Applying for permanent residency

[setz50]

Hi All,

I am in the States with an F1 visa which will end this May. I was previously on a J1 visa with the 2-year home residency requirement. I served the 18 months of that 2 year in my home country before I came back to the US on the F1 visa. Now, I am about to marry my partner who is an American citizen.

Our problem is that we don't know when to apply for my permanent residency. I still have to go back home for at least six months to fulfill the 2-year home residency rule. Should we apply for the permanent residency right now because it takes so long for all the processes? Or, if we apply now with my home residency requirement, will the application be rejected completely and then will we have to reapply for the permanent residency?

Thank you!

[rayb]

Until you have proof of satisfying the J1 "two-year" requirement, you risk being denied if you apply for Green Card status.

If nothing else, the "2-year" out-of-country requirement is taken very seriously by USCIS. I had one client denied for failure to complete a 2-year absence from a J1 more than 30 years ago, and she never told me about that prior visa.

--Ray B

Hi All,

I am in the States with an F1 visa which will end this May. I was previously on a J1 visa with the 2-year home residency requirement. I served the 18 months of that 2 year in my home country before I came back to the US on the F1 visa. Now, I am about to marry my partner who is an American citizen.

Our problem is that we don't know when to apply for my permanent residency. I still have to go back home for at least six months to fulfill the 2-year home residency rule. Should we apply for the permanent residency right now because it takes so long for all the processes? Or, if we apply now with my home residency requirement, will the application be rejected completely and then will we have to reapply for the permanent residency?

Thank you!

[setz50]

Applying for permanent residency

Thank you, Ryan B. So, you think we should not apply for the permanent residency before I fulfill the 2-year requirement, is that correct? We were hoping that we could save some time by applying earlier.

[rayb]

If you submit an I-130 before you are eligible to be processed, you risk it being denied much later, and you have to start over.

--Ray B

Thank you, Ryan B. So, you think we should not apply for the permanent residency before I fulfill the 2-year requirement, is that correct? We were hoping that we could save some time by applying earlier.