Marriage with a US Citizen

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I was one of the people who came on a VWP and got married.... I did not enter with the intent to get married and remain, I entered the USA for a vacation to recover from surgery but my now husband asked me to marry him and I decided to stay...

I was not asked at any time what my intentions were when I entered the USA and I was not asked for any evidence of my intention to return to the UK after my visit...

I would never advise anyone to enter with intent as the risks involved are to great.... but there are a few of us that did do AOS from a VWP/Tourist visa and as far as the law is concerned we did nothing wrong...

Kez

[Mrs.J06 4]

There's nothing to stop you getting married while you're in the US on your visitor visa. But as the visitor visa is quite clearly NOT for immigration purposes, you would then need to return to your own country (without overstaying on your visa) and have your USC husband/wife petition for you as a spouse. Alternatively, the two of you could apply for a fiance(e) visa and then get married (and stay) in the US once you get it. Either way, a long wait will be involved. And being 'very much in love' and not wanting to be apart makes you, oooh, no different whatsoever from any of the other people who are posting on here - funnily enough we're all in love with our fiances/spouses and don't relish the idea of having to spend months apart.

Like midicat says... entering the US with a visitor visa with the intention of using it to marry and immigrate is, well... illegal. And you would run into problems down the line when you tried to adjust status to become a permanent resident. If it was as easy as that, nobody would bother going through the proper process, and would just use tourist visas or the visa waiver program to immigrate to the US - however, they are NOT for immigrant purposes, and USCIS doesn't care that you're in love.

Have a read of the guides at the top of the page here and have a talk with your partner - you can work out which way will be the best way for the two of you. It pretty much comes down to being separated while engaged or separated while a married couple, but if you read the guides & FAQs (and come back here to ask any more questions you might have) you'll be able to get a good idea of which process will be best for you.

Good luck.

Hello!

Just a quick question. I stumbled upon this thread and was wondering about the topic being posted. I now know 4 people who are from Germany, who ended up going to the states with their boyfriends on a tourist visa ... who then all ended up getting married, being able to stay in the states permanently. How on earth did they get away with that if you are not supposed to do that? And just today, a friend of mine told me she is leaving next month and is doing the same exact thing. I recommended that she get the fiance visa and she laughingly asked me "why?"

It frustrates me to no end because I am sitting here waiting out this long process for my fiance visa and find it so unfair that other people are getting away with something that I was told not to do. So, does anyone have any idea why some are still getting away with this?

Well, some are and some aren't! A former colleague of mine is back in Germany after having his AOS denied and being banned for misrepresentation at the POE!

If you are planning on getting married, why not wait out the K1? Why start a new life with a lie and a huge risk? Not worth it, in my opinion! (Trust me I know that waiting stinks, I know, our petition took nine months to get approved!)