Marriage on ESTA

[mglev 0]

Hey everyone! 

 

I met my now-fiance while traveling in 2023, and we have been together for some time now.  She lives in Chile and I am a US Citizen.  Our ultimate goal has been for her to come here permanently sometime in the future, ideally as soon as she'd be able to.  We have a trip planned for her to come to the US in September, and when we planned it out the intention was just to have her visit and spend some time together.  However, I recently looked into the immigration process, and realizing how long the timeline tends to be we discussed that it might make the most sense for us to get married while she is here in September, and then file for the CR-1 spouse visa to begin that process. 

 

I have heard conflicting things about if we were to do this, some people saying it is illegal if she were to come here on a tourism visa and intend to get married, but I've heard that only really matters if her plan is to come here on the visa, get married, and stay here from then on.  That was never our intent and she does have ties to her home country (full-time work, an apartment she rents, a cat she takes care of, family, friends, etc), so I am hoping that would factor in, but I wanted to hear what people think regarding the likelihood of her being turned away at the airport for any reason.  We do not want to lie about her coming here of course, but the main reason she will be here is not just to get married, it kind of just seemed to make the most sense to do that since we'll be together and we want to begin the CR-1 process as soon as possible.  In the eyes of an immigrations officer I imagine that may not mean a whole lot, but I'm curious whether or not it would be considered fraudulent if she does not explicitly state that she will be getting married while here.  We don't want to jeopardize the application process or make it any harder for her to get here, but we want to marry and begin that process as soon as we can and this way seems to make sense for us.

 

Any thoughts, or anyone who can share their experience?

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

Coming to the US as a visitor with the intent to marry is perfectly legal.  Coming to the US as a visitor with the intent to stay and adjust status is visa fraud.  If asked, she must tell the truth. 

Edited July 19 by Crazy Cat

[Dashinka 24,651]

To add to what @Crazy Cat said, she has to answer the CBP officer’s questions truthfully, but she doesn’t have to volunteer information not asked for.  As to coming here for marriage, that is perfectly legal and many people do it.  It is also legal for her to visit during the spousal visa process, and generally short visits are preferable.

 

Good Luck!

[mglev 0]

Thanks, I thought that was the case as well but I actually talked with a lawyer who said that it is risky and you’re basically at the whim of whoever the agent is at the airport asking her questions, and if she says she is planning on marrying her fiancé while she’s on her visa, that would be a red flag. That’s just what I’m worried about more than anything.

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

9 minutes ago, mglev said:

and you’re basically at the whim of whoever the agent is at the airport asking her questions,

That is always the case for any visitor.  Every person seeking admission as a visitor is already assumed to have immigrant intent.

[mglev 0]

If that is the case are there things to prepare to help her to get into the country without issue? The lawyer I talked to basically said you shouldn’t get married and said the K-1 visa is better to avoid any complications, but we already have made plans and everything. I’m just worried about how things will go and want to ensure we are as prepared as possible for her entering the country.

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

9 minutes ago, mglev said:

If that is the case are there things to prepare to help her to get into the country without issue?

Just be prepared to show strong ties to home country. If asked, just explain that she is going to exit the US on-time at the end of her temporary visit.

[JeanneAdil 6,583]

2 hours ago, mglev said:

If that is the case are there things to prepare to help her to get into the country without issue? The lawyer I talked to basically said you shouldn’t get married and said the K-1 visa is better to avoid any complications, but we already have made plans and everything. I’m just worried about how things will go and want to ensure we are as prepared as possible for her entering the country.

You can marry in US and do the I 130 petition together / then she returns to Chile

After that the CBP will question her entry but she can reply "i returned home after the marriage and we r awaiting the spouse visa interview in Chile

 

On K1 same questions at POE but they will see K1 in computer and assume intent to stay and can cancel the ESTA

 

BTW  K1 is not that much faster and is more expensive 

[Ontarkie 14,321]

~~Moved to IR1/CR1 P&P- the OP's fiancé is not inside the US and they are planning consulate processing.~~

[SansTortoise 27]

Chileans entering on ESTA tend to have zero questions asked because low risk country and the CBP officer assumes they don’t speak English, and they tend to arrive on flights that have people from high risk countries so CBP has better things to do with their time.
 

If asked why she’s here she can honestly answer “vacation”, since that is true, and the officer won’t ask a follow-up. She is not required to volunteer that one of the activities she will be doing during her vacation is getting married.

 

All the other advice here is true about showing intent to return, etc. if marriage comes up, but given the fact pattern I would be shocked if any question was asked at all.

 

My advice would be to have all the paperwork needed to show connection to Chile, but to be surprised if the CBP officer speaks more than once during the entire interaction.

Edited July 21 by SansTortoise

[TiffAndMike 67]

When they ask her what her reason is for coming to the states, all she has to tell them is that she is visiting her boyfriend. There is no need to offer up additional information.  

 

if she is coming here for a longer period of time, like 80 or 90 days, then they might take her in for another screening.  If the visit is about 5 weeks, she should be able to pass right on through.  

 

As long as she goes back after the marriage and you go through consular processing, getting married on a ESTA is perfectly legal. 

 

My husband and I got married on his ESTA and I spoke with several attorneys before doing this. 

[SansTortoise 27]

8 hours ago, TiffAndMike said:

When they ask her what her reason is for coming to the states, all she has to tell them is that she is visiting her boyfriend. There is no need to offer up additional information.  

 

if she is coming here for a longer period of time, like 80 or 90 days, then they might take her in for another screening.  If the visit is about 5 weeks, she should be able to pass right on through.  

 

As long as she goes back after the marriage and you go through consular processing, getting married on a ESTA is perfectly legal. 

 

My husband and I got married on his ESTA and I spoke with several attorneys before doing this. 

I wouldn’t even say “boyfriend” unless prompted. It’s a vacation and there likely will be no follow-up if that’s the answer. If they ask who OP is staying with, etc. then it can be brought up, but an initial visit to the U.S. on ESTA from a low-risk country doesn’t need details beyond one word (“vacation”) in most cases.

[mglev 0]

This is all good to know, I was hoping that since the US and Chile have a pretty strong relationship from what I hear, that would help things go a bit smoother upon POE.  I think it makes sense to just have her say she's here for vacation which is the truth, and if prompted she could say she'll be staying with me and if ultimately necessary to disclose the marriage plan, having something prepared if they question her intent to stay or not.  Are there any things in particular when it comes to showing strong ties that people would recommend, or have any experience showing?  I imagine paystubs or some other documentation about current work status or her apartment lease/etc. would be helpful, but anything outside the box that would be beneficial to have prepared?  As I mentioned in my original post, she has a cat, she has friends and family here, she also just recently got her Master's degree in the country.  I just want to make sure we can be exhaustive for whatever might help convince an agent at the POE that she doesn't intend to stay here.  I do appreciate all the information so far, it's been very reassuring to hear!

[SalishSea 17,980]

Some of the advice given in this thread is bordering on advocating lying to CBP.   If asked directly, she absolutely needs to tell the truth about her intentions.   Failing to do so is a great way to get a swift removal and a ban.

[SansTortoise 27]

10 hours ago, mglev said:

This is all good to know, I was hoping that since the US and Chile have a pretty strong relationship from what I hear, that would help things go a bit smoother upon POE.  I think it makes sense to just have her say she's here for vacation which is the truth, and if prompted she could say she'll be staying with me and if ultimately necessary to disclose the marriage plan, having something prepared if they question her intent to stay or not.  Are there any things in particular when it comes to showing strong ties that people would recommend, or have any experience showing?  I imagine paystubs or some other documentation about current work status or her apartment lease/etc. would be helpful, but anything outside the box that would be beneficial to have prepared?  As I mentioned in my original post, she has a cat, she has friends and family here, she also just recently got her Master's degree in the country.  I just want to make sure we can be exhaustive for whatever might help convince an agent at the POE that she doesn't intend to stay here.  I do appreciate all the information so far, it's been very reassuring to hear!

Your plan is fine and isn’t lying or misrepresentation. WT class admission only has two options for purpose of travel “tourism” or “business” and answering one of those to the initial question is common and expected, especially from a country with lower English levels. Tell the truth to anything asked and never lie, but keep the answers short and factual if there are any questions.

 

Have her bring the Liquidación del Sueldo, a rental agreement, and if she’s taking vacation days any approval form (licencia or permiso) showing the days requested off. If there’s a work contract that might help too. Obviously the return ticket as well.

 

If she’s entering via Dulles or BWI (saw you’re from MD) there’s a high chance the only thing they ask her for is a picture and just input tourist without even asking her a question. Copa and Avianca service the SCL->IAD and SCL->BWI routes so most others on the plane will be from high overstay risk countries if she arrives on one of those flights. CBP does tend to focus their attention based on API data. They already know who they want to talk to beforehand, so there’s no reason to be worried.

Edited July 24 by SansTortoise