Dual nationality and marriage certificate

[Robbai 0]

Ok,so, bit of a complicated question here.

I’m looking to enter the US with my wife in maybe 6 months or so.

 

I’m a dual national UK/US and currently live in China with my wife (Chinese). I came to China with my UK passport and was married in China with the UK passport number, so on my marriage certificate, it states only my UK citizenship. I can't change this due to the Chinese visa rules.

 

I have a US birth certificate, passport, etc. I’m just wondering if it would be possible to use this marriage certificate to apply for the CR1? Should I use both my UK and US passports/ birth certificates?

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[EG&XY 144]

I assume you are doing DCF? If you haven't filed yet for CR1 and you aren't doing DCF then I'm not sure how you are thinking that you would be entering with your wife in 6 months. Current processing times are ~10-12 months for non-DCF (which is most of us).

 

I would think that you can just include copies of both your US and UK passport and include a short explanation so that it will be clear to them what is going on. But sorry, no direct knowledge of people previously in this situation.

[Unshakable Faith 493]

To immigration, a marriage is a marriage.   If you are legally married in another country, you are legally married in the US (with the exception of polygamy).

 

As long as your name is the same on both passports and marriage certificate, you should be fine I believe.

[nightingalejules 678]

Yes, you should send a copy of the bio page of your UK passport, and write US/UK dual citizen where it asks for citizenship on the petition. You will need to send a copy of every single page of your US passport, though, and/or your US birth certificate (documents that support your US citizenship and thus your eligibility to petition your spouse). 

You can explain in your petition that you are including your UK passport bio page to support your identity on the marriage certificate. It shouldn't cause a problem. 

 

However, as others have mentioned, the current wait times on I-130s suggest that you will be waiting significantly longer to bring your wife to the US. But soonest begun, soonest done, right?

 

Good luck!

[Robbai 0]

Thank you for your replies everyone! Looks like I'm gonna have to change my plans to wait a little longer! Looks like it won't be too much extra hassle though. 

Thanks again! 

[EG&XY 144]

@Robbai Since you are living in china now you may want to look into the option of doing a direct consular filing (DCF), it can speed things up a lot. I'm not familiar with what is required for you to qualify but there is a lot of info online and several people here can also help.

 

Regardless of if you do DCF, one other issue to be aware of since you are currently living overseas. You may be asked to show intent to re establish domicile in the US. It shouldn't be a big issue for you, but it is an extra piece of information that may be relevant for you since you are not currently living in the US.