UK Citizen marrying a US Citizen-confusion

[MCherie 10]

I'm going to try to make this as brief as I can. I am a US Citizen (naturally, not legally) and my boyfriend is a UK Citizen (England). We have been wanting to get married for a long time now and we want to live in the US. I wasn't entirely sure how to go about doing this so I did some research but just ended up confusing myself more. I ended up going to see a lawyer (I live in TX) and he told me that we have two options. Go through the K-1 Visa options or do something called a 30/60 rule? Where apparently my boyfriend just needs to come to the US and visit me and stay for 3 months, but after 60 days we can just get married and file for AOS. It sounded so simple but now I'm just not sure anymore, in TX to get a marriage license you need a SSN which clearly my boyfriend doesn't have. Also he is on the visa waiver program (which the lawyer knew) and on the VWP website it says that you cannot change your immigrant status on the VWP. I do not want to risk getting him banned from the US. I've looked at the K-1 process and it looks so complicated and I'm not entirely sure we would be able to fulfill all the requirements to get married (such as proof of relationship). I mean we have pictures of us together from our visits and receipts from stuff we've done together but that's not exactly proof of a relationship. I'm 20 yrs old and my boyfriend is 23. Neither of us currently have a job, but I'm in college.

Basically what I'm asking is; is the 30/60 thing legit? Would that be our best option? How do I go about this? If not, what can I do to ensure we can get through the K-1 visa process then AOS?

[Hypnos 6,576]

No it is not legit, and do not go back to that lawyer.

Entering the US on a nonimmigrant visa with the preconceived intent to remain would constitute visa fraud.

Your choices are:

(i) Pursue a K-1 visa by initially filing an I-129F.

(ii) Get married and pursue a CR-1 visa by filing an I-130.

An alien does not need a social security number to get married in Texas (I didn't), but by law you must disclose it to the clerk if you have one.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Hypnos

[MCherie 10]

Can you explain that second option more? I'm not quite sure I understand.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Briefly:

(i) You file the I-129F, it gets approved in ~8 months, your fiancé then interviews at the embassy in London, (hopefully) receives his visa and flies to the US. After he arrives, you must marry within 90 days and then you have to file for adjustment of status to receive his green card, which will likely take almost a year in itself. This is the most expensive option.

(ii) You marry (in the US or a foreign country) and then file an I-130 for an immigrant visa for your husband. This would take ~3 - 6 months to process (they are quick these days since they moved them to the local office), your husband would then interview at the embassy in London and (hopefully) his immigrant visa would be issued. Upon entry to the US he would automatically be granted a green card (no adjustment necessary) which would arrive in the mail a few weeks later. This is the cheapest option.

It's really up to you how you want to do it.

[MCherie 10]

Okay. I think we'll go with the K-1 visa route. Do we need to file a G-325A with our I-129F? What other documents do I need to file with the I-129F? The USCIS website just says to file a I-129F and wait for a response then file for AOS.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Follow the guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide