Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

Yes, you may apply for your fiancee through adjustment of status.

Detailed information can be found here:

http://www.msclaw.com/Green_Card_for_Spouse.html

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

Once you get married and file a petition to your wife, it normally takes 3 months for your wife to get a work permit based on a pending green card application.

Please contact our office for further discussion or email me at [email protected].

Note: The above response is provided for information only and should not be construed as legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship, which can only be established through payment of consideration.

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

Dear Inquirer:

On F-1 visa status, including OPT, your fiancee should not have been an intending immigrant on her last admission to the US. Therefore, you should not get married until at least 60 days have elapsed since her last admission. If more than 60 days have already passed, then once you marry you can file for her adjustment of status based on a concurrently filed immigrant visa petition, and request a new work permit during the pendency of the green card application.

Please visit our website at www.hanlonlawgroup.com for more information or email [email protected] if you would like to schedule an appointment for a confidential consultation to discuss this matter further.

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

You really should consult an Immigration Attorney. Please send me an email if in Southern California with your contact information and we can discuss your particular facts. There is no fee for consultation.

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

What virtually everyone does is get married, then file for her adjustment of status and apply for work authorization while that's pending. There will likely be a gap between between the time she is granted work authorization and the expiration of her OPT, however, that is not a basis for denying her adjustment. To be perfectly legal and violate nothing, she either needs to have a basis for extending her work authorization (I expect a separate petition/application which is unlikely she has anything immediately available) or go home and wait for approval of her K-3, immigrant visa or what have you.

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

The F-1 OPT is, in response to one of the other excellent counsel, assuming that she has been a student for 4 years or more, and has worked in a job for 11-28 months. Therefore the 60-day barrier before application for spouse's visa adjusted from a student's F-1 has been passed long ago.

Your goal is to avoid separation where possible. Begin with a K-1 fiance visa, which will allow you to apply for work authorization within a few weeks, marry as you planned, and then file for K-3 visa and adjustment of status at the same time, which should allow you to apply for work authorization successfully.

If you want to discuss this matter in more detail, please by all means get in touch through [email protected].

Re: F1 OPT visa holder marry US citizen

She won't receive employment authorization until about three months after you file your case. If she is employed without authorization she's still eligible to adjust status to permanent residence in the U.S. upon expiration of her OPT before the employment authorization is approved. She might request an unpaid leave of absence or true volunteering without expectation of pay in the future for the current work to sweeten her employer to keep her in their loop - if they want to terminate her. Telling them she wouldn't be penalized for unauthorized employment might help too.

What would be most helpful is hiring the right counsel to prepare your case from now to quickest get the employment authorization soonest.

I would be happy to help you out if you contact me offline. Check me out at http://www.yardum-hunter.com, fill out a consultation request there at http://www.yardum-hunter.com/Main/Consultation.asp or email me at [email protected].

Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization

ST: 15915 Ventura Blvd., Penthouse #1, Encino, CA 91436

EM: [email protected] WEB: http://www.yardum-hunter.com

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