# UK citizen marrying US citizen and moving to the USA



## groomage (May 8, 2011)

Hello,

My fiancee is a US citizen and I am a UK citizen. We have known each other for around 2 years and been engaged for eight months. We are now looking at getting married and have looked for advice from immigration lawyers. The gist of what we have been told is that I have to leave the country so that my finacee can submit a I-129F form to get a K-1 "fiancee VISA" - at which point I have to wait between 5-15 months for this to be processed before I can return to the USA so that we can get married within 90 days.

I am currently here on the VISA-waiver program for 90 days, my finacee is a student and we have just bought an apartment in Chicago (without a mortgage). We don't want to be apart for this (indeterminate) amount of time and so at the moment are planning to leave the USA and travel Europe, but would prefer not to have any idea of when we will return. 
Having spoken to a brit I met yesterday, she informed me she and her American husband got married in the UK and then came back to the USA (i believe, not telling the boarder control about their wedding?), before taking their marriage certificate to a court house and having it certified, after which she applied for a green card and a working permit. She has remained in the USA, and has travelled since.

We want to do this in the safest way possible, but also want to know our options, as it seems we are not aware of them all. I have seen people suggest that one just get married in the US and apply for a green card (is this legal?!), what VISA would I come into the US on, if I was going to get married here without a K-1 VISA? 

Thank you for your replies.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

groomage said:


> Hello,
> 
> My fiancee is a US citizen and I am a UK citizen. We have known each other for around 2 years and been engaged for eight months. We are now looking at getting married and have looked for advice from immigration lawyers. The gist of what we have been told is that I have to leave the country so that my finacee can submit a I-129F form to get a K-1 "fiancee VISA" - at which point I have to wait between 5-15 months for this to be processed before I can return to the USA so that we can get married within 90 days.
> 
> ...


When does your I-94W expire?

What happened at your last entry to the US? What questions did they ask and how did you answer?

Also:
* Have you ever been arrested for anything, anywhere?
* Do you suffer from a serious communicable disease?
* Do you suffer from a mental disorder?
* Have you ever broken the terms of any previous visit to the US?
* Do you any connections whatsoever with countries the US might consider as terrorist in nature?


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## groomage (May 8, 2011)

Fatbrit said:


> When does your I-94W expire?
> 
> What happened at your last entry to the US? What questions did they ask and how did you answer?
> 
> ...


Hi Fatbrit, my I-94W (VISA-waiver?) expires on 28th May 2011, when I plan to leave the country for England.

When I last entered the US they asked the standard questions of "How long are you staying for?" "where are you staying?". I mentioned I was staying for 3 months, that I had a return flight booked and that I would be living with my fiancee. They did give me a bit of a hard time getting in this time, but I was eventually cleared.

The answer to all of those questions below is no.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

groomage said:


> Hi Fatbrit, my I-94W (VISA-waiver?) expires on 28th May 2011, when I plan to leave the country for England.
> 
> When I last entered the US they asked the standard questions of "How long are you staying for?" "where are you staying?". I mentioned I was staying for 3 months, that I had a return flight booked and that I would be living with my fiancee. They did give me a bit of a hard time getting in this time, but I was eventually cleared.
> 
> The answer to all of those questions below is no.


You aren't throwing out any specific contraindications for the express method.

If you can marry and file for residency BEFORE 28th May, it might be possible for you to remain. Some immigration attorneys embrace the express method, others don't. You'll find a gaggle of them at ailalawyer.com. Make sure they discuss the cons as well as the pros, and make sure they explain to you the hoo-ha resulting from the Momeni decision and USCIS's subsequent reaction to it. 

If you still plan to leave after research, you should discuss with them the advantages/disadvantages of marrying before leaving.


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## groomage (May 8, 2011)

I figured, if we did get married in the next 2-3 weeks, I would not be allow legally to stay in the country as my VISA would have run out - would this be changed by being married?


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

groomage said:


> I figured, if we did get married in the next 2-3 weeks, I would not be allow legally to stay in the country as my VISA would have run out - would this be changed by being married?


It may well be possible to stay and adjust to permenant resident. Whether it is advisable you will know when you have put together the pros and cons of such a strategy.


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