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Hi everyone,
I am a postdoc on an F1-OPT which is valid until 15th August, 2013 (my postdoc position however would at least be until August 2014, and most likely the university will apply for an H1B). I am getting married in January 2013 in India. I am considering the visa options for my to-be wife. She is also on F1-OPT which is valid until 5th February, 2013. As of now, we don't plan to apply for OPT extension for her and would therefore like to apply for an F2 dependent visa.
I have the following questions:
- At the time of our marriage in January, there would be about 6 months left before my OPT expires. Would this affect the chances of her getting the F2 visa?
- If it does affect the granting of F2 visa, is there anything we can do to minimize this risk?
- Since she is already on F1-OPT and is in the US, I believe there are 2 ways of applying for F2: applying here in the US (as a change-of-status) OR going back to India and applying for the F2 there (after our marriage in India in January). Of course, we aren't married yet so to apply for the F2 as a change-of-status while being in the US, we would need a proof of marriage for which we can do a court-marriage here. Is it advisable to do so, and is any of these two ways for applying for the F2 visa better than the other?
I would really appreciate any answers or suggestions regarding our situation.
Thanks.
I am a postdoc on an F1-OPT which is valid until 15th August, 2013 (my postdoc position however would at least be until August 2014, and most likely the university will apply for an H1B). I am getting married in January 2013 in India. I am considering the visa options for my to-be wife. She is also on F1-OPT which is valid until 5th February, 2013. As of now, we don't plan to apply for OPT extension for her and would therefore like to apply for an F2 dependent visa.
I have the following questions:
- At the time of our marriage in January, there would be about 6 months left before my OPT expires. Would this affect the chances of her getting the F2 visa?
- If it does affect the granting of F2 visa, is there anything we can do to minimize this risk?
- Since she is already on F1-OPT and is in the US, I believe there are 2 ways of applying for F2: applying here in the US (as a change-of-status) OR going back to India and applying for the F2 there (after our marriage in India in January). Of course, we aren't married yet so to apply for the F2 as a change-of-status while being in the US, we would need a proof of marriage for which we can do a court-marriage here. Is it advisable to do so, and is any of these two ways for applying for the F2 visa better than the other?
I would really appreciate any answers or suggestions regarding our situation.
Thanks.
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