Utah Online Marraige (merged)

[emilyneff 2]

Hi guys,

My fiance and I are so confused and would really appreciate some advise.

We are original K-1 filers, planning on revoking our i-129f and filing the Cr-1. Because of our personal situations, it would be hard to get married in my fiance's home country. And obviously, it would be a bad idea for him to come visit the US on his tourist visa and us getting married then. We don't have the time to wait out the 90 day rule, and I don't want to be walking on thin ice.

We are considering going through Utah, which some sources say is considered as good as an in-person marriage and some sources say we still need to "consummate" the marriage after. It would be hard for me to go visit him at this point to do that. We could wait for a better time. I'm asking if it would be okay for him to come visit on his tourist visa for the purpose of consummating the marriage, or if he will be turned away. He has sufficient ties to his home country via family, school and work. And I don't foresee this being a problem since traditionally married people with pending Cr-1's are allowed to visit the US on tourist visas. I just want to cover all my basis so I'm asking you guys for your thoughts. Thank you so much for reading.

[Crazy Cat 41,893]

There is no 90 day rule.  Does he have a tourist visa?   If so, yes, he can come to the US after the wedding to consummate the marriage, then return to his country....but every entry is at the discretion of CBP at the border.  He could also come to the US for the purpose of marrying, then going back to his country to wait out the spousal visa processing wait.  It is perfectly legal to marry after entering as a tourist.  It is not legal to enter the US as a tourist with the intent to stay and adjust status.

 

The advantage I see for a Utah marriage in your situation is that once the marriage is consummated, USCIS will recognize the marriage as of the date on the certificate.  It is advisable for a spousal visa holder to enter the US after 2 years of marriage, if possible to obtain a 10 year green card.  Good luck. 

Edited May 14, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[JeanneAdil 6,511]

what is his country?

[Coco8 1,042]

If he has a tourist visa he can visit to get married and then leave. Or he can visit after you get married through Utah. You can also marry through Utah and meet in Mexico if you don't want to risk a trip to the US.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Coco8

[emilyneff 2]

23 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

what is his country?

South africa :)

[emilyneff 2]

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

There is no 90 day rule.  Does he have a tourist visa?   If so, yes, he can come to the US after the wedding to consummate the marriage, then return to his country....but every entry is at the discretion of CBP at the border.  He could also come to the US for the purpose of marrying, then going back to his country to wait out the spousal visa processing wait.  It is perfectly legal to marry after entering as a tourist.  It is not legal to enter the US as a tourist with the intent to stay and adjust status.

 

The advantage I see for a Utah marriage in your situation is that once the marriage is consummated, USCIS will recognize the marriage as of the date on the certificate.  It is advisable for a spousal visa holder to enter the US after 2 years of marriage, if possible to obtain a 10 year green card.  Good luck. 

Thank you for taking the time to respond. It seems to me we will have to make the case that he will return to his country either way. Is it any easier to make that case by doing it a certain way? I'm leaning toward Utah only because everything I'm seeing online says the penalties can be hefty if the government has a problem with us marrying while he's on a tourist visa. I saw one source saying marrying a US citizen is considered intent to immigrate regardless of if we file AOS while he is here 

[JeanneAdil 6,511]

The CBP will decided if he/she thinks the person has intent to stay and marry on a tourist visa

if CBP assumes the intent is to stay and AOS here in US ,  he can be turned away at POE

 

So,  much easier (in terms of the CR1 petition ) if the USC travels to consummate the marriage or to marry in  his country to avoid any issues 

 

[emilyneff 2]

2 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

The CBP will decided if he/she thinks the person has intent to stay and marry on a tourist visa

if CBP assumes the intent is to stay and AOS here in US ,  he can be turned away at POE

 

So,  much easier (in terms of the CR1 petition ) if the USC travels to consummate the marriage or to marry in  his country to avoid any issues 

 

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking. Thank you 😊 

[SalishSea 17,837]

4 hours ago, emilyneff said:

Thank you for taking the time to respond. It seems to me we will have to make the case that he will return to his country either way. Is it any easier to make that case by doing it a certain way? I'm leaning toward Utah only because everything I'm seeing online says the penalties can be hefty if the government has a problem with us marrying while he's on a tourist visa. I saw one source saying marrying a US citizen is considered intent to immigrate regardless of if we file AOS while he is here 

It sounds like you are planning for him to travel here on a non immigrant visa, marry, and adjust.  This is 100% FRAUD.  Do not do it.

 

You already have the process of doing it legally, via K-1, in the works.  Why do you now want to change that?

[emilyneff 2]

3 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

It sounds like you are planning for him to travel here on a non immigrant visa, marry, and adjust.  This is 100% FRAUD.  Do not do it.

 

You already have the process of doing it legally, via K-1, in the works.  Why do you now want to change that?

Is the process of him coming here on a tourist visa, us marrying in person, and then him going back to his home country what you're referring to as fraud? I agree with you. I dont see how marrying in Utah online and then him using a tourist visa to regularly visit is fraud. 

[Redro 4,611]

Married or not married. 

Your partner could have the same issue when he visits you on the B2 visa. 

He will probably be fine. But, if you are worried why take the chance?

Do not get married in South Africa. 

I've heard it sometimes takes couples a few months (up to a year) to receive the unabridged marriage certificate (needed at NVC). 

Get married via Utah and then make sure you can visit somewhere before filing the I-130. 

If you can visit him in South Africa, I would do that. 

 

ETA: You do not have to wait 90 days to get married. You are allowed to get married as a tourist on B2/ESTA as long as you go home. 

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by ROK2USA

[emilyneff 2]

Just now, ROK2USA said:

Married or not married. 

Your partner could have the same issue when he visits you on the B2 visa. 

He will probably be fine. But, if you are worried why take the chance?

Do not get married in South Africa. 

I've heard it sometimes takes couples a few months (up to a year) to receive the unabridged marriage certificate (needed at NVC). 

Get married via Utah and then make sure you can visit somewhere before filing the I-130. 

If you can visit him in South Africa, I would do that. 

 

We wanted me to come visit him in South Africa, but our personal schedules are making that difficult. It would be easier if he visited me, but I will keep your words in mind. There's always a risk of using a tourist visa, I'm comfortable though because he's visited successfully before and he has many ties to his country. 

[Redro 4,611]

2 minutes ago, emilyneff said:

We wanted me to come visit him in South Africa, but our personal schedules are making that difficult. It would be easier if he visited me, but I will keep your words in mind. There's always a risk of using a tourist visa, I'm comfortable though because he's visited successfully before and he has many ties to his country. 

We got married in the US while I was visiting. So, it can be done! 

If you can I would get married in the US and not go forward with Utah (but that is my personal preference). 

But, as I said if you are worried about him being turned away. Go with Utah and make it work so you can visit him in SA. 

Edited May 15, 2022 by ROK2USA

[blchaddy 15]

12 hours ago, emilyneff said:

Is the process of him coming here on a tourist visa, us marrying in person, and then him going back to his home country what you're referring to as fraud? I agree with you. I dont see how marrying in Utah online and then him using a tourist visa to regularly visit is fraud. 

Neither is fraud. It would only be fraud if you intended on having him adjust status while here to permanently stay in the US. 

[Redro 4,611]

11 minutes ago, blchaddy said:

Neither is fraud. It would only be fraud if you intended on having him adjust status while here to permanently stay in the US. 

Issue is they might suspect fraud as OP's partner has a pending K1 petition on file. 

If he enters and they ask him the reason for his visit he needs to reply "I'm planning on getting married" If that is the purpose of his visit. 

This could lead to a denial. 

Same thing could happen if he enters on B2 and when asked why he is visiting he replies "to see my wife". They see he has a K1 on file and say "you can't enter because we suspect you plan to adjust".