DCF in London for non-UK citizen

[dirty_valera 0]

Hi everyone!

Me (Russian citizen) and my girlfriend (US citizen) met a year ago when I was in US on J1. We've been seeing each other for almost a year now (I'm currently studying in Canada, so she can come visit me almost every weekend) and recently decided to get married. I recently received a job offer from a major US based company with offices all over the world, however my H1B application was not selected, so I will be working in London office on a work visa. Me and my gf want to be in US as soon as possible. The plan we have so far is to try to file for DCF in London, however I have a number of questions:

1) Time and place of the marriage: when I start working, I'll have a B1 visa for work-related trips. Would it be better to get married in US, while I'm on B1 (I will have kind of 2-months training in US before starting full time in London) or wait until I go to London, fly here there (on a tourist visa?) and get married in UK?

2) One of the DCF requirements for USC (my gf) is to be in UK on a non-tourist visa. What options do we have here? My idea is after getting married, file for some sort of UK spouse visa (is there such thing, how long does it take?) to change her status and then apply for DCF. Would there be any problems with that?

3) Does me being non-UK citizen affect eligibility for DCF in London?

4) Is 6 months residency still a requirement?

Few other questions not related to DCF, but still important

5) My girlfriend is a student and doesn't have income, therefore we need a joint sponsor, which would be her mother (US permanent resident). Would adding my job offer to the application to show that we would have an income far above average if we marry be a good idea?

6) And the last one, probably the most important: if this plan doesn't work, do you see any other routes for us to be in US together without waiting for almost a year apart and without me quitting my job?

Thank you!

Edited May 3, 2016 by dirty_valera

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

1. Does not matter where you get married. However, the UK has laws about marriage, and afaik you need a visa to get married there, even if you do not stay, so be sure to check on that before settling on a wedding in the UK.

2. There are UK spousal visas, and you should be able to get one, but she may not be allowed to work on it. This website is about immigration to the USA, so our ability to advise here is limited, but check out the UK forum, there may be some members there with experience.

3. No.

4. Normally no, only current and ongoing income counts. However, since it would just be to support the co-sponsor you have, it can;t hurt to show it. Plus if you get transfered WITH the same company, your UK income may count.

5 If you get married now/ asap, she could start the spousal visa process now via the lockbox (ie not DCF, normal 1 year-ish processing time), and it may be just as quick than waiting to get married, her moving/ getting the correct visa/ fulfilling any residency requirements and then file DCF.

.

[JFH 12,191]

She will need a "family of settled person" visa for the UK which costs £1200 (approx $1800) and takes 12 weeks

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

There is also an income requirement for the UK if you want to bring family members in.

[dirty_valera 0]

Thanks for responses! Another option I consider is applying for B2 visa, get married in US and apply for AOS. As far as I know it's not going to be considered a fraud as long as the marriage is bona fide (which it is), is it correct? The problem with this approach is I don't know how soon I would be able to work while my AOS is pending, from what I've read it takes around 90 days to process Employment Authorization Document, plus the time to apply for AOS. Do you think it would be a good move?

[dirty_valera 0]

1. Does not matter where you get married. However, the UK has laws about marriage, and afaik you need a visa to get married there, even if you do not stay, so be sure to check on that before settling on a wedding in the UK.

2. There are UK spousal visas, and you should be able to get one, but she may not be allowed to work on it. This website is about immigration to the USA, so our ability to advise here is limited, but check out the UK forum, there may be some members there with experience.

3. No.

4. Normally no, only current and ongoing income counts. However, since it would just be to support the co-sponsor you have, it can;t hurt to show it. Plus if you get transfered WITH the same company, your UK income may count.

5 If you get married now/ asap, she could start the spousal visa process now via the lockbox (ie not DCF, normal 1 year-ish processing time), and it may be just as quick than waiting to get married, her moving/ getting the correct visa/ fulfilling any residency requirements and then file DCF.

.

Is the lockbox process actually this slow? Do you know anything about filing in Seattle (my girlfriend's city)? I'm afraid that since I'm from Russia (which I assume is a high fraud country), processing would be very slow.

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

Thanks for responses! Another option I consider is applying for B2 visa, get married in US and apply for AOS. As far as I know it's not going to be considered a fraud as long as the marriage is bona fide (which it is), is it correct?

That would be visa fraud, because you would be using a short term visit visa with intent to immigrate; that can lead to a lifetime ban, do not do it. B1/B2 visitation visas are to visit (for tourism or business), NOT immigrate.

Is the lockbox process actually this slow? Do you know anything about filing in Seattle (my girlfriend's city)? I'm afraid that since I'm from Russia (which I assume is a high fraud country), processing would be very slow.

You file via the lockbox no matter where she lives (unless abroad, in a country that has a local USCIS office at the embassy, such as the UK). So yes, it takes about a year, if filing from within the USA, like you yourself said in your first post. Russia isn;t actually very high fraud, so you should be fine there.