US Citizen, Foreigner, Marrying in Puerto Rico

This is really a question for an immigration attorney.

Also the International Center of his school would have great resources.

Hopefully you'll get some answers, but this seems like a question better suited for an immigration attorney than an online forum! You want to be sure the info you're getting is 100% correct -- this is too important to rely on strangers!

I wouldn't trust information from internet strangers for such important legal things like this. I get that you might be asking for others' experiences, but only an immigration attorney can tell you exactly what you need for your situation.

Please consult an attorney.

Change his status to the fiance visa because that will get preference of extending status before a work visa. However you HAVE to be legally married within 90 days of that status change. Once you are married he has to apply for another status change. That will make it easier for him to became a legal permanent resident (green card holder). Don't delay on doing any of this paperwork

You need to speak to an immigration lawyer. Changing Visa status can be tricky. Also, Puerto Rico is a US Territory, which means that US law is followed. I'm Canadian and I know that.

Yes, we will be speaking to an immigration attorney- but I was more interested in anybody else's experience and what we can expect and any specific issues you all have had. Also, we have a few friends who have contracted immigration attorney's for different reasons and they were quite expensive. Does anybody have an idea of what an average quote might be reasonable to expect, flat fee versus per hour (I realize this depends on the area, but we're just putting feelers our right now).

You do need to speak to an attorney. My standard advice to my couples getting married elsewhere (and honestly, I don't know how elsewhere PR is considered) is to get married in the continental USA if you are planning to live here.

But you really do need a lawyer; this is far too complicated for us to unsort for you.

I know law firms I've worked with in the past range from $500/hr to over $2k per hour for the partner.

In general immigration is expensive, and while I don't think you need to hire the best law firm ever to accomplish it, definitely do not go with someone less reputable because they are less expensive. God forbid they mess up, the extra fees you'd pay to a new lawyer would be quite high. I've had a friend go through it not for immigration reasons, but for a builder lawsuit and they hired a mom and pop shop for less and now are working with a much more expensive law firm to handle the job properly after the first lawyer royally f*** them.

Good luck!

@Rachel - That will really depend on the area. I know there's one in my neighborhood (I'm in NYC, but in a relatively poor neighborhood) that charges $200 for an initial consult, no idea what their regular rate is, but I'd imagine much higher.

Please excuse me while I go sell a kidney to pay those fees... (although the 200-500 baseline is what I was kind of expecting)

I agree with Celia that you may want to focus on getting married where you are and then have the symbolic ceremony and reception in PR. I'm getting married in PR and most vendors encourage this.

Given our political climate (and because I'm always a little paranoid), I would find someone reputable and bite the bullet. This is important.

This is something you need to get 100% right so I would speak to an immigration lawyer

Hi there!

I'm no attorney, but I've been your FH's shoes. I'm from another country too. I met my FH in college as a F-1 (student) visa holder. (I call him FH because we didn't have wedding yet, but we are married on paper for my visa status reason)

You and Your FH can apply for Spouse Visa (CR-1) after you guys get married. You won't need fiance visa, as he is already in the US as a student visa holder.

That is the easiest way to get a green card. (getting a green card from student visa is very tricky and hard- requires a lot of work and luck)

Since you guys are getting married outside of the US, I would suggest getting married on paper in US beforehand to make the process easier.

Applying for CR-1 is not very hard as long as you read USCIS guidelines and follow their rules.

You don't really need an attorney. I did it myself too and a lot of people do it themselves.

Visit USCIS.gov for more information. Also Visajourney.com is very helpful.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/A1en.pdf

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Good luck!

Awesome post Mokobun! That is exactly what I was looking for- just a direction of knowing where to start looking! Thank you so much!!

Glad to be of help

We have to go through the K-1 visa, but we've decided to just marry here in the States to avoid any other unnecessary paperwork because honestly the K-1 has been daunting but we're on the ball!

I'm with PP seek an attorney that specializes in immigration. That can be worth it. One wrong thing on the application or timeline not done correctly and the visa is automatically denied.

Mokobun posted the site I was going to! Lol great, necessary info on that site and it breaks down step by step process.

I am marrying my FH , he is a us citizen and I am on students visa. It is easier to get married in the US ( city hall wedding ) first because he can apply for adjustment of status straight away. But if you do the marriage in puerto rico, you will have to approximately wait for 4-6 months because they are asking for a lot of requirements. Translation of documents is one example. This is in California though. I am not sure how it works in different state.