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Procedure For J1 Visa Holder To Marry A U.S. Citizen

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  • 04-06-2008, 04:12 PM
    chocolate panda
    Procedure For J1 Visa Holder To Marry A U.S. Citizen
    Hi,
    I have been in the US for many years, always with J1 visas (and the US embassy always gave me the J1s, even though it wasn't for the same employer nor with the same sponsor, and without ever asking me to fulfill the 2 year requirement).
    I'm engaged to marry a US citizen; I am currently on a J1, for 3 years (starting September 2007, so I'm in the middle of my first year of this visa).
    I have been looking at what is the procedure for getting married (we will do so in the US -in California in particular, where we are both residing now and will be residing from then on). I understand that we need to get married first and then apply for change of status.

    -What forms do i need to fill out, and to whom do i send them?
    -Should i apply for the change of status, or should my future husband? -Do i need to worry about the 2 year requirement after the J1 (i.e. do i need to file a waiver?) ?
    -Am i still eligible to work where I work now and what steps should I or my employer take, if any?
    -Since my current work is away from where my future husband is living (and where we'll both live after we're married), I'll need to relocate, so when can I look for another job, if not immediately? (I am on a J1 after all, so I can legally work -right? or should I wait for status to have changed completely?)
    -I have heard of foreigners not being able to leave the US for a year, (i've also heard two years sometimes), after they got married to a US citizen, to show their good faith. Is this true? If so, when in the status-changing process does this start?
    -any other advice or detail my fiance and I should know about?
    Thank you so much for all the help you can give us!!
  • 04-12-2008, 07:52 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Procedure For J1 Visa Holder To Marry A U.S. Citizen
    Read this article.
  • 04-13-2008, 04:52 PM
    chocolate panda
    Re: Procedure For J1 Visa Holder To Marry A U.S. Citizen
    thank you!

    My fiance and I have looked into this more and we now feel we have a better grasp of the procedure.

    However, I still have two issues:

    -work. How long does it take to get the EAD? Again, I am now under a J-1 visa but working away from my fiance. I need to either extend my contract at my current job for another year (another year seeing my fiance only on week-ends... lovely :(:(:( ...), or quit, but i guess i should do that after i get married, because then what would my status be? I suppose that when I quit, my status as a J-1 visa holder is terminated? :confused:

    -travel. How long does it take to obtain an advance parole? (which, i understand, is not automatically given AT ALL). Before I got engaged, I had decided to return home for two weeks over the summer. If I go through with that plan, I suppose it'd be wiser to get married when i come back, is that correct?

    The processing times for all those applications make me a little nervous as to how it will enfold and what are my choices, regarding work and travel. I don't want to tell my employer I'll be working for her next year and then it turns out i can't, or say that i have to quit and then realize i should have stayed (to show i work, and thus intend to not be a public charge, for example); nor do i want to tell my family i'm coming home and then have to disappoint them because i didn't get or receive the advance parole in time.

    Thanks again for the help!

    Confused Chocolate Panda
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