marriage in the US

[findit13 0]

Hi,

My fiance is in the UK, and we thought it would be easier to just have him come to the US and get married here. Is that possible? It seems to difficult to get married in the UK, and I'm not sure what it needed for him to come here and marry me. I haven't found any information stating he needs to do anything, he could come here using his passport and we would just have a ceremony.

Is this right?

Thanks in advance

[scandal 951]

You can get married in the US. The specific regulations vary by state.

If you tell us which state you live in (or intend to marry in), it's pretty easy to Google the specifics regarding age restrictions, whether or not a blood test is required, whether there is a waiting period following the obtaining of a marriage license, etc.

Assuming you and your fiance are both adults legally able to marry, there should be no problem getting married in the US.

If your fiance is a UK citizen, he can enter the US using his UK passport under the VWP.

What you have NOT asked in your question is how does your marriage pertain to your immigration process. If you are intending to have your fiance immigrate to the US and live with you in the US, you need to coordinate your marriage with your intended immigration procedure.

If you want to file a K-1 fiance visa, DO NOT marry now! You must complete the K-1 process, then have your fiance enter the US with the K-1 visa and then marry in the US within 90 days of that entry.

If you want to file a CR-1 (or K-3, but that is not recommended), then by all means, have your fiance come to the US, marry, give him a peck on the cheek and send him back to the UK to wait out the process of getting the CR-1 visa.

If you want to file an adjustment of status (AOS) petition based upon your US marriage. WARNING. WARNING. RED FLAG WARNING. It is possible for someone to enter the US, marry, and file AOS and stay in the US. This can be done legally ONLY(!!!) if at the time of entry that individual had NO INTENT to get married. If the decision to marry occured only AFTER entry to the US, it is possible to do an AOS. The burden of proof regarding this intent is on the applicant, not on USCIS. If you cannot prove lack of intent to marry, the application can be DENIED, the petitioner can be DEPORTED, and can be BANNED from further re-entry to the US for many years, possibly for life. Since in your case you already clearly have intention to marry, DO NOT even consider this option. Sorry for being so harsh on this point, but this question gets asked over and over again, and the drastic downside to this approach just does not always sink into newcomers who want to pursue it anyway,

Good luck, happy trails, congratulations on your forthcoming wedding, and welcome to VJ

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

What scandal said.

But seriously, yes, it is possible for him to marry you in the US as long as he doesn't intend to stay. My British husband and I got married in Vermont, but this was possible because we were living together in the UK and intended to return there after the wedding. It would have been possible for us to marry in the UK with no impediment since I had been living there for over 10 years, but we decided to have the wedding closer to my family. After the wedding, we returned to London and began filing for his visa. No problem at all. I would recommend getting a copy of your marriage certificate as soon as possible after the ceremony if you would like to file for a spousal visa right away.

And as mentioned above, the CR1 visa is the way to go. Cheaper and superior to the K3. Good luck!

Oh... and I'm moving this to the CR1/IR1 forum since this is not about a K1 visa at all -- you want to marry before filing.

Edited June 23, 2009 by elmcitymaven

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi,

My fiance is in the UK, and we thought it would be easier to just have him come to the US and get married here. Is that possible? It seems to difficult to get married in the UK, and I'm not sure what it needed for him to come here and marry me. I haven't found any information stating he needs to do anything, he could come here using his passport and we would just have a ceremony.

Is this right?

Thanks in advance

SURE! You can get married here. What you CANNOT do, is enter on a tourist visa, get married and adjust status to permanent resident. You will have to file for a K-3 or (better) CR-1 visa after getting married. He can stay here as long as his tourist visa allows (make SURE you do not have an overstay) and then go home to await the process. During the process he can visit but he should bring ample evidence he will return until he has the visa in hand.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You can get married in the US. The specific regulations vary by state.

If you tell us which state you live in (or intend to marry in), it's pretty easy to Google the specifics regarding age restrictions, whether or not a blood test is required, whether there is a waiting period following the obtaining of a marriage license, etc.

Assuming you and your fiance are both adults legally able to marry, there should be no problem getting married in the US.

If your fiance is a UK citizen, he can enter the US using his UK passport under the VWP.

What you have NOT asked in your question is how does your marriage pertain to your immigration process. If you are intending to have your fiance immigrate to the US and live with you in the US, you need to coordinate your marriage with your intended immigration procedure.

If you want to file a K-1 fiance visa, DO NOT marry now! You must complete the K-1 process, then have your fiance enter the US with the K-1 visa and then marry in the US within 90 days of that entry.

If you want to file a CR-1 (or K-3, but that is not recommended), then by all means, have your fiance come to the US, marry, give him a peck on the cheek and send him back to the UK to wait out the process of getting the CR-1 visa.

If you want to file an adjustment of status (AOS) petition based upon your US marriage. WARNING. WARNING. RED FLAG WARNING. It is possible for someone to enter the US, marry, and file AOS and stay in the US. This can be done legally ONLY(!!!) if at the time of entry that individual had NO INTENT to get married. If the decision to marry occured only AFTER entry to the US, it is possible to do an AOS. The burden of proof regarding this intent is on the applicant, not on USCIS. If you cannot prove lack of intent to marry, the application can be DENIED, the petitioner can be DEPORTED, and can be BANNED from further re-entry to the US for many years, possibly for life. Since in your case you already clearly have intention to marry, DO NOT even consider this option. Sorry for being so harsh on this point, but this question gets asked over and over again, and the drastic downside to this approach just does not always sink into newcomers who want to pursue it anyway,

Good luck, happy trails, congratulations on your forthcoming wedding, and welcome to VJ

Very good information with one exception. The petitioner does not get deported, the benficiary does. The petitioner may go to prison, but not likely. The petitioner would be banned from filing future petitions.

[findit13 0]

Hi,

My fiance is in the UK, and we thought it would be easier to just have him come to the US and get married here. Is that possible? It seems to difficult to get married in the UK, and I'm not sure what it needed for him to come here and marry me. I haven't found any information stating he needs to do anything, he could come here using his passport and we would just have a ceremony.

Is this right?

Thanks in advance

[findit13 0]

Thank you all for your responses!

Our plan is to get married in the US, and then I'll return to the UK with him. I was looking into getting married in Kansas, and what I've found on the internet says he does not have to be a resident of Kansas. As he is a UK citizen, he's obviously not a resident, but will we have to do anything special because of that? He can show his SSN, Driver's license, and Passport as proof of ID, but I'm wondering if there is anything else.

Also, after we are married, what do I need to do to relocate to England? I'm not sure which visa to apply for, how that works, and what steps are involved. If we are already married, I wouldn't think a fiancee visa would be appropriate, there must be a different one. Also, do I have to do the biometerics thing? Wow.... lots of questions, and this seems to be the only place to get solid answers. I do appreciate all of your comments and suggestions, its been super helpful.

Thanks in advance, again

Edited June 23, 2009 by findit13

[findit13 0]

Hello all,

Nobody has responded to my last question, so I'm posting it again

Thank you all for your responses!

Our plan is to get married in the US, and then I'll return to the UK with him. I was looking into getting married in Kansas, and what I've found on the internet says he does not have to be a resident of Kansas. As he is a UK citizen, he's obviously not a resident, but will we have to do anything special because of that? He can show his SSN, Driver's license, and Passport as proof of ID, but I'm wondering if there is anything else.

Also, after we are married, what do I need to do to relocate to England? I'm not sure which visa to apply for, how that works, and what steps are involved. If we are already married, I wouldn't think a fiancee visa would be appropriate, there must be a different one. Also, do I have to do the biometerics thing? Wow.... lots of questions, and this seems to be the only place to get solid answers. I do appreciate all of your comments and suggestions, its been super helpful.

Thanks in advance, again

[imaisha 0]

He already has a social security number and driver's license? So he's been in the states already? You shouldn't have any problems at all then. Here's info on the laws in Kansas and what you'll need to get the marriage license: http://www.kscourts.org/dstcts/2marrnfo.htm

As for what you need to go to the UK with him, I'm afraid we won't be of much help as this site is for people coming to the U.S. Try these boards: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/ for info on how to do it the other way round.