Renewing F-1 Visa while on OPT and married to US citizen

[emperorvinayak]

Hello all,

I recently got married to a US citizen and we wish to travel to India to celebrate our honeymoon and to visit my family. She already booked plane tickets for us for Dec 31 2017.
I'm currently on STEM OPT and my F-1 Visa has expired. I was planning on applying for adjustment of status but I heard that advance parole takes a long time to be issued (the thread can be viewed here: https://www.immihelp.com/forum/showt...authorization))

My question is: Is it a better idea to delay the application for green card until we get back from India? My current OPT EAD is valid till Feb 2019 so time is not an issue. My only concern is that if they see that I'm married to a US citizen, they may see that as an intent to immigrate and deny renewal of my F-1 visa. I've also heard that it can be a little more complicated to renew on OPT to prove that my intents are academic (they are, I'm still new to my field and I have a lot to learn and my employer is helping me learn and find my way around the industry).

I really want to go back because I haven't seen my family in a while and she hasn't met most of them. Delaying is a problem because her classes start for spring semester end of Jan.

Thank you for any advice!

[inadmissible]

You're not in an enviable situation.

On one hand, if you filed for adjustment of status, you wont expect your advance parole to be approved until the end of January, but you want to travel a whole month earlier than that.

On the other hand, you are aware of the risks of F-1 renewal after you've matriculated. In particular, you'll have to overcome the presumption that you do not intend to return the United States with immigrant intent. After all, it makes more sense for you to adjust your status in the United States after your OPT expires rather than go all the way home after just one month. You will have to persuade both the consular officer and the CBP officer at the port of entry that you plan to enter the United States as a bona fide non-immigrant, and that you will depart right after your OPT lapses

If I was in your shoes, I would take the path of least risk. I would delay my honeymoon until I had approved advance parole. I recognize that that educating your spouse about these issues might be difficult, but the outcome would be worse if you end up stuck outside the United States after your honeymoon was over

Best of luck