# Civil Partnership - Is it considered marriage under US Immigration?



## speaktru69 (Jul 1, 2013)

Hi All,

I"m a US citizen in a 10 year relationship (8 years in UK) where 7 years of that we have been in a civil partnership. Now DOMA has been found unconstitutional I can now apply for my UK partner to immigrate to the US. 

My question is: Will my UK Civil Partnership recognise my partner as a spouse whereas I can petition for a I-130 visa or do I have to file a I-129 fiance visa?

Many thanks for any help!
Cheers


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I don't think we'll know for sure until USCIS publishes new rules, which they should do rather quickly. The "worst case" is the fiancé/fiancée visa route, which means legally (re)marrying in one of the states that has same sex marriage.

Note that deportations are now halted in these circumstances. That was the very first real world impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, even before USCIS can get new rules issued. Mere minutes after the decision was announced attorneys raced into court in New York and successfully halted a live deportation case involving the foreign same sex spouse of a U.S. citizen. So if you're in a rush you can probably press the issue, perhaps with some legal help.

In any event, I'd take a look at both paths and gather the documentation you'll need to submit either way so you're ready to go as soon as possible.


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## speaktru69 (Jul 1, 2013)

Hi Thanks for the information. I'm checking both routes now. The fiance route a lot more expensive then the spouse route. The only other thing is that my partner and I do not share joint bank accounts. Her account pays some bills and mine pay other bills. We do have joint tenancy and council rates. Could this pose a problem? We've been living together for 8 years over here. 
Cheers


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

No. Having joint bank accounts is only an _example_ of what some married couples do together (and maybe shouldn't), but it's certainly not a requirement. I'm sure you'll have lots of other evidence of your relationship together. I also doubt USCIS is going to heavily scrutinize a U.S.-U.K. couple anyway as long as your sponsorship application is reasonable.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

USCIS seems to be moving pretty quickly, starting with its "live" cases. History was just made: a Bulgarian man is the first same sex spouse to receive a green card.

Note that the couple lives in Florida which is not one of the states with same sex marriage. However, immigration is solely a federal responsibility. The couple married in New York, so their case doesn't answer the question whether a U.K. civil partnership will be treated as marriage. We'll have to see what USCIS says when it issues updated rules.

They decided to celebrate at Red Lobster. That's funny.


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## speaktru69 (Jul 1, 2013)

Thanks for the info. Red Lobster is funny. However I miss their Lobster Ravioli with alfredo sauce. lol

GLADD advised me after speaking with their law section that I would have to file a Fiance visa as Civil Partnership would not be recognised.

After reading through the process and the forms to fill out, I found form DS-156 (electronic form) and one of the questions asked if my partner was ever refused a visa. She had in fact applied for a visa after we first met in 2003 and was refused a 6 month visitor visa because the Embassy employee felt she did not have strong enough ties to the UK to return.

We were left with her having to use the visa waiver program for her to visit me. She would visit for 3 months go back for a couple and so on for a period of 2 years. The last time she came with me to the states was when I had moved to the UK in May 2005 and we wanted to visit my family in November 2005 for Thanksgiving. 

Because she had been denied a visa in 2003, she was sent to passport control whereas the very rude and aggressive immigration officer proceeded to tell her that on 3 occasions she had overstayed her visa waiver by 1 day and was therefore in violation and was not going to be granted entry to the US. This was entirely my fault because I did not take into account red eye flights and time difference.

My partner was clearly upset and I was furious. The immigration officer refused to show me the evidence and she was then taken to his manager who was very nice and explained that he would allow her in on this occasion but she would need to stay out of the US for a few years and if she ever wanted to come back she would need to obtain a Visa.

Will this effect her obtaining a Fiance visa as there are questions on the DS-156 form that ask about visa refusal and visa violations. The answer would be yes to both. I'm looking into immigration attorneys now.

Many thanks.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

overstaying can be dangerous

read this story
Barbara Dixon and Richard Cross locked up in U.S. after visa blunder | Mail Online


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm always thrown by these types of questions. USCIS already knows that your partner was refused a visa. They're asking the question to determine whether you/she are truthful. So answer truthfully.

As far as the alleged visa violation(s), did she actually overstay or not? I understand she was accused of overstaying, but what are the facts? If the facts are yes, you/she answer yes. If the facts are no, you/she answer no (unless the question is phrased another way).

What choice is there?

The truth is pretty damn good, actually. She wanted to legally maximize her time with you -- you love each other -- but you/she miscalculated by 1 day. Once informed of the problem you/she never made the same error. Sounds good to me.


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## speaktru69 (Jul 1, 2013)

Interesting article, but they overstayed by 3 months. I never got to see the evidence from the immigration officer and even when his co-worker tried to correct him and tell him that wasn't correct, he silenced him. I'd really have to look through my partners passport to try and match up dates of entry and exit to be sure. 
Cheers


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## speaktru69 (Jul 1, 2013)

Thanks BBCWatcher. I appreciate the advice. I will be honest filling out the form based on what were were told. The form I have to complete is one my partner has to bring to the us embassy for an interview and not the initial petition form. So well see how it goes.
cheers


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Be glad she was just sent to secondary interview when entering via VWP and ESTA after a denied B2. She did not by any chance forget to mention this?


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## speaktru69 (Jul 1, 2013)

@TWOSTEP - After her initial denial of visitor visa she used the VWP for almost 2 years without any problem. Her passport was stamped with a refused visa notation in plain sight on the page above her passport info. In Nov 2005 she was asked if she was ever refused a visa to which she answered yes and was sent to passport control. Unfortunately they would not give me a copy of her entry and exit log to prove him wrong.

She was always honest when asked questions by the immigration officer and the blame of any over stay lies with me as I was the one who booked her flights by counting out the days and obviously screwed up. 
cheers


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

speaktru69 said:


> @TWOSTEP - After her initial denial of visitor visa she used the VWP for almost 2 years without any problem. Her passport was stamped with a refused visa notation in plain sight on the page above her passport info. In Nov 2005 she was asked if she was ever refused a visa to which she answered yes and was sent to passport control. Unfortunately they would not give me a copy of her entry and exit log to prove him wrong.
> 
> She was always honest when asked questions by the immigration officer and the blame of any over stay lies with me as I was the one who booked her flights by counting out the days and obviously screwed up.
> cheers


Count your blessings! They cannot supply you with her information.


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## mfowler (May 29, 2009)

This is an interesting read! I have a green card but my UK partner had to get a work transfer to be able to come with me to the US. We also have a UK civil partnership but it doesn't mean anything here. I guess she could get a green card on her own next year anyway so any USCIS changes wouldn't mean much to us now. 

Good luck! I look forward to hearing what happens, looks like things are heading in the right direction.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

The USCIS changes may not mean much in your situation, but the other U.S. federal changes will, at least if you legally marry.


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