# Marrying on VWP.... Returning UK



## Patriotic (May 28, 2011)

Hi All,

I'm looking for a bit of advice.... please help if you can.

I have been in a relationship with my American fiance since Oct 2009. I met her while on exercise with the Royal Navy in Virginia Beach. We visit each other as much as possible and want to take our relationship to the next step. I am currently away on an Operational Tour in the Gulf and will be returning to UK September. I am planning to visit stateside in October for approx two months (I have a lot of leave owing to me!!!!) and we want to get married. I do not leave the Navy until January 2013 so cannot apply to live in the states until then anyway.

My questions are these...... Can we get married while I am on the VWP in October, I will then return to UK for work and then keep visiting on the VWP as I have been until I leave the Navy in 2013?

Can I apply for permanent visa (CR1) while I am in the Navy during 2012 so it is ready for when I leave in 2013?

What are my chances of getting permanent visa and job prospects? I will have done 22 years in the Royal Navy and have an Associates Degree in electronics engineering and will have a nice lump sum of money and a pension. My missus is an assistant principal at a high school, so I think we will be OK as far as the Federal Poverty Level is concerned. I also have no criminal convictions or diseases!!! lol

Any help or guidance is much appreciated....

Thanks in advance


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## anya (Dec 5, 2010)

My husband and I got married when he was on the VWP and it doesn't seem to be causing any problems with his Green Card application (well---the provisional one you get for two years after you're first married). His interview is Thursday in London. I think the key is that you're not planning to stay in the US indefinitely after the wedding--what they don't want is people getting married on the VWP and then asking for an adjustment of status from within the US.


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