International Student Forum/ Message Board

My name is Jeff and I am a permanent resident residing in Wisconsin. I got married to a F 1 student three months ago. I was wondering whether she qualify to apply for a " green card". If yes, can she work ? her F 1 status will be expiring late 2009. Can I get a lawyer to help us ? Please let me know what you guys think.

Hi Jeff,

Yes, you can sponsor your wife to become a legal permanent resident (LPR). The process is very simple. There are four (4) immigration forms you need to fill out. They are: I-130, I-485, Affidavit of Support, and Health checkup form (filled out by authorized immigration doctors).

Since you are a green card holder and not a US citizen, your spouse will not get the LPR status immediately. She will have to wait until there's visa available. Currently, the immigration office is authorized to issue 114,200 green cards annually for second preferrence (2A): spouses and children of green card holders. There are more than 500,000 spouses and children of green card holders waiting to receive their green card now. Therefore, if you apply today for your spouse, the waiting period can be substantial (4 to 5 years).

So, if you look at the visa bulletin, under second preferrence (2A), the immigration office is still processing the application in March 2002. Here is the link to visa bulletin.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulle ... _2868.html

The good news for your spouse is that she can wait here in the US until her green card is issued, but the bad news is that she cannot work legally without any immigration authorization. However, if someday you are eligible to become a US citizen, you can upgrade your application and speed up the process for your spouse to get a green card.

Please contact me if you still have more information.

Best,

Does she need to maintain her full time student status? Or can she stay at home on the strength of a pending I-130 (etc) application for permanent residence without having to enroll for courses and attend classes (i.e. maintaining the full-time student visa)?

What if she graduates before the greencard is approved and granted? Can an adjustment of status (I-485) be submitted simultaneously with the I-130 in the case of a permanent resident applying for a spouse?

It is recommended that she keeps her legal status in this country; the reason is because the rule under SEVIS requires all DSOs to report foreign students' status quarterly to immigration services. When your wife is no longer going to school, DSO will report your wife's status to immigration services and the services will issue her a notice to appear in court. She is deportable at that time.

What I have seen (but not recommended) people doing is they go to school until they graduate, then get one year OPT, then overstay their visa. DSO will not report after students graduate. As of now, there is no mechanism put in place to detect where students go after OPT. She then can wait here and adjust her status when her priority date is up.

Email or call me if you are still confused.

Best of luck!

Hello, my name is Akira, I have the similar situation (I am on F-1 visa and am going to marry a LPR) and want to ask: when I marry him will I get at least social security card? And will I be able to apply for some financial aid like Pell Grant? This is the only question I can't find the answer to.
I'd appriciate your help.

Marrying a lawful permanent resident (LPR) in itself does not qualify you for a Social Security Number (SSN) or financial aid. To obtain an SSN, first, you need to have employment authorization from USCIS. Generally, you can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, also known as work permit) under F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) after you have completed at least 1 academic year under F-1 student status.

You can also qualify for a work permit when you apply for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Residence based on your marriage to LPR husband. However, before you can apply for permanent residence, your husband needs to file an I-130 petition for you and you have wait for your priority date to become current. The current wait for spouse of LPR is approximately 5 years. For more information regarding the priority date, visit this link: http://bccvisalaw.com/immigration-to-usa.php

hi there i have some questions and needed for an answer.

my boyfriend is an international student in houston and i live in seattle. we've been traveling back and forth to see each other. he will move to seattle and stay with me. i want to file a paperwork from an F1 to a US resident. my questions are:

- do i need an income in order to sponsor him? i got laidoff 5 months ago which i worked for 2 years and currently do part time job. is this going to effect it?
- do i need to hire a lawyer to help us do this?
- are the INS going to run a background credit check?

please advised thanks.

Hi all,

I'm an international student. I just wonder that beside marrying a permanent person in the U.S, is there other way to become a resident in America? Thank you.

Yes, there is. You can transition from an F-1 to H1-B visa through employment, and then from the H1-B to permanent residency. Before graduating, apply for a work permit through OPT. Hopefully, once you are in your job for OPT, your employer will be willing to sponsor you for an H1-B visa. This initially authorizes you to work for 3 years. You can apply to have it renewed for another 3 years before the initial 3 years is up. Then, before the 2nd H1-B expires, your employer can file an immigrant petition on your behalf. Once this is approved, you can apply for an adjustment of status to become a legal permanent resident.

HELLO. MY NAME IS TONY. I'M A PERMANENT RESIDENT. MY FUTURE WIFE CAME TO USA WITH J1 VISA AND IT EXPIRED YEAR AGO.
CAN SHE BECOME LEGAL HERE IF WE WILL GET MARRIED???????

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US. I WILL BE WAITING ANSWERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!