If my F1 visa expires 1 day after my graduation and my American fiancé and I want to get married, what do we do?

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If my F1 visa expires 1 day after my graduation and my American fiancé and I want to get married, what do we do?

Having my visa expiration in mind, we decided to get married before my graduation, so in a few weeks. Do we have to send out the forms and request for visa adjustment before my visa expires, or do I have a month after visa expiration? Am I OK to stay in the US if my visa expires but my permanent residence papers are in process? Can you explain us the steps that need to be taken after getting married? Is this situation where we are getting married right before my visa expiration potentially suspicious?

Asked on April 12, 2012 under Immigration Law, New York

Answers:

SB, Member, California / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

The visa expiration date is irrelevant anyway.  It's the I-94 expiration date that determines your authorized period of stay.  If you are a student, your I-94 probably denotes D/S in place of expiration date.  This means Duration of Status so there is no actual expiration date.  If you get married, as soon as you have the marriage certificate in hand, you can submit your petitions and application for the permanent residence on the basis of marriage. 


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