on an H1b which is now out of
status thanks to a layoff. We plan on getting married the beginning of

sept 05. Right now she is looking for work. When we get married she
will still be under the 180 days of out of status. I understand that
once we marry we have a bunch of forms to fill out. Can anyone give me

any advice regarding all of this. Also, since she can't work on the
h1b i imagine she will need an authoriztion of work form. Also, she
can't be deported can she?

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

Hi:

What does the 180 days out of status have to do with anything?

Please clarify your question.

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

getting married asap and file AOS.... look through www.uscis.gov and the faq's at www.visajourney.com

Wouldn't hang around, unless you want to file for a fiance K1 visa.

Can't apply for EAD anyway until married and filing aos....alternative would be to find someone that's willing to sponsor for another H1B and transfer the visa...

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

If you were planning on getting married anyway, why not go down to your local city hall and get married in a civil ceremony now, then follow through with the bigger ceremony/reception in Sept as planned? When they get her AOS packet she will be back in lawful status, and this way you get a jump start on her work permit (which may take a few weeks to a few months to process, so best to get started as soon as possible).

And yes -- as long as she is not in lawful status (which according to you she is not right now) -- she is deportable.

After marriage, file I-130 (petition for alien relative), I-485 (adjustment of status), I-765 (work permit - "EAD") and I-131 (advance parole -- permission to travel, basically). Also accompanying forms including I-693 (medical exam), I-864 (affidavit of support), G-325A (biographical data -- one for you, one for her) and other forms as directed in the instructions. Don't forget the fingerprinting fee.

Forms and instructions available at USCIS website -- www.uscis.gov

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

Immediate relatives of USC (spouse, parents etc) are an exception. Even if they fall out of status, it does not matter. Marriage to a USC wipes your slate clean.

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

I meant it wipes your slate clean with immigration. Not any other government branch, just so we are clear.

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

This almost happened to me, we were planning our wedding and had been engaged for almost a year when the company I work for said they were giving it 3 months to either sell the company employees included or lay us all off.

I looked at lots of different info on the web and talked to the current company's immigration lawyer. Everything seemed to indicated that there was no official grace period but that most had gotten away with being out of status for short periods of time upto 180 days. Officially she should of switched her status to visitor for the 180 days but the problem is I don't know if you are suppose to get married on a visitor visa.

What I did was we just got married at a Civil Ceremony ahead of time. I had my EAD before the company was bought. The company I work for was fortunately bought about 3.5 or 4 months after the announcement so I never had to look for a job. Finding a job though will be alot easier once your fiance has an EAD, since the new company won't have to pay for a visa or anything.

Also we were never questioned about the fact that we were married ahead of time at a Civil Cermony etc. They didn't even ask for pictures, although I had some.

Re: H1b - out of status - marrige
 

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > Hi I am a USC and my fiance is here on an H1b which is now out of
    > status thanks to a layoff. We plan on getting married the beginning of
    > sept 05. Right now she is looking for work. When we get married she
    > will still be under the 180 days of out of status. I understand that
    > once we marry we have a bunch of forms to fill out. Can anyone give me
    > any advice regarding all of this. Also, since she can't work on the
    > h1b i imagine she will need an authoriztion of work form. Also, she
    > can't be deported can she?


Hire an attorney who specializes in marriage visas. You will save LOTS and
LOTS and LOTS of trouble.