Layoff & timing of filing marriage based GC

[Tintin_card]

Hello

I was recently informed by my firm that my employment will end in mid-April. The date on my H1b stamp and 1-94 is mid 2013. I will be getting married to my long time fiancée (US citizen by birth), in a marriage court, at the end of the March and plan to file for the green card. I have done basic consultations with a couple of lawyers and have got mixed opinions on how to proceed with the filing. The big question is what is the best time to file?

Is it better to file right away after the court marriage i.e. within a week to ten days, before my employment ends?

OR

Is it better to wait for a few weeks or a month, and then file? Will I be out of status for a few days in that case, and does that even matter in a marriage based GC filing?

And as a side note, my immigration track record is absolutely clean, and I have been working for a renowned multinational firm.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

[Attorney_22]

Assuming you’ve been in valid H1B status and do not have any issues that would make you inadmissible, it is generally better to file the marriage based green card petition while you are still in status (although a short “out of status” period should not prejudice the adjudication of the I-130/485). Therefore, unless there are other factors not mentioned in the above description, there should not been mixed opinions regarding this matter. If you have additional questions, or need assistance, please contact an attorney at the Murthy Law Firm to a schedule a consultation. The Murthy Law Firm has a very well-regarded Green Card Department with extensive experience who would be able to provide you with excellent assistance.

[Tintin_card]

Thanks a lot. I have been in valid status for as long as I have been in the US. No arrests or any other potentially negative information at all.

What do you think could would be considered a short period? A few weeks, say about 3-4 weeks - would that be considered short. The idea that was suggested by one attorney was that a few weeks should allow for time to show co-habitation, co-mingling, etc. Is that even needed at the time of filing the initial application?