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Summary: Can I attend university (2 yr full-time Masters degree) while I am on adjustment of status?
Details:
I am currently on an H1B visa. My fiance is a US citizen by birth. We plan to get married in June 2015. Up until this point we have not looked into any of the legal issues.. we assumed it is quite simple; you get married, then you apply for a green card. Right?
Anyway, the complication is that I would like to go get a Masters degree starting in July/August 2015. Meaning the degree program starts just one or two months after our marriage. If we weren't getting married, then I know the procedure would be to apply as an "international student", and the college would give me an I20 to apply for an F-1 visa.
However since we are getting married, what should I do differently? If we apply for a green card immediately after marriage, then I will be on "adjustment of status" when college begins.
Question 1 - Can I attend university while I am on adjustment of status?
Question 2 - Will I in fact be in "adjustment of status" stage at this point, or does it take a few months to reach even the "adjustment of status" stage? (Do you get an "adjustment of status" form or card or something, and if so how long does it take to get that?)
Alternatively, here are a couple of options I am willing to consider (and looking for opinions on these):
Option 1 - We don't apply for the green card right after marriage; I start college on an F1, even though married to a US citizen, and then apply for the green card during or after the program. Will this cause problems? I expect I might get denied an F1 since I am already engaged to a US citizen (our engagement photos are posted on ********)
Option 2 - We get married now, rather than wait until June. Of course there is no guarantee I will have a GC by July, since the whole process seems to take up to 9-12 months, so I don't know if this option will make a difference. Also we are currently in different cities due to jobs; our plan was to move in together after marriage in June and I will quit my current job at that time. I suspect if we get married now, USCIS will have a problem with us not living together? (we have been dating 4 yrs and have lot of photo evidence)
Please let me know your thoughts on question 1 and 2, or if I should instead be considering option 1 or 2.
Thank you
Details:
I am currently on an H1B visa. My fiance is a US citizen by birth. We plan to get married in June 2015. Up until this point we have not looked into any of the legal issues.. we assumed it is quite simple; you get married, then you apply for a green card. Right?
Anyway, the complication is that I would like to go get a Masters degree starting in July/August 2015. Meaning the degree program starts just one or two months after our marriage. If we weren't getting married, then I know the procedure would be to apply as an "international student", and the college would give me an I20 to apply for an F-1 visa.
However since we are getting married, what should I do differently? If we apply for a green card immediately after marriage, then I will be on "adjustment of status" when college begins.
Question 1 - Can I attend university while I am on adjustment of status?
Question 2 - Will I in fact be in "adjustment of status" stage at this point, or does it take a few months to reach even the "adjustment of status" stage? (Do you get an "adjustment of status" form or card or something, and if so how long does it take to get that?)
Alternatively, here are a couple of options I am willing to consider (and looking for opinions on these):
Option 1 - We don't apply for the green card right after marriage; I start college on an F1, even though married to a US citizen, and then apply for the green card during or after the program. Will this cause problems? I expect I might get denied an F1 since I am already engaged to a US citizen (our engagement photos are posted on ********)
Option 2 - We get married now, rather than wait until June. Of course there is no guarantee I will have a GC by July, since the whole process seems to take up to 9-12 months, so I don't know if this option will make a difference. Also we are currently in different cities due to jobs; our plan was to move in together after marriage in June and I will quit my current job at that time. I suspect if we get married now, USCIS will have a problem with us not living together? (we have been dating 4 yrs and have lot of photo evidence)
Please let me know your thoughts on question 1 and 2, or if I should instead be considering option 1 or 2.
Thank you
