Twinkle0927

No more expensive than raising two children for 18 years.

Let's assume you are successful with your work visa application. There will be no derivative visa for your fiancée at all. She can visit you but that's all she will be here - a visitor. No work. Healthcare will set you back a chunk (more than a wedding, I might add) for her stays as she won't be working so won't be able to get employee healthcare and won't be considered a family member or dependent on yours as a non-resident. Let's suppose you can afford that, despite everything. The killer is that she can be refused entry as a visitor at any time. Your children could be stuck here without their mother. If that's not worth the cost of a wedding then nothing is.

Fred16

I think getting married will be less of a financial burden than H1 visa and fiancee not being able to work.
Try and get the L

Also ask if GC will be part of plan as kids future IMO is just as important.

These visas don't last for ever, maybe 5 for L1b and that's it, you are back in UK for example.

I'm not even sure the rules for a Drivers Licence for co-habitat visa, but I will tell you this. DL renewal is a pain at the best of times.

Fred16

One more thing, now is the time to renew your passports if they are to expire soon as you will only be admitted to your passport expiry if that is soon.

For example your visa is for 5, yet passport expires in 2018, your entry to US will be to that passport expiry
Then you apply for new passport, then visa entry extension (9 months at the moment)
You can stay during extension...BUT some states will only issue DL through your UK passport extension.
Alternate to extension is take a quick trip to Mexico/Canada to revalidate once you have new passports

Pulaski

As others have said, you really need to get married, because not doing so will make a number of things more difficult (notably a visa for your partner and her driving license, which might not be possible at all), more expensive (notably health insurance, and taxes), and generally all round more stressful, mostly for your partner, so if you care more than two hoots for her, get married!

I am also slightly mistified as to why you think yourself "romantic" when you have been willing to shack-up and father a couple of children without bothering to get married. I don't recall ever hearing of a fairy tale with those twists.

Rete

I married my foreign husband because that was the only way he could live and work in the US. Neither of us wanted to get married again (I was 50 and he was 56) and would have been just as happy to live together but the US government would not allow us that privilege. We opted for a smallish wedding of 44 guests, a wedding dress, flowers, 5 course dinner, photographer and a DJ and dancing all for a modest sum. It was a lovely, warm and infused with love occasion. And all planned and achieved inside of 4 months.

Romance and romantic doesn't have to mean a $30,000 wedding. A small contingent of family and dear friends who love you and want your happiness is all that is needed to be romantic, at least in my humble opinion. Or even just the four of you, she, you and two kids with a minister, some flowers and candles and heartfelt vows of love and devotion can be more romantic than the most lavish affair.

scrubbedexpat099

Think it costs $35 to get a marriage license where I ma.

Getting divorced costs money. But effectively that financial burden is with you.

shiversaint

Is that a joke, Pulaski? Because it's an extremely distasteful comment loaded with backward thinking.

OP, sadly the rather aggressive opinions on this thread are right in that there's no easy way to achieve what you want without getting married.

Unlike the rest of the opinions on here, I do agree it is a BIG deal to "just get married for a visa". It comes with lots of caveats and takes away the magic of marrying just for each other with no other external influences. Some people are not bothered by that, some people find it an acceptable cost, and some people are not prepared to do it for a visa.

ALL of those opinions are valid, and it's something that you need to discuss with your partner in depth, and be very open about how you both feel about it.

scrubbedexpat099

You missed the bit about 2 children and a Fiancee?

Nutmegger

Don’t you think that this is about keeping a family together, not about rushing into marriage in order to secure a visa? This couple have already shown their commitment to one another by becoming parents. It makes no sense to condemn one of the partners to a shadow existence in the US for want of a piece of paper.

Pulaski

At this point it is customary on BE to point out that this is a public forum, and if you post asking for advice and comments, not all of the opinions may be agreeable to you.

To whit: your opinion on my comment being "distasteful" and "loaded with backward thinking". I don't agree and find your opinion offensive, but I accept that as part of the risk of posting my opinion on a public forum. One other member has also privately expressed support for my earlier post on this thread, but has declined to post on the subject for fear of being "tarred and feathered". I guess I have a thicker skin!

Twinkle0927

People have various reasons for getting married, just as people have various reasons for not getting married. I get that some people don't want to get married to satisfy the government, a foreign one at that. My husband and I were quite happy as we were. We don't have any children and won't be having any either. We have both been married before and it just wasn't something we considered to be necessary for us. However, that's the only way we could live together so we did.

What's interesting is that the OP refers to his partner as "fiancée", which, by definition, means that a decision to get married has been made. It's now just a question of bringing the date forward to ensure that the children are not forced into a life of only seeing one parent a few times a year (as could happen). As someone who had exactly that kind of childhood, I wouldn't wish it upon anyone and find it baffling why he is reluctant to marry someone he has already decided to marry!

tom169

Or you know, don't accept the job offer and keep the status quo of living in the UK.

Problem solved.

droidguy72

There are some utterly bizarre and strongly worded opinions on here about my relationship with my fiancee which I sadly feel a need now to address...

The whole point of this post is "is it worth it to rush our wedding date forward in order to have an easier entry and residence in the US". Somehow, people have taken this as a reluctance for me to actually get married. Let me tell you a little about timelines here. I was offered this job 2 weeks ago, fairly out of the blue. So I've had to consume a lot of information on US immigration rapidly. The intent is for me and my family to get there as soon as possible.
Currently we are not home owners. Our grand plan here was to finish saving for our home, then take another year or two savings to pay for a nice wedding. Its never in doubt, its more a question of time. Now, we are prepared of course to get the paperwork signed and throw a small party, but my ideal goal would have been to treat my fiancee to a huge day that she wouldn't forget.

In seems in reality that we will go ahead with the sensible suggestion of getting married before filing paperwork and maybe throw a big bash later down the line. I don't see the need for the attacks on my commitment to my partner or my family. We are doing this move as a unit or not at all.

Thanks again for the replies in here which were impartial and not questioning my own integrity...

Noorah101

Yes, it is, in my opinion.

Rene

Nutmegger

Great. Now let’s see if we can help with some more stuff you need to be thinking about. Which state and city would you be moving to? You need to ensure you will be adequately compensated. Look at the BE wiki for the basics that should be covered in your deal, especially when the company will file for your green card, as going by your headline you don’t want this to be a temporary move. Ensure they will furnish good health insurance. Have you visited the area before? Even if you have had many holidays in the US, living here is a whole different ball game.