# US citizen marrying UK citizen and will be living in UK- any visa for her?



## eceman (Dec 6, 2014)

Hi!

I am a US citizen and will be marrying my girlfriend, a UK citizen in April. We will be living in the UK. However, my family is still in the US, and if I needed to come back for an extended in a pinch for whatever reason, I don't want it to be a hassle for her (also it would be nice if she could skip the long lines at the airport, but this isn't as important).

Is there anything we can do? Googling made me think a K3 visa was the right thing to do but I really can't tell. As of now we have no plans to live in the US, but again, when my parents are older we may move here and it would be difficult to put her through any long process if we could do something now.

What would be the best thing to do?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

eceman said:


> Is there anything we can do?


Short answer: no.

OK, here's the slightly longer answer. She has three basic options:

1. You sponsor your wife for a CR-1 visa, she lives with you in the United States for 5+ years, and she naturalizes as a U.S. citizen. U.S. citizens can then enter the U.S. whenever they want and stay as long as they want, with or without you.

2. You sponsor your wife for a CR-1/IR-1 visa, but you only go as far as the USCIS Form I-130 approval and keep that approval "on ice" at the National Visa Center. She would have to contact the NVC at least once per year to keep her file open. Once you/she decide to move to the U.S. you/she would then proceed through the NVC process. Note that this isn't for an extended stay in the U.S. -- a CR-1/IR-1 is for residence. As the years drag on this gets a bit risky, so my advice would be to only pursue this course if you predict a _reasonable_ chance that she'll move to the U.S. within the next very few years. (It isn't free to file Form I-130.)

3. She applies for a B-2 visa. If approved, a B-2 allows her to stay in the United States as a tourist for up to 6 months (if the CBP officer grants that length of stay when she enters -- no guarantees, but CBP routinely does for U.K. citizens). That's slightly more than double the ordinary 90 day stay permission available under ESTA/visa waiver program rules. However, if she is refused a B-2 visa she loses her ESTA/visa waiver privileges and must apply for a(nother) visa to visit the United States. Also, it's still a tourist visa. She cannot take employment in the United States, and (to be safe) she'd still have to spend more than half her time outside the United States. All a B-2 would do for her is allow her to stay for longer continuous periods -- longer tourist stays.

There is no "I might want to stay in the United States longer than a tourist with my U.S. spouse, but I don't know when" visa, unfortunately. You're either all-in (residence) or a tourist, really. There's no "in between."

_Most_ people in these circumstances just live within the 90 day stay limits available via ESTA/visa waiver. Then, if they find their U.S. spouse spending "too much" time in the United States, they take the CR-1/IR-1 path (which takes several months) and move their household to the United States.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

spousal visa CR1
Immigrant Visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1 or CR1)


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Your now-girlfriend soon-to-be-wife can always go back to the States with you on the VWP for up to 90 days (out of any rolling 180 day period). No waiting, no pre-applying for a visa other than keeping her ESTA registration current. This should suffice for an emergency situation.

When and if you decide to move back for residency purposes, you then go the spouse visa route, which will take more like the 6 to 12 months you generally hear about. But most folks can't pack up their lives and move "across the pond" on a moment's notice, either. (And there is always the vague possibility that they'll eventually make some of the changes to the immigration system they've been talking about for so long.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Congratulations!
International marriages come with additional problems and being informed about visa options can give some peace of mind.
@ESTA allows 90 days in the US with just an on-line application
@B2 allows up to 180 days and can be extended in the US
@CR1 currently takes 6-9 months, once Green Card is approved and activated it takes 3 years to US citizenship

Forget K3, it has pitfalls and is hardly being used anymore. 

Who knows what options will be available in the future?


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## Frank bcn (Nov 25, 2013)

Great information. I will check out those forms. 
I am a U.S. citizen who recently got married to a Spanish citizen. We live together in Spain.

What does she have to do for us to have our marriage recognized by the U.S.? to travel back to the US for vacation?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You don't have to do anything for your marriage to be recognized in the US. Just have copies of your marriage certificate or other document to show that you're married.

You'll need those when and if you decide to immigrate to the US (so that your spouse can go the spouse visa route). But otherwise, s/he has all the same rights to visit the US that s/he ever had.

OTOH, you wind up now having to file your US taxes as "married, filing separately" unless you get your spouse an ITIN (taxpayer i.d. number) for tax purposes (i.e. so you could file jointly or you could take the spouse as a dependent). Usually not needed nor advised unless you've got a "tax situation" to justify it. Drop in to the Expat Tax section for more information than you could possibly ever want to know. Expat Tax - Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad
Cheers,
Bev


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## Frank bcn (Nov 25, 2013)

Taxes....why did you have to mention taxes. Haha. Thanks for the heads up!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Frank bcn said:


> Taxes....why did you have to mention taxes. Haha. Thanks for the heads up!


The tax thing catches LOTS of people short. Especially recently with all the brouhaha about FATCA and FBAR. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## Frank bcn (Nov 25, 2013)

Bevdeforges said:


> The tax thing catches LOTS of people short. Especially recently with all the brouhaha about FATCA and FBAR.
> Cheers,
> Bev


Great. First taxes, now I have to worry about acronyms?!  
Thanks.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes, let's not.

FATCA = United States Internal Revenue Service Form 8938
FBAR = United States Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Form 114

I always try to specify the form names/numbers, at least in short form, whenever this subject comes up because it saves people a step or two. Go look at those two forms and see if they're relevant to your situation. Repeat each calendar year, near the beginning of the year.

There are three forms -- only three -- most U.S. citizens residing overseas need to worry about. (There might be a weird, oddball form in particular unusual circumstances, like a U.S. Treasury form to seek a license to do something involving Cuba. But for the vast majority of Americans only three are potentially relevant.) The three are:

1. United States Selective Service System registration. Only young males must do this, and it can be done online.

2. United States Internal Revenue Service Form 1040 (or 1040A if eligible) and its attachments. Form 8938 is, if required, an attachment to Form 1040.

3. United States Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Form 114. This form, too, can be filed online.

That's it for the compulsory forms, barring anything truly weird (like that Cuba example, or physically carrying lots of cash/cash equivalents into the United States). Voting is optional but recommended. Applying for/renewing a passport is optional (to the U.S.) but recommended. Registering birth of a U.S. citizen born overseas is strongly recommended. (In my view the child should be the one deciding whether that citizenship is to be kept when he/she reaches age 18.)


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

BBCWatcher said:


> 1. United States Selective Service System registration. Only young males must do this, and it can be done online.
> 
> 2. United States Internal Revenue Service Form 1040 (or 1040A if eligible) and its attachments. Form 8938 is, if required, an attachment to Form 1040.
> 
> ...


Just a note - #2 and 3 are only compulsory if you meet the threshold requirements (i.e. filing threshold in income according to filing status for #2 - sum total of overseas accounts $10,000 or more for #3). And for most folks, you'll want to include a form 2555 and/or 1116 with the tax returns. Form 8938 is only required if your "certain foreign financial assets" exceed the threshold for overseas residents and aren't reported on certain other forms. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Bevdeforges said:


> Just a note - #2 and 3 are only compulsory if you meet the threshold requirements (i.e. filing threshold in income according to filing status for #2 - sum total of overseas accounts $10,000 or more for #3).


Yes. They're like the "greatest hits" for U.S. citizens. Don't forget to consider the self-employment tax filing threshold if you receive any self-employment income, and (with very few exceptions) make sure you're counting total worldwide income when considering any filing thresholds.

Even if you miss the thresholds and are not required to file it may still be in your interest to file if you qualify for refundable tax credits. Many U.S. citizens living overseas do qualify. Refundable tax credits are free money from the IRS, and that's never a bad thing.



> And for most folks, you'll want to include a form 2555 and/or 1116 with the tax returns.


Yes, those are among the most popular 1040/1040A attachments for U.S. citizens residing overseas. It's generally Form 1116 if you live in a comparatively higher income tax jurisdiction and Form 2555 (perhaps also with Form 1116 depending on your income) if you live and work elsewhere.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Just stumbled onto a new IRS page/site for "international taxpayers" Thought it might be of some interest:
U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
Cheers,
Bev


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## Sardonicus (Mar 23, 2015)

Thankfully there are threads like this for reference, even years later they provide a lot of value.


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