Can we get married in the U.S. on a tourist visa?

[abattista 0]

My fiancé (from Spain) and I (U.S. Citizen) have been discussing our future and our preparations for bringing him here to live with me. We originally wanted to go the K1 route because it was shorter and he could be here sooner, but after doing our research and talking to people, we realized that him not being able to work for 3-6 months after arriving would not be ideal. So we've decided to go the CR-1 route which we know will take more time. Therefore, we need to get married as soon as possible. 

 

In Spain, to get married is a lengthy process involving months of paperwork and translations. Here in the U.S., it is a much more simple process. In Boston, I can get a marriage license in a couple of days. Therefore, my fiancé and I considered having him arrive on a tourist visa, get married at the courthouse in Boston, and have him return back to Spain to work while our paperwork is processing. He would probably be here for about a week. From what I've read, this is legal as long as you do not stay in the U.S. and you have proof that you are going back to your original country. I do not want him to have any trouble at the border nor hurt our case when we file our petition after the wedding. Any advice or can anyone point us in the direction of explicit instructions? 

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

This has been established as a viable and legal option, i.e. coming to the USA on a tourist visa and marrying here, and then the beneficiary returning to his/her home country to wait out CR1 processing. Good luck.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

Have a nice civil ceremony! Your plan is 100% legal.

[geowrian 22,337]

Yup, no problem to marry then exit the US.

[pushbrk 12,910]

8 hours ago, geowrian said:

Yup, no problem to marry then exit the US.

Correct.  However, if that is given as the purpose of the trip, he may well be denied entry.  Better to give a more generic but truthful answer, like "a one week holiday" etc.

[JFH 12,190]

This is exactly what we did.

 

I arrived on a Tuesday, we got the license on Wednesday, married on Saturday (WA has a three-day waiting period), flew back to England on Tuesday. 

[geowrian 22,337]

31 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Correct.  However, if that is given as the purpose of the trip, he may well be denied entry.  Better to give a more generic but truthful answer, like "a one week holiday" etc.

True, no need to disclose that you plan to marry. You're a visitor still, so saying you plan to visit/take a vacation is fine.

[JFH 12,190]

9 hours ago, geowrian said:

True, no need to disclose that you plan to marry. You're a visitor still, so saying you plan to visit/take a vacation is fine.

Hmmm..I have mixed feelings on being vague with your intentions. I don't know how it is for lone young men entering the country and giving a vague "just visiting" response to CBP as I've never been a man 😂 But from my experience, entering as a lone female (vacationing alone is unusual), giving a residential address on the blue customs form (the same residential address that has been given on multiple previous visits in the last few years), in a very small town that holds almost no touristic value, just saying "I'm here on vacation" doesn't cut it with CBP. Been there. Tried that. Got a snarky response along the lines of "don't be deliberately vague" and "no one goes to "Nowheresville" on vacation" and questioned further as to why a young, professional female would feel the need to travel completely alone to "Nowheresville" multiple times a year to stay at the same address. Since then I was always completely upfront "I'm visiting my boyfriend/fiancé/husband" and that was enough. Only once was I intensively questioned further when I said this. And I visited over 40 times.

 

I totally get that you don't have to elaborate with CBP and you only need to answer the question that was asked. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone goes into excessive unnecessary detail such as "I'm visiting my boyfriend and we are going to his cousin's baby shower on Saturday, to dinner with his best friend on Sunday, ..." but at the same time I don't think it's a good idea to appear obtuse. 

 

Edited July 27, 2018 by JFH

[geowrian 22,337]

3 hours ago, JFH said:

Hmmm..I have mixed feelings on being vague with your intentions. I don't know how it is for lone young men entering the country and giving a vague "just visiting" response to CBP as I've never been a man 😂 But from my experience, entering as a lone female (vacationing alone is unusual), giving a residential address on the blue customs form (the same residential address that has been given on multiple previous visits in the last few years), in a very small town that holds almost no touristic value, just saying "I'm here on vacation" doesn't cut it with CBP. Been there. Tried that. Got a snarky response along the lines of "don't be deliberately vague" and "no one goes to "Nowheresville" on vacation" and questioned further as to why a young, professional female would feel the need to travel completely alone to "Nowheresville" multiple times a year to stay at the same address. Since then I was always completely upfront "I'm visiting my boyfriend/fiancé/husband" and that was enough. Only once was I intensively questioned further when I said this. And I visited over 40 times.

 

I totally get that you don't have to elaborate with CBP and you only need to answer the question that was asked. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone goes into excessive unnecessary detail such as "I'm visiting my boyfriend and we are going to his cousin's baby shower on Saturday, to dinner with his best friend on Sunday, ..." but at the same time I don't think it's a good idea to appear obtuse.

Fair points. I wouldn't suggest trying to be overly vague/sidestepping/dismissive with the responses...that's likely to raise scrutiny, not alleviate it. But saying that you are visiting x is fine. If they followup with questions about with whom, mention it's with a boyfriend/girlfriend. Being upfront has its merits, but as you noted, don't go into unnecessary details either.