Marrying outside the States

[davege0rge 0]

I am getting married this summer in the Czech Republic to my beautiful fiance, Will the US recognize this? After a few years we would probably move to the states.. do i still need to fill out these K forms? She works for an airline so she has a ten year working visa for the US and a tourist visa as well, we have already been to visit my family a couple times with no trouble. But when these Visas eventually go down what can i expect? if anyone has any help for me it would be appreciated. Thanks!

dave

[homesick_american 1]

It's impossible to say what the regulations/laws will be in a few years' time, but I would recommend applying for the IR1/CR1 visa, which becomes a green card when she gets to the United States. Don't apply for that until you're ready to move, since if you're both living overseas she won't be able to maintain US residency. If you've been living in the Czech Republic for several years you should be able to do a DCF (direct consular filing) which is often faster, and the green card will most likely be unconditional, meaning there are no restrictions on working and it will be valid for ten years. It's the best one to go for; I'd ignore the K-3 if I were you. It sucks. It's meant to be a faster process than the IR1 in order to reunite families, but since you'll be living together in the Czech Republic that won't apply to your situation. You can still apply for it, but I think in your case it would be a total waste of time.

I see no reason why the US would not recognize your marriage as valid. Just keep all relevant documents in a safe place.

Domicile seems to be a controversial topic with some embassies/consulates being loose on the rules and others being strict. At the absolute minimum, keep filing tax returns with the IRS (required of all US citizens no matter where they live) and keep a bank account in the United States. When you guys move back, you may have to go ahead of her and rent a place to live...or you may not. There's really no way to know until you get to that bridge.

HTH