I'm currently an int'l student in medical school here in the US. Been here since 2006, finished my undergrad 2010, did OPT for about 2 years (STEM extension) and now in medical school. I'm planning to marry my fiance who is a GC holder and the wedding ceremony will be in India next January. My questions are: Firstly, given the current status of the F2A visa application, I was thinking about doing a court marriage here in the US maybe in the next couple of weeks so I can then start my GC application process. My question is whether the 'current' status for the F2A visa are only for those with an approved I-130 application only or will it also make it quicker for me since I'm living in the US and can thus file my I-485 concurrently? In other words, is the 'current' status only helpful to those with an approved I-130 because if that's the case, then it will have no impact on my application and might in fact risk my re-entry in January when I return from the wedding ceremony 2. If I can file my I-485 application along with the I-130 application, given the fact that I am in the US and the 'current' status of the F2A visa application, is it then true that I can also apply for an Advance parole card so that I can travel even with a pending I-130 and I-485? Can the AP application also be done at the same time or do I need some kind of acknowledgment that my I-130 and I-485 are already in process ? 3. Also according to the USCIS Vermont Center website, the wait for an AP card seems to be about 3 months, so I just wanted to find out if this seemed accurate to you. And if I were to let's say file for everything in August and don't get the AP card by December, then what are my other options if I have to travel ? Will my I-485 be considered invalid if I then left the US for approx. 2 weeks for my wedding ceremony? 4. I would also appreciate it if there is a checklist that you could provide me regarding all the documents that I will need in order to complete these 2 forms so I can get an idea and also maybe start organizing them for the filing process? Thank you so much for all your help and time. I really appreciate and look forward to your responses. P.S. Should I avoid all these issues by having my fiance apply for a citizenship (she's eligible) and do the court marriage next year after I come back from the wedding ceremony ? Thanks again. Sorry for the extremely long post.

This blog post should answer all your questions. http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/07/fb-category-frequently-asked-questions.html If not, please feel free to post below. Few notes: 1. Yes you can file I-130 and I-485 at the same time. 2. Yes 3. Do not travel outside US without AP if you are on F1. 4. Checklist link is in the blog post above. Also she can file I-130 petition for you and later upgrade to IR1 after becoming citizen.

Thank you so much Amazon. That blog was really helpful. I spoke with my fiance today and we both seem to agree that it's probably wiser to wait until after our trip to India in December 2013 before starting the whole application process only because the Advance Parole takes anywhere from between 3 -5 months and that is a risk that we are not willing to take at this time. Anyway, I just have one last question. If let's say that we do the court marriage here in the US before December 2013, mainly so we can file our taxes as a married couple and save some money next year, do you foresee any problem for my re-entry assuming that I don't start any of my GC applications? Is court marriage a status that would come up when they check my name at the port of entry if I have not started any immigration applications ? Do you think the benefit of doing this outweigh the risk assuming an income level of $50,000 - $60,000? Thank you so much for your time and all the information that you have provided. I really appreciate it. You're fantastic, Amazon :)

Thank you Man16. EAD typically takes 3 months. However it could be longer if USCIS received a huge volume of applications. For port of entry officer: This could be tricky. F1 visa is non-immigrant visa and given to person who does not intent to immigrate to US. However once you marry a GC holder, you now have an intent to immigrate to US. So it would depend on the POE officer (assuming they found out you are married). You may want to talk to a good lawyer about this.