Marriage will not invalidate your F-1 visa, but I would not advise you to leave the U.S. until you receive a green card because there can be no guarantee that you will be let back in. Every person entering as a non-immigrant must prove, to satisfaction of the U.S. consular or immigration officer, that he/she does not intend to take up residence in the U.S. Being married to an American creates a presumption that you do, in fact, intend to stay in the U.S. (especially if your spouse filed an immigrant petition for you). If your spouse-to-be will remain a permanent resident, you will have to maintain valid status in the U.S. (F-1 or H-1B or any other non-immigrant status) for approximately 2.5 years from the date your spouse would file an immigrant petition for you (currently, it takes about 2 years and 2 months from the petition's date of filing before the beneficiary can apply for a green card, and the waiting period grows steadily). After you will submit your green card application, its processing will take another 6 to 15 months. However, if you spouse becomes a U.S. citizen, rules are more lenient, and the entire process, from the initial filing to the issue of green card, takes 4 to 10 months.
Answered on Jun 26th, 2014 at 3:47 PM