Can I just go to the USA with a tourist visa and get married there?

[AeroPablete 0]

Hi! My name is Pablo and I am from spain.

My girlfriend is from the USA and right now she is working in Denver. A coworker told her that i could go there (Denver) with a tourist visa and we get married once I'm there but I don't know if that's a legal option.

Can somebody help me with this please?

Thanks

[mtempelaar 190]

My lawyer told me I could do this and my husband came here for 4 days under VWP and we married. The one thing we did make sure is that he left the country immediately afterwards, per lawyer instructions, and filed the CR1paperwork about 4 weeks later (after my name change).

If you do it and stay, it can be considered immigration fraud. Now we haven't received the visa for him yet, and we could be rejected, but I'm just telling you what my lawyer stated and what I did

[jfgk1987 303]

That's 100% Illegal, the coworker is very much wrong. Please don't do that, consider a K1 or IR/CR visa. It would only be legal if you married in the US, and then you went back to Spain and filed for the proper visa.

[Boiler 45,903]

You can get married on a Tourist Visa or the VWP.

[ryna 132]

There is nothing illegal about getting married in the U.S. on either a tourist visa or while on VWP. What is considered immigration fraud is to arrive and do so with the intent of staying after getting married. If you get married in the U.S., you should do what mtempelaar did and return to Spain and file for the CR-1 (spouse) visa. Or, you could file for the K-1 before getting married, come to the U.S. and stay while waiting for your residency. The K-1 is generally quicker (at least it was in the past), and has the benefit that you can live together in the U.S. right away (after approval, not right away in the VWP or tourist visa sense.) The CR-1 would require you to live in Spain until it is approved.

Edited August 18, 2014 by ryna

[KayDeeCee 4,895]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to What Visa Do I Need ~

[kehills 217]

Or, you could file for the K-1 before getting married, come to the U.S. and stay while waiting for your residency. The K-1 is generally quicker (at least it was in the past), and has the benefit that you can live together in the U.S. right away (after approval, not right away in the VWP or tourist visa sense.) The CR-1 would require you to live in Spain until it is approved.

...while he could visit while waiting for the K-1 to process, he could not live in the United States while waiting. He would have to live in Spain while waiting for the K-1 to be approved, as well.

[ryna 132]

...while he could visit while waiting for the K-1 to process, he could not live in the United States while waiting. He would have to live in Spain while waiting for the K-1 to be approved, as well.

Yes, I added the "after approval" part to my initial response. But, I see that part of it wasn't clear regarding the order of the K-1 process. Approval first, then wait in the U.S. for residency. The plus for him is, being from Spain, he probably could visit at least once while waiting for the K-1.

Edited August 18, 2014 by ryna

[NikLR 13,231]

Hi! My name is Pablo and I am from spain.

My girlfriend is from the USA and right now she is working in Denver. A coworker told her that i could go there (Denver) with a tourist visa and we get married once I'm there but I don't know if that's a legal option.

Can somebody help me with this please?

Thanks

Yes but you would have to return to Spain. It is illegal to visit the USA with the intent to immigrate.

If you don't want to leave and want to live together after marriage, then the K1 is a better visa for you.

If you don't mind waiting after marriage to live in the USA then you can also pursue a CR1 visa.

Check out your options here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=compare