Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Hi everyone,

I am a US citizen and me and my girlfriend plan on getting married in the United States. She arrived in The US as an exchange student from France with a J1 Student visa, and in March, she got an internship in San Francisco along with a renewed J1 working Visa which expires in May 2011.

She doesn't have a 2yr requirement and has never overstayed any previous visas.

What are the steps we will have to follow? Do we first have to get married at the city hall? And then apply for a green card?

What are the common mistakes we should avoid, and what's the best thing to speed up the process?

I appreciate your help,

Thank you.


Asked on 6/10/10, 12:40 pm

4 Answers from Attorneys

Michael Cho Law Offices of Michael Cho

Yes, you'll want to get married then apply for the adjustment of status.

You may find information on the process along with the services I offer here:

http://www.msclaw.com/Why_Choose_MSCandAssociates.html

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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Answered on 6/10/10, 3:49 pm
Luba Smal Smal Immigration Law Office

To speed up the process, you have to get married first and then submit all applications concurrently to the USCIS with the affidavit of support, medical, all filing fees and supporting documents. All applications are submitted by mail. If you forget something, it will delay processing of your case.

If she doesn't have a 2-year foreign residency requirement, she can apply for adjustment of status (green card). Otherwise, she will need to either meet this requirement or have it waived.

If you need legal assistance please let me know.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information purposes only and should not be considered a legal advice; it doesn�t create an attorney-client relationship. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please visit http://www.law-visa-usa.com/contact_us.html

I offer confidential telephone or email legal consultations and assist in matters of the U.S. federal immigration law to clients from all 50 States and internationally. If you�d like to schedule a telephone or email legal consultation, need legal advice or help, please let me know and I�d be glad to help you. Please email at Attorney [@] law-visa-usa.com . Office Telephone line is 1-402-210-2040 (please EMAIL to schedule a consultation).

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Answered on 6/10/10, 3:52 pm
Ajay Arora Ajay K. Arora, Attorney-at-Law, P.C.

You must be married, and then all sponsorship paperwork such as petition for alien relative (to be signed by the U.S. citizen spouse), the adjustment of status application along with employment authorization and advance parole document applications (to be signed by the immigrant spouse), etc. should be filed concurrently, and your spouse will be able to remain and adjust status in the U.S.

Please call our law firm at 212-268-3580 during business hours, or email [email protected] if you have questions.

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Answered on 6/10/10, 5:01 pm
Shah Peerally Shah Peerally Law Group PC

You should go ahead and file adjustment of status. If you want to avoid any issues I will highly recommend hiring a good immigration lawyer. Our law firm has served many in the Bay Area CA.

Good Luck

Shah Peerally

http://peerallylaw.com

510 742.5887

Founder and Managing Attorney of Shah Peerally Law Group PC

The Law Firm Deals in Immigration law & Debt Settlement Negotiations.

Note: The above answer is provided for informational use only. One should not act or refrain to act solely based on the information provided. No attorney client relationship is created unless a retainer or a fee agreement is signed by the attorney and the client

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Answered on 6/10/10, 10:03 pm


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