# UK spouse moving to US



## yelbmaccm (Nov 20, 2011)

Hi
My daughter is marrying a US citizen in the Uk and wants to join him in the US. They have been told that she could come out on a visitor visa and during the time apply for a temporary green card. I am concerned that this will mean her staying illegally in the US and would appreciate any advice as to the correct procedure.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Someone will be by shortly with more detail, but the usual process is for the US citizen to apply to sponsor their spouse (immediately after the marriage, if possible). Once the sponsorship has been approved, the UK citizen can then apply for a spouse visa. The whole process takes around 6 months.

Going over on a visitor visa with the intention to remain is a very dodgy route and can land your daughter in quite a bit of trouble.

But those with more experience will be able to fill in the details.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

yelbmaccm said:


> Hi
> My daughter is marrying a US citizen in the Uk and wants to join him in the US. They have been told that she could come out on a visitor visa and during the time apply for a temporary green card. I am concerned that this will mean her staying illegally in the US and would appreciate any advice as to the correct procedure.


There is NO temporary Green card.

For your daughter to legally live in the US with her husband, he must apply for a spouse visa for her. He will need to prove that he has the financial wherewithal to support her. The whole process will take anything from 6 to 8 months. Once she enters the US with her spousal visa she will be issued her Green card and will be able to work.

Your daughter can *visit* her husband in the US during this time and, if she is a UK citizen, she will do so under the Visa Waiver program. She will need to prove her ties to the UK, have a return ticket etc.

The procedure is explained below:

USCIS - Family of U.S. Citizens

Under no circumstances must she overstay her visit in the US which is up to 90 days. This would go against her application for spouse visa.

Its all pretty straightforward.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

after marriage in the UK and that can be difficult if anybody is under 21 
Then the US citizen has to return to the US and file for a Spousal visa 
for the alien to enter the US ... they will get a CR1 ...visa that will give then a green
card on arrival


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