My boyfriend is graduating May 17th, he has been approved for OPT and is supposed to be able to start work as of July, when he gets his EAD. As some of you probably already know, last month they passed this law that allows someone under OPT only 90 days to obtain employment with a job that has something to do with their degree, or they will encounter problems with keeping their OPT. He has had no luck finding an entry-level job, there is a new STEM OPT extension option, which we believe he would fall under because he's receiving his B.S. in Finance, and if he was to get that extension he would be allowed 120 days of unemployment and it would also extend his OPT from 12 months to 29 months. Problem with that is, he would have to be employed by an employer who uses the E-Verify system, a system employers use to make sure their new employee is legal, problem with that is only 1% of all U.S. employers are E-Verify registered. So, that would be extremely difficult to find a job under someone using E-Verify, so we figured it wouldn't even be worth it.
So, we were wondering, if we were to get married (I'm a US citizen) during this 90-day unemployment period and applied for his green card, does anyone know if that would allow him more time? Would he be able to just not worry about being under OPT, since he would then be married and have a processing green card application? Or, since he's already applied for and been approved for OPT, would he still be considered under "OPT laws". I'm not sure if anyone on here is familiar or not with these new laws, but I would greatly appreciate any info you may be able to give us. I don't want him to end up losing status and having to leave the country
Basically what we are really wanting is him under some kind of status that will allow more time for finding a job.
Also, I am a full-time student but am unemployed. Would that affect me applying for him a green card if we were to marry? I am currently living with my parents.
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