Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!
If you’re a French citizen, I advise my French clients to apply for their green cards through the US Embassy in Paris. The Embassy generally processes such applications in 2 to 3 months, and once you have your green card, you’ll be free to work for any employer you wish without having to file any additional applications!!
There are, of course, other options, including filing your green card application through your local USCIS office, but that path will take much, much longer. Moreover, if your green card application is being processed in the US, things become more complicated for changing employers and you’ll either have to file a new H-1B petition or apply for a work permit (officially referred to as an Employment Authorization Document (EAD)). Getting a work permit itself could take up to 3 months. If you then work using a work permit, you also would need an advance parole document to travel outside of the US – you would no longer be able to use your H-1B visa.
With all of these complications – not to mention the long processing times at some USCIS offices in the US (for example, 18 months in Miami and nearly 3 years in NYC) – it’s preferable to process through the Embassy in Paris.
My current fee for a marriage-based green card application is $1,500. If you’d like to further discuss your case with me, please contact my office to arrange for a consultation.
Edward Weiner
Attorney at Law
E-mail: E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
Internet Site:
http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com/
