How to apply for green card after marriage

[mksolly285]

Hi there, this is my first post to the forum, but I've been reading it for a while. I haven't been able to find a post exactly like my situation so I thought it was worth asking.

I am a US Citizen, I met my fiance while volunteering in Mexico and we've been together for 6 months. He has a B-2 visitors visa right now and will be visiting from Nov 26-Dec 29 to stay with me and meet my family.... then I'm going to Mexico to stay with him and his family for 2 weeks before my classes resume. We are both still in college (me here in the states and him in Mexico), but we've been talking about getting married in May (on our 1yr anniversary! ). He will be studying abroad in Madrid from January-July. I will be visiting him for 2 weeks in March, he will be visiting in May for my graduation, and then I will be going to Madrid for 2 months to stay with him and hopefully enjoy married life together. I'll probably go back to Mexico with him for July and August, before I have to return to the States and completely finish my degree. We are spending a lot of time together and living together, but not here in the states.

We will both be finished with our degrees in Dec 2015 and we would want to obviously be together. We have decided it's best if he moves here after graduation. Therefore I've been looking into how to get a green card for my fiance (we would apply after we're married).

We will be married, but he won't be currently living in the states, but he will have his B2 visa.... so is this a change in status? or how do we go about this application process?

I would just love some clarification or any insight on this topic. Do you know how long this process takes? Getting that visitor visa took forever! Does it matter if we get married in the states or mexico or spain?

Thank you!

[peace999]

*You can get married anywhere but I suggest you get married either in US or his country of nationality for ease of immigration process.
*To get his green card after marriage;
1.he could change from visitor to green card after marriage inside US but there is some level of risk in this
as they can charge him with lying while entering as a visitor( entering as a visitor with a premeditated intent to change to green card).
2.Safest is to file an I-130 ( immigrant petition)for him in US after you get married ( anywhere) for consular processing in his country of nationality( mexico)
Meaning his immigrant visa will be processed in the country address you will provide in your I-130 petition ( provide his country of nationality address)
Even if he is traveling to other countries, he can come back to Mexico for the processing of his immigrant visa ( police clearance, medicals, interviews).
The whole process will take 10-12 months from the time you file a petition for him.