I am an Indian citizen on My F1; Im employed on STEM, Stem Ead expires in July, 2024. I do not have H1b yet.
My boyfriend, a US citizen, and I are planning to marry(Court and Indian) in first quarter of 2024 or probably January itself. He has an employment in Canada for two years beginning in July this year and will be in US only for wedding and holidays.
Will January 2024 be too late to apply for GC and continue to live in the US? Would I be deported to India between the time my ead expires(July 2024) and GC is processed provided I do not have a h1b even by then? I do want to join him but finding a job in canada would again be difficult without visa and cost a lot, and google says the spousal visa takes a year for canada too.
Would my boyfriend be able to apply for GC petition from Canada or outside US?
How/where one can find a reliable immigration attorney if this situation is complicated?
There is no wait for spouse of US citizens so this is okay.
Once your I-130 and I-485 are filed concurrently, you can keep living in the US till your GC application is adjudicated. If you dont receive GC EAD before July 2024, you will need to stop working and can resume once your GC EAD is approved.
So my inference from your statement is I stop working by ead expiry date but I can continue to live here in the US even though I didn’t receive gc(and a gc application is submitted)
Since My F1/ead is expiring in July, 2024, will my petition copy be my only document to show that iam legally living in US after July 2024?
Yes he can file while outside of the US. For adjustment of status the beneficiary needs to be in the US.
If you dont know the process, just hire a lawyer to file when time comes.