# US citizen looking to marry UK girl



## Stutah (Mar 29, 2013)

Hi everyone, this is my first post so let me explain my story.
I'm a US citizen that met a UK girl while backpacking in Australia. We have been together since New Years 2012 and travelled around since then through Asia and parts of the US during her 3 month visitor visa. After her visa she left and i stayed home for a long 5 months to save up money to come visit her. We are currently in the UK together where I am visiting her on a 6 month tourist visa. I proposed marriage to her on Christmas last year and now we are deciding where to get married so we can stay together and not have to bounce back and forth from US to UK. We are thinking of trying to start our life in the states first. Seeing we are just poor backpackers though we would like to do things cheap as possible (who wouldn't right). 

Question is would it be better for us to get married outside of our countries (say mainland Europe) before I go back home and just have her apply for a marriage visa? Or would it be better for us to get married when she comes over on another visitor visa? Which I think is some sort of fraud actually. Or apply for a US Fiancé visa and get married in US? Looking for the cheapest and least amount of time apart here. I would like to know approximately how much time and money we're looking at. I make decent money back home working in a brew pub as a waiter in a busy tourist town but have no savings from traveling. I know this may be a problem if I need to show finances to get her over to US. None of my family make to much either so I think that hinders sponsorship options as well. Maybe it's even easier to just try and settle in UK after going home first. I don't know. Please help and thanks for your responses. 
Cheers


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## Theexbrit (Feb 24, 2013)

I'm a Brit that married a Yank in the mid 1990's & have lived in California ever since. Things may have changed after 9-11 but the main thing is entering the states under false pretenses. Coming here on a tourist visa after you've been dating all this time might not be a good idea, I think it might be best to get married in the UK then bring her over with you. Once you're married I don't think it matters about sponsorship, that's only if you're on a fiance visa or something. Once you get here I think you have some grace time to go to the INS & get your wife registered as a resident alien, but don't leave it too long. You also have to enter the country as a married couple I believe. You might be able to do this at the US embassy in London after you're married, then I think you have to stay married for 7 years before she can get citizenship. hope this helps, it's been a while since I went thru all this. Good luck.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

"I think" "you might" and whatever isn't doing the OP any favors.

To bring a fiancé or spouse to the US is going to require sponsorship. The American spouse is the primary sponsor, but if your income isn't up to the required level, it's possible to use a co-sponsor (usually, but not necessarily, a parent or other family member with sufficient income to qualify).

Either a fiancé or a spouse visa will take something like 6 to 9 months to process, so you may be looking at some time apart.

Immigrant Visa for a Spouse or Fiancé(e) of a U.S. Citizen is the starting point for your research.

You may want to ask over on the UK section in the forum, as I seem to recall some issues about foreigners getting married in the UK without having declared the intention on their arrival. But check over there for the details.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Theexbrit - you may want to do some reading before posting "might" and "think" - 
Visas
USCIS Home Page

Stutha - both links go into detail of required documentation, options of sponsorship and fees. You can go K1 (fiancé) or CR1 (spouse). Either one takes up to a year. Remember - once she has a Green Card she cannot leave the US over a year without Re-Entry Permit. Have you field your tax returns? Work your way through the two options and then ask questions. It is pretty cut and dry. Post your question on the UK Forum to get information about the other side of the coin.


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## Stutah (Mar 29, 2013)

Thanks for the replies. Looking into things more I think it's best to wait and go the route of a K1 fiancé visa. I do have a missing tax return from 2 years ago because I was not in the country for that entire year and read on the IRS website I didn't need to file. So hopefully that's not a Big problem later. I'll do some more reasearch and narrow my questioning down.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Stutah said:


> Thanks for the replies. Looking into things more I think it's best to wait and go the route of a K1 fiancé visa. I do have a missing tax return from 2 years ago because I was not in the country for that entire year and read on the IRS website I didn't need to file. So hopefully that's not a Big problem later. I'll do some more reasearch and narrow my questioning down.


There are no "big" or "small" problems when it comes to US immigration.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Theexbrit said:


> I'm a Brit that married a Yank in the mid 1990's & have lived in California ever since. Things may have changed after 9-11 but the main thing is entering the states under false pretenses. Coming here on a tourist visa after you've been dating all this time might not be a good idea, I think it might be best to get married in the UK then bring her over with you. Once you're married I don't think it matters about sponsorship, that's only if you're on a fiance visa or something. Once you get here I think you have some grace time to go to the INS & get your wife registered as a resident alien, but don't leave it too long. You also have to enter the country as a married couple I believe. You might be able to do this at the US embassy in London after you're married, then I think you have to stay married for 7 years before she can get citizenship. hope this helps, it's been a while since I went thru all this. Good luck.


Somebody should delete this ..its pure nonsense


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