Stribs

Good point.

Hopefully the next time i'm bugging you guys it's confirming we have everything ready to get this K-1 party started!

Stribs

Alright... trying to get this all clear in our heads..

Option 2:

I-130 - We get married whilst I visit on the VWP (Question: Is this allowed? Also as mentioned before I have been intensely questioned about my intentions in the US before, if I just came over for 2 weeks, got married (had proof of this) and left after the 2 weeks would you imagine this causes issues?)

I leave, go down the I-130 route (Question: Could my fiancee come back with me to England for a 2nd party to celebrate our wedding on a visitors visa)

She goes back, I do the I-130 malarky in the UK, get approved, move to the US and live happily ever after.

Any confirmation on this would be great.

I congratulate all of you who have come out the other end of these processes... tough tough times.

RICH

Re bolded part -Yes it is allowed. The common misconception is that having married, you can stay in USA. You cannot stay past the VWP expiry.
The legal bit is, you cannot enter US on VWP with intent to stay.

Marry, go home, file I-130. Not much difference from the K1 process time wise.
You can both come and go in the meantime on VWP, but the "grilling" will likely be greater.

Noorah101

Yes, it's allowed for you to marry on the VWP. I suggested this in one of my earlier posts.

Getting married while on a 2-week VWP visit isn't an issue. But, since you are finding it increasingly difficult to gain entry to the USA each visit, there's no guarantee you'll get in again. So if you plan to go with this Option 2, I suggest just marrying now, and doing this option now, rather than on a separate trip in the future.

Yes, your wife would be allowed to visit the UK while an Immigrant Visa process is going on.

Yes, Option 2 plan is fine. Keep in mind this will take longer than the K-1 process, because you have to be legally married before the I-130 petition can be filed. Keep this in mind especially since it seems you aren't planning to marry now, but on a future VWP visit. Because you've been having problems entering the USA, you should stay outside the USA for a god while before attempting another VWP visit. So, let's say you stay outside the USA for 4 months, and then try visiting on the VWP again...which means a visit around April 2014. You get married in April 2014 and file the I-130...which means you'll be immigrating to the USA around December 2014 to February 2015.

Personally, if you're going to do the Immigrant Visa route instead of the K-1, I highly suggest getting married NOW, and starting that process NOW. There's no guarantee you'll get in on another VWP visit in the future, and also it postpones your immigration by that much time until you can enter the USA again and get married. Just do it now, while you're already here.

Rene

jeffreyhy

As other posters have written, yes you can get married while in the USA having entered using the VWP. The potential for issues is, if you are asked on entry if you intend to get married, you are likely to be questioned more closely about staying or leaving again. Be prepared.

Regards, JEff

Michael

Yes it is allowed. You don't even have to wait until you get back to the UK for the I-130 to be filed by her but can be filed once she has the marriage certificate in hand.

Stribs

Rene, I fully agree and understand where your coming from about getting married now, unfortunately I cannot get my fiancee around to the same thinking as she is a 'perfect wedding day' kind of girl, and even saying we could still have that at a later date, she feels she would know herself it wasn't real. Sigh, were our worst own enemy right now.

With entering again, i'm definitely in agreement to leave it for quite some time before heading back, but if it was just for 2 weeks, and we had a wedding venue settled, I clearly had a return flight, why would they think I would stay after finally being able to start the process to legally be here. It would never be in my benefit to stay.

I hear so many people say on here "Just answer honestly to US immigration and you'll be fine". I have always done this and thankfully to now it has been fine. As an honest man with no intentions to do anything illegal, why should I have problems?

Noorah101

Because all visitors are presumed to have immigrant intent. And having a USC wife gives you a disadvantage, as it gives you more incentive to stay.

Maybe not yours, but lots of other people do just that.

Because all visitors are presumed to have immigrant intent. And having a USC wife gives you a disadvantage, as it gives you more incentive to stay.

No one here is saying you will have problems visiting again in the future. We're just saying you MIGHT, especially since you are already getting grilled. Talk it over more with your fiancée, and if you really want to marry and do the Immigrant Visa (after several months back in the UK first), just make sure she's OK going the K-1 visa route instead, if you get denied entry on that trip you make to get married.

In other words, don't plan a big wedding, pay wedding costs, invite guests, etc....because there's never a 100% guarantee you'll make it in to the USA next time. Especially for you, since you've been getting grilled already. If you DO make it in next time, just have a small simple wedding where you don't have to make concrete plans and pay a lot of money up front that can't be refunded.

Rene

jeffreyhy

To repeat and emphasize - because aliens are presumed by law to have immigrant intent. It is your duty to convince the immigration officer otherwise.

Getting married is a first step towards immigration, so that's 'Strike One', as they say. That doesn't mean you're going to 'strike out', not at all, but it does mean that a CBP officer is going to be a bit more cautious about granting entry.

Regards, JEff

Stribs

My Fiancee is a bartender/ waitress, and she only earns minimum wage on her payslips, but tips make up the majority of her income.

How do you prove that to show that she makes enough to sponsor?

civilservant

Was she is this job las year, and, if so, did she declare all the tip income on her taxes?

Noorah101

Her 2012 tax return. And, probably by the time you go for an interview, her 2013 tax return.

If you're going for a K-1 visa, the affidavit of support is I-134, and is not due until you go to the visa interview...so in that case, she'll use her 2013 tax return to show her income, assuming at that time she has the same job and same level of income.

Rene

ian-mstm

Did she declare the income from tips on her tax return? She is required to... although many people don't.


Did her income from tips put her over the 125% of the poverty level as shown on the I-864P (thinking ahead... but many people use the 125% level also for the I-134)? If so, and she didn't document it because she didn't declare it on her tax return... well, I guess she can't show it! If that's the case, you'll need someone else to sponsor you for the K-1 visa, and she'll need a joint sponsor when it comes time for you to adjust status.

Ian

jeffreyhy

The income tax returns. Almost diabolical on the part of the imigration folks, since many (most?) people are inclined to minimize their reported income so as to minimize their tax.

Rhetorical question - does your fiancee report all of her tip income on her income tax returns? It might make a difference as to whether or not she meets the financial requirement to sponsor you.

Regards, JEff

Stribs

Just going through the I-129f form and having a few queries, instead of asking loads of differet questions, is there a thorough line by line instructions on how to fill it out?

Thanks