I got married while my filing was pending ...

Good day, Mrs Walker-Huntington:
I got married while being filled for. I know that it has automatically stopped the process from completing. Can I apply for a non-immigrant visa? What can be done to proceed with the filing process?
M.B.
Dear MB:
Your petition does not automatically end as you have stated, it depends on who is the petitioner and in what category the filing is classified.
If your petitioner is a Green Card holder parent and you marry before making your entry into the United States as the unmarried son/daughter of a Green Card holder, the Green Card is void. A Green Card holder/permanent resident of the United States cannot file for a married son/daughter. However, if your parent is a US citizen and you get married before entering the United States in the category in which you were filed for, you will have received a Green Card before you were entitled.
I specifically say before entering the United States in the category in which you were filed for, and not while the petition is pending. Sadly, some persons have learned the hard way that, even if you have been granted an immigrant visa at the US Embassy as an unmarried son/daughter, you are not a permanent resident until you have made your initial entry into the United States in that same category in which you were petitioned.
It is important to reveal the truth about your marital status to the US government, and to ensure that you are receiving a Green Card when you are entitled. To do otherwise is to commit immigration fraud that will never go away from your records.
Theoretically, anyone can apply for a non-immigrant visa, and it is up to the consular officer, after reviewing your history, to determine if they wish to grant you a visa. You must be truthful on the visa application as to your marital status and whether there is any pending immigrant visa application on your behalf. There is no hard-and-fast rule that you will not be granted a non-immigrant visa if you have a pending immigrant visa petition. The consular officer has to be convinced that you will visit and return home as stated.
Whether or not your immigrant visa petition can continue will depend on your petitioner.
Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com