While your your marriage in Ghana before your fiance's US entry on an F-1 visa might raise DHS' concerns regarding his intent, those concerns can be overcome with proper explanations. and your Ghana marriage should not have any negative impact on his eligibility to come to the US as an F-1 visa entrant. First, F-1 visa is a dual intent visa (that is, an F-1 visa person can come to the US even if the F-1 person also has an immigrant intent at the time of his F-1 entry. Therefore, if he is asked at the port of entry, he should honestly disclose his marriage to you and that at some point, he might wish to apply for legal residence in the US but that he has not made such decision and that you have not in fact taken any steps to that end including thre filing of an I-130. As to why he did not apply for immigrant visa instead of F-1 visa, he may reply that though, he is aware of his opportunity to do so, his academic pursuit is his main purpose for entering US at this time. If and when those priorities change, he may consider applying for green card or in the alternative, both you and him might relocate to Ghana. One way or the other, such decision has not and cannot be made at this time.
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 8:21 PM