Rush the wedding

[flyforever85]

Hi all, I've been in America since 2015, I arrived with an H1B visa which is still valid. After a month I arrived I met my partner, we have been living together since early 2016 and this year we bought a house together.

Recently, my boss told me that it will be difficult to renew my contract after April 2019 and if I lose my job I have 24 hours to go back to Italy (where I am from). My partner (American) and I are planning to get married on May 26, 2018 but apparently several people are taking up to 1 year to receive their green card so what if we rush a bit our wedding to be sure I receive my green card while still in America? Would this ring a bell at USCIS?

We already planned (and paid) for a reception in Ohio for May 2018 and a reception in Italy in September 2018 and for both receptions we have invitations ready.

Thanks!

[inadmissible]

In general, immediate relatives of US citizens can apply for adjustment of status (to that of a permanent resident) even after their non-immigrant status has lapsed

In your case, you wish to travel. You don't need to wait until becoming a permanent resident in order to travel abroad, but you do need to wait for your advance parole to be approved. Advance parole is a privilege you apply for when applying for adjustment of status, which will allow you to travel abroad and return afterwards while your adjustment of status application is pending. It does take - in the best case - about four months for advance parole to be approved after you submit all your adjustment of status paperwork. You'll need a marriage certificate to apply for adjustment of status, which in most places is only available like 2 weeks after the actual marriage occurs

Your receptions are paid for, invitations have been sent. You could hope that your contract gets renewed and your H-1B status is extended (if needed), or you find another job and your H-1B transfer is approved. If you don't want to stake your reception plans on that hope, you should consider having a civil ceremony sooner. It doesn't have to be a long drawn out affair: witnesses an officiant, and a marriage license are all you need (personally I think the prominent/historic landmark location is a nice added flourish). If you do it by mid-March, you might be able to file your paperwork and obtain advance parole in time for September. To account for possible delays in USCIS processing, I would consider having a civil ceremony even sooner than that.

USCIS will not be suspicious of a civil ceremony occurring spontaneously, or occurring prior to the wedding reception. That is quite a common occurrence. In fact, there may be very little reason for USCIS to be suspicious of any aspect of your marriage. Cohabiting a home that you co-own is like the second strongest form of evidence there is of a bona fide marriage