My fiance is uk citizen, im US citizen. which path should we take

[MargotDarko 0]

I have not lived in he UK for over a month, for those who were asking.

so lemme repharse my question:

-so, my fiance and I are not married yet, and we will not be having a legal marriage.

heres what I want: not to be seperated from her after we marry (at least for not over 2 weeks). we already bought a plane ticket for her to come over in the same flight as me. it is for roughly 85 days. we went with the fact that usually UK citizans can freely come to the US without visa

so would u recommend: we wait until we get married in august, file for the K3 in london, have her come over with me in end of august and return to UK, and then come back, and repeat until things get approved...

or would u reccomend: (im not sure if this is the correct procedure): that we apply for K1 now (would we do it now? ) and then have our non-legal marriage in august and have her still come over to the US with me in the end of august until end of November, while the K1 is pending? -- would there be a benifit in this, just becasue we would be starting the process about 4 months before we would be able to start a K3. would she recieve her visa quicker?

thanks a lot. sorry if i seemed confused about many of these things

The guides are definitely helpful. You'll get a better understanding of the process from them.

Like Yodark said, the VWP and tourist visa aren't for people to live in the US while a visa is pending.

You can't do this - "so would u recommend: we wait until we get married in august, file for the K3 in london, have her come over with me in end of august and return to UK, and then come back, and repeat until things get approved..."

You can't file anything in London unless you meet the residency requirement - which you won't if you haven't been in the UK on a non-tourist visa for 11 months or more. Also, you wouldn't do the K3 if you were able to file in London.

I am almost positive that she will not be allowed to enter the US after being married on the VWP for 85 days. They would have no reason to believe that she would return. It would definitely look like she intended to immigrate as she does intend to immigrate eventually.

Do you have a UK visa or have you been visiting her as a tourist? I think that you should seriously consider getting a UK fiance visa (if you don't already have one) and living in the UK with her until you're able to obtain her US visa. Getting a UK visa is simple and quick - the only painful part is paying for it. So what I would imagine is that you obtain the UK fiance visa, live in the UK with her, get legally married in the UK in August, adjust to a UK spousal visa, and then move to the US together when you've obtained the CR-1 visa for her. In fact, it could be a great experience for you both to spend some time in the UK together. If you went to the UK on the fiance visa next month and stayed in the UK, you could apply directly to the London office next April. Then it would be approx six more months before you had a CR-1 visa. This would mean that you were not separated for any period of time, and that you did have to deal with the hassle of filing at a US center and the hassle of K3 and adjustment of status.

[John & Annie 0]

I have not lived in he UK for over a month, for those who were asking.

so lemme repharse my question:

-so, my fiance and I are not married yet, and we will not be having a legal marriage.

heres what I want: not to be seperated from her after we marry (at least for not over 2 weeks). we already bought a plane ticket for her to come over in the same flight as me. it is for roughly 85 days. we went with the fact that usually UK citizans can freely come to the US without visa

so would u recommend: we wait until we get married in august, file for the K3 in london, have her come over with me in end of august and return to UK, and then come back, and repeat until things get approved...

or would u reccomend: (im not sure if this is the correct procedure): that we apply for K1 now (would we do it now? ) and then have our non-legal marriage in august and have her still come over to the US with me in the end of august until end of November, while the K1 is pending? -- would there be a benifit in this, just becasue we would be starting the process about 4 months before we would be able to start a K3. would she recieve her visa quicker?

thanks a lot. sorry if i seemed confused about many of these things

Let me see if I can help. The language of immigration is specific and you will need to learn some of it. Which is why everyone is asking questions that you thought you have answered. Please read the guides and think of it as learning a new language.

Here is my Caveat, I am going to recommend what I would do if I were in your shoes, i do not know the laws in the UK, but in my cursory looks while we were deciding where we were going to live, this is what I thought I read. I am not a lawyer nor an immigration expert. (but i did sleep at a Good night inn last night)

Now for my recommendations, Being that you have the wedding planned you may want to consider getting married in London, if you do not have anything holding you here, get a job there (which i think you can get the temp permit in two weeks), file for the Visa (i believe it would be the K3 I130 and I485). I am not very well educated on the K3. Then come back to America together.

If you need to come back to the States, you might be separated for a bit, even up to a year, but you will eventually get to be together.

[MargotDarko 0]

That last sentence should say - "did not have to deal with the hassle..."

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

Edited April 17, 2007 by rebeccajo

[MargotDarko 0]

I have not lived in he UK for over a month, for those who were asking.

so lemme repharse my question:

-so, my fiance and I are not married yet, and we will not be having a legal marriage.

heres what I want: not to be seperated from her after we marry (at least for not over 2 weeks). we already bought a plane ticket for her to come over in the same flight as me. it is for roughly 85 days. we went with the fact that usually UK citizans can freely come to the US without visa

so would u recommend: we wait until we get married in august, file for the K3 in london, have her come over with me in end of august and return to UK, and then come back, and repeat until things get approved...

or would u reccomend: (im not sure if this is the correct procedure): that we apply for K1 now (would we do it now? ) and then have our non-legal marriage in august and have her still come over to the US with me in the end of august until end of November, while the K1 is pending? -- would there be a benifit in this, just becasue we would be starting the process about 4 months before we would be able to start a K3. would she recieve her visa quicker?

thanks a lot. sorry if i seemed confused about many of these things

Let me see if I can help. The language of immigration is specific and you will need to learn some of it. Which is why everyone is asking questions that you thought you have answered. Please read the guides and think of it as learning a new language.

Here is my Caveat, I am going to recommend what I would do if I were in your shoes, i do not know the laws in the UK, but in my cursory looks while we were deciding where we were going to live, this is what I thought I read. I am not a lawyer nor an immigration expert. (but i did sleep at a Good night inn last night)

Now for my recommendations, Being that you have the wedding planned you may want to consider getting married in London, if you do not have anything holding you here, get a job there (which i think you can get the temp permit in two weeks), file for the Visa (i believe it would be the K3 I130 and I485). I am not very well educated on the K3. Then come back to America together.

If you need to come back to the States, you might be separated for a bit, even up to a year, but you will eventually get to be together.

To get legally married in the UK, he would have to obtain a fiance visa first. After the marriage, he'd get a settlement visa which would allow him to work. What do you mean by a temp permit for work that he could get within two weeks?

He wouldn't have to get the K3. The I-130 would result in a CR-1 for her, and the I-485 would only be needed if she came on the K3 and they had to adjust status for her.

Edited April 17, 2007 by MargotDarko

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Just echoing what everybody else has said: if it is possible for you to come and live in the UK for a while, do so. It really is a lot easier to get a UK fiance visa than a US one, and that way you can live with your bride-to-be (and later, wife). You say you don't want to be separated from her for more than 2 weeks -- it's an admirable and understandable sentiment, but for most of us here it is impossible. We've fallen in love with someone from another country and we have to play by USCIS rules in order to be with them. Unfortunately, these sometimes seem arbitrary and unfair, like not being able to just keep using the VWP over and over again until your visa is processed. They will notice a pattern and your fiancee could be barred from entering the US. (This works the other way too -- I have an American friend who basically lived in London for five years with her boyfriend, and would go over to France for a week every time her tourist visa was about to expire. Yup, UK Immigration found her out and deported her back to New Jersey.)

Please do consider living over here for a while -- it's definitely an experience! I've been here 11 years, and although I may gripe about it and want to go home, I have been on balance very happy and wouldn't have spent the past 11 years in the US for any price. You'll get the experience of living in another culture, which can also help you be sympathetic to your fiancee when she makes it to America. Not to mention how it looks on your resume... But I digress. The most important point I think you can take from everyone's comments above is that you do not want to give US Immigration any cause to deny your petition. Play by the rules, even if they seem ludicrous, tick all the boxes, be patient, and, above all, cherish the love you two have, because it will give you the strength you need to get over all the hurdles.

[John & Annie 0]

ok, I was not sure. Thank you for you suggestions.

But I knew it was easier to get the finance and subsequent settlement Visa's in the UK.

[TimsDaisy 0]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

Good point. I was thinking, probably very naively, that they could marry there (just like someone could come here and marry), and that's a separate question from whether they could remain. But thinking about it now, I know England has a lot more picky rules about where and when marriages can be legally performed - so there's no reason to think their requirements for foreigners wouldn't be as particular.

With all respect to the OP, I think he knows pretty much nothing about how to go about any of this. Zip, zilch, zero. But I guess everyone starts somewhere. I wish him luck, though. As everyone has suggested: research, research, research!!!!

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

Good point. I was thinking, probably very naively, that they could marry there (just like someone could come here and marry), and that's a separate question from whether they could remain. But thinking about it now, I know England has a lot more picky rules about where and when marriages can be legally performed - so there's no reason to think their requirements for foreigners wouldn't be as particular........

My understanding is that they cannot. Not without a valid fiance visa.

[homesick_american 1]

ok, I was not sure. Thank you for you suggestions.

But I knew it was easier to get the finance and subsequent settlement Visa's in the UK.

I found it very easy to get fiance and resident visas in the UK; the applications were straightforward, no in-person interview, no medical exam. Then again, I haven't had to deal with it since 2002 so it may have changed since then.

[meauxna 15]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

I am, too.

This is all going to end in tears, I can just see it.

[MargotDarko 0]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

I am, too.

This is all going to end in tears, I can just see it.

Why? The UK fiance visa is easy to obtain for legit couples.

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

I am, too.

This is all going to end in tears, I can just see it.

Why? The UK fiance visa is easy to obtain for legit couples.

While the USC is already in the UK?

And I'm asking legitimately, because I don't know.

[MargotDarko 0]

I'm trying to figure out how you, a USC, are going to get married to a UK citizen, in London, in the first place.

I am, too.

This is all going to end in tears, I can just see it.

Why? The UK fiance visa is easy to obtain for legit couples.

While the USC is already in the UK?

And I'm asking legitimately, because I don't know.

I didn't think it was clear the USC was in the UK - maybe I've just gotten confused. At any rate, he could easily go home to apply and then return.

[Fandango 1,440]

Did I miss where the OP says he's currently living in the UK?

Edited April 17, 2007 by LisaD