I am an F1 student completed graduation on OPT,i am marrying an american girl so whats the process now?
kindly mail me regarding this ASAP.
Answer:
OK, this is going to be fun;
I'm an American and I married a student (F-1) from overseas.
Now if you go to the USCIS.gov website you can get started. If you are engaged you need to file the Form 129 (Fiance). However, I suggest getting married ASAP (go to a court room) and have the formal ceremony another time with your family present (this really speeds up the process). Once married (you can bypass the 129) and fill out a 130 (to bring Family members to the USA; or allow you to start processing a 485). Once the 130 is approved (about 3-6 months) you can file the 485 (Change your status from F-1 Student to a Permanent Resident). I would suggest trying to bypass the the 129 because that adds an additional few months onto the processing time (You have to wait for the 129, then the 130, then the 485, and then you have to go meet an immigration official who'll ask all kinds of question, then you wait another month for the Permanent Resident card to show up in the mail).
My suggestion wud be to first get a H1 and then proceed to applying for the green card...and ofcourse that is the normal way people go abt it...
As regards going out of the country and back..ideally you are not supposed to leave the country once you have initiated ur green card process...but once your labour stage is cleared( thats the first stage...total are 3 stages) you can apply for an advance parol doc( Form 131) which lets you travel out of the country and back...
The only pain in the neck being you have to keep renewing this form till you receive your green card.
Hope this helps....
Funnily enough my fiancee is doing the same thing as you are! :) I suggest you contact an immigration lawyer to help you out. OPT will allow you to stay in the country so you don't have to worry about waiting the usual three months after you marry to get working papers. You need to be cleared to travel before you leave the country....which means having the green card. If you don't have it, they won't let you back into the country.
Below is info. for the lawyer we chose who is VERY flexible about payment and just wants to help you. He's in Virginia, but as he says, with Fax, E-mail, and the phone...it doesn't matter. You can ask him questions anytime, he's REALLY nice and understanding.
Arthur Serratelli, Esq.
Vandeventer Black LLP
500 World Trade Center
Norfolk, VA 23510
(757) 446-8683 phone
(757) 446-8670 fax
aserratelli@VANBLK.COM
You must get the H1 visa first.
Having an F1 visa makes you automatically ineligible to get a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen. You must return to your home country.
The best thing to do is adjust status to H1. After about 2 years on the H1, you can petition yourself for a green card. This is probably the best way to go, because you never know what could happen with this girl. With the H1 you can get your own green card without having to get married to this girl.
The immigration information post by website user , MyTend.com not guarantee correctness