# UK citizen marrying US citizen in USA



## rider9113 (Jun 7, 2010)

Hello, 


My boyfriend of 5 and a half years and I recently got engaged. We are looking to get married in the U.S. And want to know what the first steps should be. 


He currently lives in the UK... I live in the USA. I see a lot of posts on this topic but I am a little overwhelmed with visas, etc. 


Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

What are your intentions? Do you intend to live in the UK or the US?


----------



## pkahabka (May 11, 2015)

Me and my husband just got married in the USA I'm from the UK. My advice to you before getting married is find an excellent immigration lawyer. The process is long, tedious and stressful and expensive so find out as much as you can from the lawyer. Don't skimp on a crappy lawyer it's worth it in the end. It will cost at least 6000 dollars


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Just a responsible alternative opinion - unless you have distinct skeletons in the closet, don't waste your money on an immigration attorney. 

Your first big decision is where you want to live once you are married. That determines who needs to apply for a spouse visa, and who sponsors who. Both the US and the UK require the sponsoring spouse to have a certain level of income. The US at least allows the US spouse to enlist a co-sponsor if he or she doesn't have adequate income.

That's your starting point, in any event. Where you plan to settle after the wedding...
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## pkahabka (May 11, 2015)

Wish you lots of luck


----------



## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

For a fiancee visa 
K1 Fiance Visa Process Flowchart and Timeline

US Citizen can apply for a special visa to allow a non-citizen (their fiancée) to enter the country in order to get married to a US citizen inside the US.

Once issued, the K1 visa will allow the non-citizen to enter the United States legally, for 90 days in order for the marriage ceremony to take place. Once you marry, the non-citizen can remain in the US and may apply for permanent residence. While USCIS processes the application, the non-citizen can remain in the US legally
The US citizen income must meet the require minimum to fulfill the affidavit of support
currently $19912 for a 2 person household


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Davis1 said:


> The US citizen income must meet the require minimum to fulfill the affidavit of support
> currently $19912 for a 2 person household


....Or have reasonably substantial liquid wealth.

Let's try to provide reasonably complete information to be helpful here, OK? There are many people that don't necessarily meet the income threshold who easily meet the wealth threshold and who are thus qualified financial sponsors.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

pkahabka said:


> Me and my husband just got married in the USA I'm from the UK. My advice to you before getting married is find an excellent immigration lawyer. The process is long, tedious and stressful and expensive so find out as much as you can from the lawyer. Don't skimp on a crappy lawyer it's worth it in the end. It will cost at least 6000 dollars


As long as you can read and write English, have no skeletons in the closet and can follow directions there is no need for an attorney.
Something went wrong with your petition apparently. I am sorry to hear that.


----------



## pkahabka (May 11, 2015)

It's ok we had great support in the end and that really helped.


----------



## rider9113 (Jun 7, 2010)

Bevdeforges said:


> Just a responsible alternative opinion - unless you have distinct skeletons in the closet, don't waste your money on an immigration attorney.
> 
> Your first big decision is where you want to live once you are married. That determines who needs to apply for a spouse visa, and who sponsors who. Both the US and the UK require the sponsoring spouse to have a certain level of income. The US at least allows the US spouse to enlist a co-sponsor if he or she doesn't have adequate income.
> 
> ...


Our intention is to live in the United States and possibly get married here as well. We don't have any skeletons in our closet  . He has a nice amount of money in the back plus an earnings every month. 

Thank you for your help!


----------



## rider9113 (Jun 7, 2010)

Thank you everyone for your help! I really appreciate it! As I mentioned above, my fiancé does have a nice salary and savings in the UK from his military pension which I think might be working in our favor from the advice given above. Ideally we would like to live in the U.S. first. I am employed and currently reside here so it just makes sense for us to live here right now. 

And we spoke about getting married here in the United States. Depending on how long this process takes and expenses we thought about doing a court style marriage first then later on in life having a wedding ceremony to bring family and friends together. But this is all talk as we don't know what is the best way to go about this and if its possible to do that. 


Again, thank you everyone for your advice we really appreciate it!


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

rider9113 said:


> Thank you everyone for your help! I really appreciate it! As I mentioned above, my fiancé does have a nice salary and savings in the UK from his military pension which I think might be working in our favor from the advice given above. Ideally we would like to live in the U.S. first. I am employed and currently reside here so it just makes sense for us to live here right now.
> 
> And we spoke about getting married here in the United States. Depending on how long this process takes and expenses we thought about doing a court style marriage first then later on in life having a wedding ceremony to bring family and friends together. But this is all talk as we don't know what is the best way to go about this and if its possible to do that.
> 
> ...


It is six or half a dozen. CR1 or K1 whatever works better for you. CR1 - get married, he stays in the UK until his petition is through, K1 he moves to the U.S. after the initial petition is through, you get married and adjust his status. It looks like 12-18 months either way right now going by what I have heard.


----------



## Dexterror (Apr 18, 2015)

Is it true that you don't even need a K1 visa to get married in the USA, and can do it quite legally on just a ESTA visit?


----------



## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

you can marry on an ESTA ....
and then you leave the US and you spouse files for a spousal visa 

you will return to the US about the year later 

the k-1 is quicker


----------



## Dexterror (Apr 18, 2015)

Yes but visits during that time will be fine right?


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Davis1 said:


> the k-1 is quicker


That doesn't seem to be the case, actually. Reports suggest it's the same.


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Dexterror said:


> Yes but visits during that time will be fine right?


Outside the United States? Sure.

Inside the United States? Well, that's a bit "interesting." In principle yes, but the foreign spouse is in an odd position of needing binding ties outside the United States while simultaneously having an immigrant visa application on file. U.S. authorities don't _recommend_ you travel to the U.S. with such a pending immigrant visa application -- you can get tripped up if you aren't careful answering CBP's questions -- but possible, yes.

May I also point out that marriage comes with certain rights that are important to many couples. Thus many couples decide to get married sooner rather than later, to make sure those rights are well secured. To pick one random example, legal spouses enjoy U.S. Social Security survivor's benefits.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Dexterror said:


> Yes but visits during that time will be fine right?


You can get married in Las Vegas in a drive through.

Locally - double check requirements. 
Yes, you can enter on WP but carry binding ties. Makes no sense.


----------



## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

Strictly speaking when you visit you declare you have no immigrant intent ..where the computer will show that not true 
many not thru but a fair number do not


----------



## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

I was talking to my immigration attorney on another matter, but discussions about a recent issue I had covered this kind of situation. Her advice was to *never, ever* attempt to enter under the VWP when there was an immigration case on foot.


----------



## Dexterror (Apr 18, 2015)

BBCWatcher said:


> May I also point out that marriage comes with certain rights that are important to many couples. Thus many couples decide to get married sooner rather than later, to make sure those rights are well secured. To pick one random example, legal spouses enjoy U.S. Social Security survivor's benefits.


What are the other certain rights?


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Dexterror said:


> What are the other certain rights?


They're mostly automatic survivor's rights such as inheritance, child custody, visitation, medical decision making, pensions, life insurance, and so forth. Sure, it's possible to simulate many of these outcomes using separate legal documents...or you can just get married.

Note that I'm not recommending against married couples also having legal arrangements, notably a living will. But marriage itself comes with several automatic, widely recognized rights in most countries.

There are some potential marital benefits that cannot be simulated without marriage. As a couple examples, U.S. Social Security spousal benefits can only be paid to a legal spouse. U.S. taxpayers cannot file a Married Filing Jointly tax return without being married. (MFJ is generally America's most generous tax filing status, most particularly if one of the spouses has a high market income and the other has a low market income.) As another example in the U.S., spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each other in criminal court.

There are hundreds of tangible benefits that are attached to marriage. The Human Rights Campaign recently estimated the number of U.S. federal government benefits alone is 1,183.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

BBCWatcher said:


> They're mostly automatic survivor's rights such as inheritance, child custody, visitation, medical decision making, pensions, life insurance, and so forth. Sure, it's possible to simulate many of these outcomes using separate legal documents...or you can just get married.
> 
> Note that I'm not recommending against married couples also having legal arrangements, notably a living will. But marriage itself comes with several automatic, widely recognized rights in most countries.
> 
> ...


In most cases a surviving spouse is up the creek with out the appropriate legal tool from inheritance to medical decisions.
Take the Fifth :juggle:


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

twostep said:


> In most cases a surviving spouse is up the creek with out the appropriate legal tool from inheritance to medical decisions....


I believe if you'll review what I wrote that I recommend even married couples establish legal agreements. But it's simply factually incorrect to say that marriage doesn't come with certain automatic protections. Yes, those protections are bounded to some extent, but they are very real.

Just to pick another random example, if you have a 401(k) plan in the United States then, by law, your legal spouse is entitled to inherit that plan unless he/she explicitly waives that right. You cannot even override that automatic succession with a will. That's how strong marriage often is.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

BBCWatcher said:


> I believe if you'll review what I wrote that I recommend even married couples establish legal agreements. But it's simply factually incorrect to say that marriage doesn't come with certain automatic protections. Yes, those protections are bounded to some extent, but they are very real.
> 
> Just to pick another random example, if you have a 401(k) plan in the United States then, by law, your legal spouse is entitled to inherit that plan unless he/she explicitly waives that right. You cannot even override that automatic succession with a will. That's how strong marriage often is.


:juggle:


----------



## ngreenj89 (Jul 26, 2014)

Hi, I'm in a similar situation except my bf and I are thinking about getting married but I want to relocate to the uk with him. Where would be best to get married. Would there be any issues with him coming here and us getting married in Las Vegas per say. Or would it be better to get a visa for her or to go over there and get a visa to marry?


----------



## ngreenj89 (Jul 26, 2014)

Also were looking for the most cost effective and reliable way


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You'd have to ask over in the British section to get the details about a spouse visa or a visa so that you could go to the UK and get married there.

Just realize that the US and UK are probably the two countries with the longest waits (and the fewest guarantees) for spouse visas. 

Getting married in the US would probably be the quickest and easiest, however, the non-British spouse then has to apply for a UK spouse visa - and this costs both time and money. If you prefer to get married in the UK, the waiting period starts when you apply for the visa that allows you to get married in the UK. Not sure how long the waits are these days (they should be able to tell you on the British forum Britain Expat Forum for Expats Living in the UK - Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad
but don't be surprised if you're looking at six months or more apart and several hundred pounds in fees.
Cheers,
Bev


----------

