I was visiting my fiancé in the United States and cannot leave due to the pandemic since there are no flights available and it is not safe to travel. Can I apply for a Green Card while I’m visiting my fiancé based on how scary it is to be separated during the pandemic?

Many states grant a legal name change when the Foreign National spouse gets married—this new married name is usually printed on the marriage certificate if you apply for the license requesting the name change. If the new name is printed on the marriage certificate, it gives the Foreign National the right to elect to use their spouse’s last name or to hyphenate their name with their spouses name. Whatever decision is made at this point, the Foreign National should going forward, consistently use the name they opt to take. 

if you are the spouse of a lawful permanent resident, or a child under 21 years old of a permanent resident who does not yet have a visa petition filed, you should submit your visa petition as soon as possible during the month of July 2019, in order to be able to take advantage of the current priority date for F2A and apply for a visa immediately.

If you are on an H-1B visa, there is no reason you can’t get married to a US citizen as long as you honor the immigration laws and procedures that apply to most non-immigrants transitioning to an immigrant visa (marriage-based Green Card). The following are some important considerations to keep in mind:

• I have a student visa and my spouse has a Green Card. Can he apply for my Green Card now or should we wait until after he becomes a U.S. Citizen

• Will I get in trouble if I came here to study but ended up marrying my Green Card holding boyfriend/girlfriend?

• What if I overstay my student visa. Can I still get a Green Card if my Green Card holding spouse petitions for me?

USCIS has been experiencing unprecedented delays this year in 2018 due to new immigration policies and procedures that have changed the way we now advise our clients. These changes directly impact when a marriage case should be filed, how travels have to be carefully planned, and when an arriving immigrant can begin working and also maintain their employment status after filing for family based Adjustment of Status.

Entering as a boyfriend/girlfriend on the visitor visa, or ESTA (also known as the Visa Waiver Program), is not in and of itself a visa violation. It can, however, become a problem if the girlfriend/boyfriend plans to use the non-immigrant visa to enter, and then take actions that are contrary to the intent of the visa by, for example, getting married to their US citizen love interest. This is because marriage to a US citizen implies immigrant intent, according to the US immigration laws, and traveling with what's called "dual intent" is strictly forbidden when it comes to the visitors visa or ESTA.