Marriage outside the U.S. on a K-1 visa

[zqt3344 21]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

[maggieNomar 0]

It does suck that we cannot marry where we want to after all we go through to get them here. We would have chosen one of those carribean islands if it were an option. But with all the potential pitfalls, it's best not to risk not being able to bring your spouse back from the honeymoon. THAT would be bad. Have a great future together.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

Thanks again! You've given loads of time and info to this issue. Hmmm. So, say we do go the courthouse route..... about how long would it take to file for adjustment and get her permission to travel outside the U.S. with me for a honeymoon? Thanks again...

[zqt3344 21]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

Thanks again! You've given loads of time and info to this issue. Hmmm. So, say we do go the courthouse route..... about how long would it take to file for adjustment and get her permission to travel outside the U.S. with me for a honeymoon? Thanks again...

Jason

No problem. I remember digging around on this website and other visa websites and emailing other members and reading posts from way back and any other thing I would find on internet, so I feel for you. I would do the courthouse 30 minute deal you got in Virginia, then you can apply for AOS that day or as soon as you get all the documents to support the AOS I-485 app and I-864 app you have to send in together, we allowed ourselves about 2-3 days to work on putting the whole thing together then mailing off on a friday before the new fee deadline and that was not planed it just worked out that way and fell that way due to our wedding and on the calendar after getting back from honeymoon. You might explain to your finance what is going on, that it is the way the system is set up so she understands and does not think you are trying to pull some unromantic thing, I know I had to explain all this process to my wife/finance to get her to calm down and understand it all, it is very frustrating and hard on a couple in love, and believe me the USCIS does not care. You also need to start to get all the forms filled out and signed before applying, cause it is a lot of work or prep time getting all the documents to support your claims or answers on the I-864 and I-485, I would start working on it about 2 - 3 months ahead of time collecting everything, there is a checklist on this website under AOS that is pretty straightfoward and helpful to look at.

If you apply for AOS on the day of courthouse marriage or day after, then you will also be forced to pay for and apply for EAD, and AP(Advanced Parole which means the temporary travel document your finance/wife will need to go in and out of USA while waiting for her AOS green card. Here is what these abbreviations mean, took me awhile to figure out what the world these people were talking about, since everyone is into abbreviating everything. AOS = Adjustment of Status EAD= Employment Authorization Document PR = Permenant Resident

See under previous system before July 30 of 2007 you had choice to pick what you wanted to apply for, 1)AOS or 2)AOS and EAD or 3)AOS or AP 4) AOS and AP and EAD, and this was very good and the way it still should be. BUT our fine president signed off on these new fees and procedures for K1 visas back in early spring this year and well here you are, you are stuck you have no choice, you will shell out about $1200 or so when you apply for your AOS and EAD and AP now under current system. We were lucky we only filed for the AOS(I-485 app and I-864 app and supporting documents)which cost us $395. WE DID NOT BOTHER with the EAD or the AP and here is why, it is a waste of time and money. Look at how many filers of AOS that also applied for EAD and AP get their AOS green card within about month of those two other documents, QUITE A FEW! I would say about 80 - 90% from what I have read, researched and monitored and seen now for over a year. THUS why apply when in a month you get Green Card and do not need the other EAD or AP and can do whatever you want anyway for next 2 years. AND what is one month vs another $500-$700 for EAD and AP, not much gained we thought, money better spent on other things.

BUT under this new system you will have no choice but to file for all three documents, you get the new $1100-$1200 fee and you will have to apply for AP(to travel), EAD(to work), and AOS(green card) all at same time. AND that also means more forms to fill out and documents to send in. MORE WORK, leave it up to the US federal government to think of this when they claim to want to streamline or help legal immigrants. Dream on.

AND I would say that within 30-60 days of applying for or mailing off all this after the marriage at courthouse you will get your AP document for your wife to be able to travel outside of USA to anywhere in Carib, like St. Marteens and come back with no problems. AND not to scare you but this is not exact science, sometimes it takes longer, I would say due to the workload they receive for caseworkers that week or month, priority of what they are told to process within USCIS, etc, many things. But I would say from what I have seen that within 30 - 60 days she will be able to travel and that is about 80-90% of the AOS filers for AP and EAD I observed.

ARE Sure you can't just go to the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico since they are in the USA borders and in the CARIB and it would make your life simpler and give you the speed you desire to travel to an exotic pretty romantic island!

Hope this helps. Just passing on actual factual information to you my fellow Eastern European finance VJer.

[zqt3344 21]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

Thanks again! You've given loads of time and info to this issue. Hmmm. So, say we do go the courthouse route..... about how long would it take to file for adjustment and get her permission to travel outside the U.S. with me for a honeymoon? Thanks again...

Jason

No problem. I remember digging around on this website and other visa websites and emailing other members and reading posts from way back and any other thing I would find on internet, so I feel for you. I would do the courthouse 30 minute deal you got in Virginia, then you can apply for AOS that day or as soon as you get all the documents to support the AOS I-485 app and I-864 app you have to send in together, we allowed ourselves about 2-3 days to work on putting the whole thing together then mailing off on a friday before the new fee deadline and that was not planed it just worked out that way and fell that way due to our wedding and on the calendar after getting back from honeymoon. You might explain to your finance what is going on, that it is the way the system is set up so she understands and does not think you are trying to pull some unromantic thing, I know I had to explain all this process to my wife/finance to get her to calm down and understand it all, it is very frustrating and hard on a couple in love, and believe me the USCIS does not care. You also need to start to get all the forms filled out and signed before applying, cause it is a lot of work or prep time getting all the documents to support your claims or answers on the I-864 and I-485, I would start working on it about 2 - 3 months ahead of time collecting everything, there is a checklist on this website under AOS that is pretty straightfoward and helpful to look at.

If you apply for AOS on the day of courthouse marriage or day after, then you will also be forced to pay for and apply for EAD, and AP(Advanced Parole which means the temporary travel document your finance/wife will need to go in and out of USA while waiting for her AOS green card. Here is what these abbreviations mean, took me awhile to figure out what the world these people were talking about, since everyone is into abbreviating everything. AOS = Adjustment of Status EAD= Employment Authorization Document PR = Permenant Resident

See under previous system before July 30 of 2007 you had choice to pick what you wanted to apply for, 1)AOS or 2)AOS and EAD or 3)AOS or AP 4) AOS and AP and EAD, and this was very good and the way it still should be. BUT our fine president signed off on these new fees and procedures for K1 visas back in early spring this year and well here you are, you are stuck you have no choice, you will shell out about $1200 or so when you apply for your AOS and EAD and AP now under current system. We were lucky we only filed for the AOS(I-485 app and I-864 app and supporting documents)which cost us $395. WE DID NOT BOTHER with the EAD or the AP and here is why, it is a waste of time and money. Look at how many filers of AOS that also applied for EAD and AP get their AOS green card within about month of those two other documents, QUITE A FEW! I would say about 80 - 90% from what I have read, researched and monitored and seen now for over a year. THUS why apply when in a month you get Green Card and do not need the other EAD or AP and can do whatever you want anyway for next 2 years. AND what is one month vs another $500-$700 for EAD and AP, not much gained we thought, money better spent on other things.

BUT under this new system you will have no choice but to file for all three documents, you get the new $1100-$1200 fee and you will have to apply for AP(to travel), EAD(to work), and AOS(green card) all at same time. AND that also means more forms to fill out and documents to send in. MORE WORK, leave it up to the US federal government to think of this when they claim to want to streamline or help legal immigrants. Dream on.

AND I would say that within 30-60 days of applying for or mailing off all this after the marriage at courthouse you will get your AP document for your wife to be able to travel outside of USA to anywhere in Carib, like St. Marteens and come back with no problems. AND not to scare you but this is not exact science, sometimes it takes longer, I would say due to the workload they receive for caseworkers that week or month, priority of what they are told to process within USCIS, etc, many things. But I would say from what I have seen that within 30 - 60 days she will be able to travel and that is about 80-90% of the AOS filers for AP and EAD I observed.

ARE Sure you can't just go to the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico since they are in the USA borders and in the CARIB and it would make your life simpler and give you the speed you desire to travel to an exotic pretty romantic island!

Hope this helps. Just passing on actual factual information to you my fellow Eastern European finance VJer.

Jason

THIS happened to us and I would say it will affect you also since your soon to be wife is from ole Mother Russia Soviet. Just thought of another pitfall/expense you will have if you decide to take your new wife/finance to another country that is not within the USA jurisidiction, applying for a visa to travel to that country. We found that it was a problem, because USA citizens like you and I have no problem to travel in and out of any place in Carribbean without having a visa(all we needed was passport or formerly a driver license, birth certificate, SS card, etc) your wife/finance will since she is from Eastern European country, so basically any place you decide to go to in Carribbean for example you will have to check out their visa requirements for Russians and how much paperwork and fees it will be and how much time to file for it. Sorry forgot all about this. That is why I made our short list Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and passed on Guam. I knew that it was like driving in car across state line into another state and no passport check so no big deal, thus we stayed within and flew to Maui for 2 weeks. And after having been to Saint Marteens already, I can tell you go to Hawaiin islands, she will love it even more so and it is not a third world country island, it is the USA and excellent, that is if you are in doubt or afraid of going to US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico like we were.

[Dan J 277]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

Thanks again! You've given loads of time and info to this issue. Hmmm. So, say we do go the courthouse route..... about how long would it take to file for adjustment and get her permission to travel outside the U.S. with me for a honeymoon? Thanks again...

It does vary, but most people get AP within 90 days. You can file as soon as you get the marriage certificate and you have taken care of the vaccination supplement of the medical.

[pushbrk 12,876]

Do yourself a favor and get your marriage license in your own home town or county before you actually fly off somewhere to say the I Dos, reason is you will have to have that marriage license and certificate copy to mail in with AOS application once you get back off the honeymoon. [/b]

This won't work. You need a marriage license issued in the jurisdiction (In the US, it's the County.) where the actual marriage took place. You can't get married in Florida on a Virginia marriage license.

I read it that way at first, too, so I re-read it. I think there's a language barrier and the poster actually means "Have a civil marriage before you fly off to do the ceremony because some jurisdictions won't give you a copy of the marriage certificate right away."

Perhaps but it's not how you read it. It's how it is written. I'm not interested in criticizing the author. I'm interested in correcting misinformation, regardless of how it happened to be provided.

Jason

Like I said, for what you want and asked and this is not misinformation: To get married the quickest least expensive way is for you and finance to say your official I-Do's at your nearest county seat town/city at court house once your finance arrives at your residence in USA. Call or go to the County Recorders office.

I responded to what you wrote, not what you now say you meant. See the underlined text from your first post. You mentioned a local marriage license before flying off to say I do's.

A local civil marriage is not the same as a marriage license. The latter is simply permission to do the former. Further, as the OP has clearly stated a local civil marriage is not what the he asked about or is interested in.

You actual plan is a fine one. What you wrote wouldn't have worked. It's best to expect your reader to be a reader of words, sentences and paragraphs, not a mind reader.

Edited October 31, 2007 by pushbrk

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Very Helpful ZQT! I didn't really understand all of this stage of the immigration process. You've really helped me. So, what I understand now is the fees have gone up incredibly, you must file and pay for each of these documents at the same time, expect to wait 60+ days for work authorization, travel authorization. Well, this courthouse marriage certainly seems to have its benefits. Really would allow us to get a jumpstart on her adjustment and our chances to travel. We could even do it the first week she is here. File for these documents, then simply wait 2 months or so. Very tempting. And I know this will sound silly, but we really don't want to think back and remember a courthouse wedding. We want the day we celebrate our anniversary every year to be the day we married someplace beautiful and sacred to us. Not the dreary local courthouse. well, I suppose we could find a scenic place in Virginia for a nice ceremony. bu tthen we'd be so close to home that we'd be tempted to invite friends and family. Then before you know it, my sister is planning things, and we'll have a full blown wedding. it will get more and more elaborate and finally postponed a bit. And we'll be back to square one, using the whole 90 day period to get married. She'll be out of work for a long time....and ahhh ######! What to do........

I know she will hate this courthouse idea. Damn. Well, otherwise we will wait a very long time before she can work and we can travel the way we like to. Well, we could try to erase this civil ceremony from our memory and just do it for the paper. then wait 2 months for the approved paperwork from USCIS, go anywhere we wish and have a true wedding ceremony for just the 2 of us. Hell, this way we will even have 2 anniversary dates...

I don't know. I guess we have some discussing to do. And I'm going to begin preparing for this stage now I guess. Studying and gathering, etc. I just figured I had plenty of time for this since we probably wont see an approval for the I129f anytime soon. Thanks alot ZQT! You've really been a lot of help. I appreciate all the time you put into this for us.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

Thanks again! You've given loads of time and info to this issue. Hmmm. So, say we do go the courthouse route..... about how long would it take to file for adjustment and get her permission to travel outside the U.S. with me for a honeymoon? Thanks again...

Jason

No problem. I remember digging around on this website and other visa websites and emailing other members and reading posts from way back and any other thing I would find on internet, so I feel for you. I would do the courthouse 30 minute deal you got in Virginia, then you can apply for AOS that day or as soon as you get all the documents to support the AOS I-485 app and I-864 app you have to send in together, we allowed ourselves about 2-3 days to work on putting the whole thing together then mailing off on a friday before the new fee deadline and that was not planed it just worked out that way and fell that way due to our wedding and on the calendar after getting back from honeymoon. You might explain to your finance what is going on, that it is the way the system is set up so she understands and does not think you are trying to pull some unromantic thing, I know I had to explain all this process to my wife/finance to get her to calm down and understand it all, it is very frustrating and hard on a couple in love, and believe me the USCIS does not care. You also need to start to get all the forms filled out and signed before applying, cause it is a lot of work or prep time getting all the documents to support your claims or answers on the I-864 and I-485, I would start working on it about 2 - 3 months ahead of time collecting everything, there is a checklist on this website under AOS that is pretty straightfoward and helpful to look at.

If you apply for AOS on the day of courthouse marriage or day after, then you will also be forced to pay for and apply for EAD, and AP(Advanced Parole which means the temporary travel document your finance/wife will need to go in and out of USA while waiting for her AOS green card. Here is what these abbreviations mean, took me awhile to figure out what the world these people were talking about, since everyone is into abbreviating everything. AOS = Adjustment of Status EAD= Employment Authorization Document PR = Permenant Resident

See under previous system before July 30 of 2007 you had choice to pick what you wanted to apply for, 1)AOS or 2)AOS and EAD or 3)AOS or AP 4) AOS and AP and EAD, and this was very good and the way it still should be. BUT our fine president signed off on these new fees and procedures for K1 visas back in early spring this year and well here you are, you are stuck you have no choice, you will shell out about $1200 or so when you apply for your AOS and EAD and AP now under current system. We were lucky we only filed for the AOS(I-485 app and I-864 app and supporting documents)which cost us $395. WE DID NOT BOTHER with the EAD or the AP and here is why, it is a waste of time and money. Look at how many filers of AOS that also applied for EAD and AP get their AOS green card within about month of those two other documents, QUITE A FEW! I would say about 80 - 90% from what I have read, researched and monitored and seen now for over a year. THUS why apply when in a month you get Green Card and do not need the other EAD or AP and can do whatever you want anyway for next 2 years. AND what is one month vs another $500-$700 for EAD and AP, not much gained we thought, money better spent on other things.

BUT under this new system you will have no choice but to file for all three documents, you get the new $1100-$1200 fee and you will have to apply for AP(to travel), EAD(to work), and AOS(green card) all at same time. AND that also means more forms to fill out and documents to send in. MORE WORK, leave it up to the US federal government to think of this when they claim to want to streamline or help legal immigrants. Dream on.

AND I would say that within 30-60 days of applying for or mailing off all this after the marriage at courthouse you will get your AP document for your wife to be able to travel outside of USA to anywhere in Carib, like St. Marteens and come back with no problems. AND not to scare you but this is not exact science, sometimes it takes longer, I would say due to the workload they receive for caseworkers that week or month, priority of what they are told to process within USCIS, etc, many things. But I would say from what I have seen that within 30 - 60 days she will be able to travel and that is about 80-90% of the AOS filers for AP and EAD I observed.

ARE Sure you can't just go to the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico since they are in the USA borders and in the CARIB and it would make your life simpler and give you the speed you desire to travel to an exotic pretty romantic island!

Hope this helps. Just passing on actual factual information to you my fellow Eastern European finance VJer.

Jason

THIS happened to us and I would say it will affect you also since your soon to be wife is from ole Mother Russia Soviet. Just thought of another pitfall/expense you will have if you decide to take your new wife/finance to another country that is not within the USA jurisidiction, applying for a visa to travel to that country. We found that it was a problem, because USA citizens like you and I have no problem to travel in and out of any place in Carribbean without having a visa(all we needed was passport or formerly a driver license, birth certificate, SS card, etc) your wife/finance will since she is from Eastern European country, so basically any place you decide to go to in Carribbean for example you will have to check out their visa requirements for Russians and how much paperwork and fees it will be and how much time to file for it. Sorry forgot all about this. That is why I made our short list Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and passed on Guam. I knew that it was like driving in car across state line into another state and no passport check so no big deal, thus we stayed within and flew to Maui for 2 weeks. And after having been to Saint Marteens already, I can tell you go to Hawaiin islands, she will love it even more so and it is not a third world country island, it is the USA and excellent, that is if you are in doubt or afraid of going to US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico like we were.

Thanks! great info there. I never thought of this before, but it makes perfect sense. We are definitely leaning more toward Hawaii now. We spoke earlier and agree that Hawaii or Florida is fine for us. Thanks.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Whoa! I didnt expect so many responses. Thank you all. There was some confusion I guess from my wording. Not sure, but from everyone's info i have been able to piece everything together. My main concern was actually marrying somewhere other than our home state. Somewhere that would double as a nice honeymoon spot. Doesn't need to be outside the continental U.S. but would be a nice option. Our objective isn't necessarily to save money, it's to adjust quickly. So the idea of a civil marriage fits this very well. though, we don't want to remember being married at the courthouse. we want to remember being married in a beautiful, natural setting. There's nothing wrong with a courthouse marriage, but we don't want this. I didn't think about each state requiring a different license issued by that state to marry there. This changes things. In Virginia you can have a license in 30 minutes. I dont know how long it takes to get a license for other states. So, this I learned from the responses. Thanks. Also wasn't thinking about the possibilities of being rerouted by plane to a non-US place. Carribean is out. Thanks. I have read through the next steps of the process, but right now we have several months remaining for even an NOA2. So, I think I'm safe. Thanks again.

Jason

Good luck then, if you want speed then the route I suggested at county courthouse or the 30 mintue deal in Virginia is it, especially if you want speed so you can apply for AOS before you leave on honeymoon or when you get back. Otherwise you start adding new parts to the equation like other states and then waiting on them to process your marriage license and well you are going to wait more than likely, only way to get the speed you want is to do it yourself and get married in that 30 minute deal in Virginia, otherwise it is going to be or could be several days waiting for that license or weeks, because each state is different and each county recorders office works at different pace, just telling you what I learned firsthand.

ZQT3344

Thanks again! You've given loads of time and info to this issue. Hmmm. So, say we do go the courthouse route..... about how long would it take to file for adjustment and get her permission to travel outside the U.S. with me for a honeymoon? Thanks again...

It does vary, but most people get AP within 90 days. You can file as soon as you get the marriage certificate and you have taken care of the vaccination supplement of the medical.

We will plan on 3 months then. Thanks! Though, I think we will honeymoon somewhere in the US. To save the headache of waiting. But we will wish to travel to Russia sometime within the first year of her being her, so this is good to know.

[Dan J 277]

Very Helpful ZQT! I didn't really understand all of this stage of the immigration process. You've really helped me. So, what I understand now is the fees have gone up incredibly, you must file and pay for each of these documents at the same time, expect to wait 60+ days for work authorization, travel authorization. Well, this courthouse marriage certainly seems to have its benefits. Really would allow us to get a jumpstart on her adjustment and our chances to travel. We could even do it the first week she is here. File for these documents, then simply wait 2 months or so. Very tempting. And I know this will sound silly, but we really don't want to think back and remember a courthouse wedding. We want the day we celebrate our anniversary every year to be the day we married someplace beautiful and sacred to us. Not the dreary local courthouse. well, I suppose we could find a scenic place in Virginia for a nice ceremony. bu tthen we'd be so close to home that we'd be tempted to invite friends and family. Then before you know it, my sister is planning things, and we'll have a full blown wedding. it will get more and more elaborate and finally postponed a bit. And we'll be back to square one, using the whole 90 day period to get married. She'll be out of work for a long time....and ahhh ######! What to do........

I know she will hate this courthouse idea. Damn. Well, otherwise we will wait a very long time before she can work and we can travel the way we like to. Well, we could try to erase this civil ceremony from our memory and just do it for the paper. then wait 2 months for the approved paperwork from USCIS, go anywhere we wish and have a true wedding ceremony for just the 2 of us. Hell, this way we will even have 2 anniversary dates...

I don't know. I guess we have some discussing to do. And I'm going to begin preparing for this stage now I guess. Studying and gathering, etc. I just figured I had plenty of time for this since we probably wont see an approval for the I129f anytime soon. Thanks alot ZQT! You've really been a lot of help. I appreciate all the time you put into this for us.

With AOS, AP and EAD are free. All you need to do is pay the AOS fee + Biometrics. I think the total is $1080.

If for some reason AOS takes along time, you can apply for AP or EAD as often as you need to renew it for free.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

I realize this is even in my own thread but....can you answer this for me. I have read in several threads in the past about obtaining an Employment Authorization from some POEs. Sasha has worked in the U.S. a few times in the past from other visas. She will be coming in through JFK in NY. She has a SSN but only valid with work authorization. Is it possible that she can get instant authorization for work when she lands at JFK?? Any chances? I'm currently searching for answers to this as I post this, so please forgive me if I seem ignorant or lazy. I'm really not. Thanks everyone! You've given me more info than I ever hoped to receive. Usually any thread i start gets buried at the bottom of the list for lack of interest or something...so i dont start many.

Very Helpful ZQT! I didn't really understand all of this stage of the immigration process. You've really helped me. So, what I understand now is the fees have gone up incredibly, you must file and pay for each of these documents at the same time, expect to wait 60+ days for work authorization, travel authorization. Well, this courthouse marriage certainly seems to have its benefits. Really would allow us to get a jumpstart on her adjustment and our chances to travel. We could even do it the first week she is here. File for these documents, then simply wait 2 months or so. Very tempting. And I know this will sound silly, but we really don't want to think back and remember a courthouse wedding. We want the day we celebrate our anniversary every year to be the day we married someplace beautiful and sacred to us. Not the dreary local courthouse. well, I suppose we could find a scenic place in Virginia for a nice ceremony. bu tthen we'd be so close to home that we'd be tempted to invite friends and family. Then before you know it, my sister is planning things, and we'll have a full blown wedding. it will get more and more elaborate and finally postponed a bit. And we'll be back to square one, using the whole 90 day period to get married. She'll be out of work for a long time....and ahhh ######! What to do........

I know she will hate this courthouse idea. Damn. Well, otherwise we will wait a very long time before she can work and we can travel the way we like to. Well, we could try to erase this civil ceremony from our memory and just do it for the paper. then wait 2 months for the approved paperwork from USCIS, go anywhere we wish and have a true wedding ceremony for just the 2 of us. Hell, this way we will even have 2 anniversary dates...

I don't know. I guess we have some discussing to do. And I'm going to begin preparing for this stage now I guess. Studying and gathering, etc. I just figured I had plenty of time for this since we probably wont see an approval for the I129f anytime soon. Thanks alot ZQT! You've really been a lot of help. I appreciate all the time you put into this for us.

With AOS, AP and EAD are free. All you need to do is pay the AOS fee + Biometrics. I think the total is $1080.

If for some reason AOS takes along time, you can apply for AP or EAD as often as you need to renew it for free.

Very cool info! I'm discovering this right now as a matter of fact. Thanks.

[no name 1]

I realize this is even in my own thread but....can you answer this for me. I have read in several threads in the past about obtaining an Employment Authorization from some POEs. Sasha has worked in the U.S. a few times in the past from other visas. She will be coming in through JFK in NY. She has a SSN but only valid with work authorization. Is it possible that she can get instant authorization for work when she lands at JFK?? Any chances? I'm currently searching for answers to this as I post this, so please forgive me if I seem ignorant or lazy. I'm really not. Thanks everyone! You've given me more info than I ever hoped to receive. Usually any thread i start gets buried at the bottom of the list for lack of interest or something...so i dont start many.

It's only valid for 90 days though, and only available at JFK.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

I'd hate to be jumping the gun by doing all of this planning now. But I guess it can't hurt. We just really want to get through to an approval and interview before we get excited about our actual wedding plans, whatever they may be. I've seen a few people in the past with spoiled plans because this first stage took longer than expected. And its the last thing we want. But I guess with the way this immigration process works, everyone is a bit crazy from it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all do all of these stages at our own pace?? As fast as wish to or as slow as we wish. Hehe...wishful thinking. But my gratitude to all of you who give advice and support.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

I realize this is even in my own thread but....can you answer this for me. I have read in several threads in the past about obtaining an Employment Authorization from some POEs. Sasha has worked in the U.S. a few times in the past from other visas. She will be coming in through JFK in NY. She has a SSN but only valid with work authorization. Is it possible that she can get instant authorization for work when she lands at JFK?? Any chances? I'm currently searching for answers to this as I post this, so please forgive me if I seem ignorant or lazy. I'm really not. Thanks everyone! You've given me more info than I ever hoped to receive. Usually any thread i start gets buried at the bottom of the list for lack of interest or something...so i dont start many.

It's only valid for 90 days though, and only available at JFK.

Wow! great. Do you know how certain this is? I mean, obviously it cannot be guaranteed, but the outlook is good? Can you tell me anymore about how to obtain this? Is it an actual document or a stamp on the visa? Thanks...