What The Embassy Says: Fiance & Spouse FAQs
Jan 17th 2010 | 6:22 am
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What The Embassy Says: Fiance & Spouse FAQs
Questions and Answers lifted from the Webchat transcripts with the Consular Officer in London.
If they sound familiar, it's because they are asked here every day too. Maybe someone will take the Embassy's word for it before ours.
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new...chatQandAs.pdf
Q: Hi, I would like to know if you are a UK citizen and wish to join your boyfriend in America who is an American citizen, what would you need to do?
A: This will depend upon what your plans are. If you are a UK citizen, you may be eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). To see if you are eligible, please visit our website for VWP details at http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp2.html. If you are eligible for VWP travel, you must also register online with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). This can also be found on our website. If you are denied ESTA, plan to stay in the US for longer than 90 days, or your trip will not be for a business or tourist nature, you will have to apply for a visa prior to traveling to the United States. Information about how to do this is also available on the website. Please note that settlement visas are not available for partners of US citizens; only for spouses.
Q: Would love to know how to quickly process a fiancée visa for my fiancée there in the UK on the Isle of Mann. We have been collecting information and both of us are over 40 and want to get married ASAP. We have been Facebook friends for over a year and visited just this last week on the Isle of Mann.
A: You should allow approximately 10 months from the date on which the petition is filed to the date on which your fiancée is scheduled for an interview. Processing times do vary and will often depend on the individual circumstances of the applicant.
Q: I 'm a UK Citizen and my husband is a US citizen. If my nonimmigrant visa is refused can my husband petition for my marriage visa?
A: Yes, if your husband is a US citizen, he has the right to file an immigrant visa petition for you as his spouse. Depending upon your intent in traveling to the United States, this may be the most appropriate visa. Although you may apply for a nonimmigrant visa to travel to the United States if you are married to a US citizen, you will be required to prove to the interviewing officer at the time of your interview that you do not plan to remain in the United States during your trip, and that you have strong ties to a foreign residence. Often this can be more difficult if your spouse is a US citizen. If your intent is to settle in the United States, then you need to pursue an immigrant visa. You can find more information about both types of visa on our website, http://london.usembassy.gov.
Q: If a non-immigrant person as part of a couple married in the US within the allocated time under the restrictions of the K1 visa, but who has since returned to the UK due to unavoidable circumstance can enter the United States on a tourist or other visa without having filed for readjustment?
A: If you entered the United States on a K-1 visa, married, but did not adjust status, you will either require an immigrant visa, if you wish to take up permanent residence or, if your intended visit is temporary, a tourist visa if you are not eligible to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program. At the time you apply for the tourist visa or travel under the Visa waiver Program you will be required to show that your visit is temporary and that you will return to your place of permanent residence in the United Kingdom at the end of your visit.
If they sound familiar, it's because they are asked here every day too. Maybe someone will take the Embassy's word for it before ours.
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new...chatQandAs.pdf
Q: Hi, I would like to know if you are a UK citizen and wish to join your boyfriend in America who is an American citizen, what would you need to do?
A: This will depend upon what your plans are. If you are a UK citizen, you may be eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). To see if you are eligible, please visit our website for VWP details at http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp2.html. If you are eligible for VWP travel, you must also register online with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). This can also be found on our website. If you are denied ESTA, plan to stay in the US for longer than 90 days, or your trip will not be for a business or tourist nature, you will have to apply for a visa prior to traveling to the United States. Information about how to do this is also available on the website. Please note that settlement visas are not available for partners of US citizens; only for spouses.
Q: Would love to know how to quickly process a fiancée visa for my fiancée there in the UK on the Isle of Mann. We have been collecting information and both of us are over 40 and want to get married ASAP. We have been Facebook friends for over a year and visited just this last week on the Isle of Mann.
A: You should allow approximately 10 months from the date on which the petition is filed to the date on which your fiancée is scheduled for an interview. Processing times do vary and will often depend on the individual circumstances of the applicant.
Q: I 'm a UK Citizen and my husband is a US citizen. If my nonimmigrant visa is refused can my husband petition for my marriage visa?
A: Yes, if your husband is a US citizen, he has the right to file an immigrant visa petition for you as his spouse. Depending upon your intent in traveling to the United States, this may be the most appropriate visa. Although you may apply for a nonimmigrant visa to travel to the United States if you are married to a US citizen, you will be required to prove to the interviewing officer at the time of your interview that you do not plan to remain in the United States during your trip, and that you have strong ties to a foreign residence. Often this can be more difficult if your spouse is a US citizen. If your intent is to settle in the United States, then you need to pursue an immigrant visa. You can find more information about both types of visa on our website, http://london.usembassy.gov.
Q: If a non-immigrant person as part of a couple married in the US within the allocated time under the restrictions of the K1 visa, but who has since returned to the UK due to unavoidable circumstance can enter the United States on a tourist or other visa without having filed for readjustment?
A: If you entered the United States on a K-1 visa, married, but did not adjust status, you will either require an immigrant visa, if you wish to take up permanent residence or, if your intended visit is temporary, a tourist visa if you are not eligible to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program. At the time you apply for the tourist visa or travel under the Visa waiver Program you will be required to show that your visit is temporary and that you will return to your place of permanent residence in the United Kingdom at the end of your visit.
