feetkeds

hello everybody,

this is my first post and i am so glad i found you guys! i am hoping you can help my partner and i make some important decisions.

I am American and my partner is British. we had been long distance dating for 2 years but then in april we both moved to new zealand. it was the only country we could find where we could both easily live and work. we were pretty sure we wanted to marry but thought it wise to live in same same postal code before making such a huge decision! Anyway, we love it here and each other. we want to begin paperwork for a marriage visa very soon but aren't sure in which country to file. we are both happy to live and work in either the USA or the UK to start and will probably swap around a few times anyway.

can anyone advise me on where it will ultimately prove less hassle for us to marry? it looks it will be much easier to marry in the UK but then trying to get into the USA will be a pain. I'm wondering if we should just do the hard part now and file for a USA finance visa?

the thing that worries me most is that neither of us own any property or will have worked in either country for the last while as we are here in NZ.

Ack! so much to think about. *any* advice will well and truly be appreciated.

take care,
kristin

Noorah101

Hi Kristin,

Welcome to the forum. If you're thinking of moving around between the two countries, I advise remaining in one country long enough for the alien to get citizenship first. In the USA, this means about 3 to 5 years living in the USA, depending on the method of immigration. So maybe one way to decide, is to think of which country (UK or USA) you guys would like to spend the first 5 years of your marriage. Maybe that will give you an idea where to head first. From there, you can figure out the immigration route that works best for you for that country.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Duncan Roberts

The fiance visa is only good if you plan to marry and then live in America. Not sure about the UK side of things but realistically you need to figure out where you want to live first. The whole thing about moving around will depend on that too. You mention the word partner, which can mean different things. If this isn't an opposite sex partnership your decision may be made very easy.

feetkeds

hello

wow, thanks for such speedy replys!

We are a hetro sexual couple- for some reason "boyfriend" always sounds too high school for me.

We are hoping to marry next spring (april/may) so our plan was originally to marry in which ever country the process would allow this. I think from a financial point of view going to the USA first, especially if we should stay there for 5 years or so, probably makes sense. It's just that the US paperwork scares me. I am also concerned that we may not have a lot of cash when we get married and am worried that he will not be able to work for several months- is this true?

(I think I should also add that whilst we both hope to live and work in the other's country, neither of us wishes to one day become a citizen of the other country.)

also, can anyone advise on this:
we would like to put the wheels in motion for the visa but also travel to the states for thanksgiving. if the visa is in process but not yet issued can he enter america? if they find out we are engaged will they even let him in?

we also want to have a blessing in whichever country we don't marry in. i have heard that he will need to remain in america for 3 months after marriage...so if we marry in the states we would have to have a blessing in the uk before we marry correct?

also, do you recommend using a lawyer? if so, can anyone recomend a good one?

I am sorry for all the basic questions.

thanks
kristin

Noorah101

Under your circumstances, you might benefit from having a 1-time consultation with an immigration attorney who can point you in the right direction to get started. One, you have a few options and aren't clear which is the best for you, and two, you find the paperwork daunting (which it is, initially...I know...lol). But you don't need a lawyer for the whole process, unless you feel more secure with one, or unless you've got issues such as past arrests or visa overstays.

You've got some of the processes confused. For example, if you go with a fiance visa to the USA, it's true that once he arrives on that visa, he can't leave again until he marries and applies for adjustment of status, and receives a travel document in-hand, which takes around 2 to 3 months to get. Well, he could leave....but wouldn't be able to get back in.

However, with the Immigrant Visa he would get as your spouse, he will become a PR upon entry to the USA, get a stamp in his passport which is the same as his green card, and he is free to turn right around and travel outside the USA immediately.

You will be his financial sponsor on the I-864, and you bring up a good point about not having US income or assets to use for that. You would probably have to use a joint sponsor....anyone who is a USC or PR, living in the USA can be one. Perhaps someone in your family, or your friends can help you out with that.

Rene

Bob

The UK would be the quickest and easiest route, but hardly cheap, but then again, neither is the US...easiest way in to the US through marriage is by DCF'ing if you have the option, but who knows what the future will hold for that.

Welcome to BE though

Noorah101

Just to expand on what Bob is referring to, DCF (Direct Consular Filing) is that fastest way, if you qualify. Check with the US embassy in NZ and see if they will accept an I-130 directly there, from a USC living in NZ. Usually there are resident requirements involved, you had to have been living in that country for a certain amount of time, or hold a certain status there. Cehck on it. If they accept it, and you qualify, then you can marry in NZ and that can be one of your options.

Rene

feetkeds

Thanks for all your kind help.

I think a consult is a good idea. I think if one of us was desperate to live/work in the other country the decision would be so much easier. But we just really want to be together. I am scared the US paperwork will drag on and it will be impossible to secure it in enough time to plan a wedding. Also, we have to leave NZ at Easter next year because our visas for here will expire. I want to avoid at all costs us having to go back to separate countries because paperwork hasn't gone through.

If we were to marry in the UK and i were apply for a spouse visa what would the time line on that look like? Any weird restrictions? I am just thinking then we could definatly be together while we wait on the US immigration!

Thanks again so much
Kristin

Noorah101

Since this is a US-based immigration forum, you'd be better off asking this question in a UK-based immigration forum.

But...again...your best bet is to choose one country to live in until the alien becomes a citizen there. Otherwise, you're spending time and money to head one direction (for example, the UK), only to turn around and spend time and money to head for the USA....and losing the status you paid for in the UK. See what I mean?

If you can marry in NZ, and find a joint sponsor for the I-864 in the USA, I don't see any reason not to go that route, even if you can't do DCF, and have to file the I-130 in the USA (you can mail it from NZ, just have to pick a stable address in the USA for mailing things back and forth).

Rene

feetkeds

hello

thank you for your continued help Rene.

I don't think i've been very clear... I am sorry about that.

because we only 11 months to decide on a country and marry, we want to marry in which ever one will allow us to do this. ultimately, at some point in the future, he wants to work in the usa and i in the uk. we had assumed that as soon as we are married in one country we would need to set the wheels in motion for a spousal visa for the other country, so that we would have the flexibility and option of both.

this is based partially on the fact that i have heard that married spouses (without the US immigration recognition) cannot enter the USA- even to visit- for fear that they will illeaglly take up work. i obviously do not want him to be unable to enter the US, so even if we married in the UK i would want to begin the process for the US government to recognize him as my spouse with the ability to work there, even if we elected to not live and work there straight away. know what i mean? Perhaps i have my facts skewed...

thanks again
kristin

Noorah101

Can you not marry in NZ? Are you not allowed to, for some reason? Marrying now in NZ would allow you to start the spouse immigrant process to the USA, and would most likely be done before your 11 months is up. If you're not allowed to marry in NZ for some reason, then you'll want to look into the K-1 fiance visa to the USA - that's the one that will allow him to enter the USA and remain there to adjust status to PR. If you both enter the USA (with him on a tourist visa or VWP), then he must leave to return to the UK to pursue the rest of the spouse visa...and you are trying to avoid a separation.

You can't do both at the same time, until you are citizens of both countries. Let's say you go to the UK and get married there (by the way, you need a special visa for that). I suppose from there you can set the wheels in motion to have him immigrate to the USA, but you will still face the same problems such as needing a joint sponsor and such. Then you immigrate to the USA and start living and working in the USA. You should remain living and working in the USA until he becomes a USC, so at that point YOU can immigrate to the UK in order to live and work there. My confusing point is...lol...you can't have two PR statuses going on at the same time...one for him in the USA and one for you in the UK. You have to choose one till completion, then go the other way...otherwise the PR loses his status when you both move to the other country.

This is not true. Someone going through the immigration process to the USA can certainly come visit the USA while the process is going on. They just have to bring ties to their home country, showing that they do not intend to immigrate on that visit.

I hope my confusing post helps. Please note that I'm only referring to USA immigration. I don't know much about UK immigration.

Rene

feetkeds

Eureka!

Both we are both on the same page now.

i am relieved he can travel to the usa and not have the paperwork set in motion as i thought. that makes things much easier.

we aren't keen on marrying in NZ because we know no one here. I already resent some what how much the wedding has to be juggled by government restrictions one way or the other. I do want it to be a special day with friends and family. otherwise i'll need a wedding here and two blessings. ACK!!!!

i understand that we will also need a fiance visa for the UK if we go that route. but it is much easier and i can begin work almost straight away.

I am a bit puzzled by us needing to become citizens before moving to the other country. i had always thought that america will only recognize one citizenship- american. i know he is not wanting to give up his UK citizenship- i am not wanting to give up my US one either. do you mean just right of abode rather than citizenship? surely if he becomes an american citizen i cannot then become a british citizen as he is no longer one?

forget the lawyer- i should be paying you!!

kristin

Noorah101

You can both be dual UK/USA citizens. He does not have to give up his UK citizenship, nor you yours.

As I explained (badly, I'm sure...lol), If he is only a PR in the USA, and you guys move back to the UK to live and work, he will lose his PR status in the USA. If he loses he PR status in the USA, and a few years later you want to move BACK to the USA, you will have to do the spouse visa all over again. But if he's a US citizen, he has the freedom to travel back and forth without losing his USA (or UK) status of citizenship.

If you decide to try for USA first, your best bet is probably the K-1 fiance visa route, instead of the spouse visa route. Just my opinion.

Rene

ian-mstm

This is a mistake... and, in the long run, something you may come to regret.


If you are a US citizen, the US will deal with you *only* as a US citizen regardless of whether or not you are a citizen of any other country. In addition to being both a US and UK citizen, I am also a Canadian citizen... and each country deals with me as one of their own. Neither of you will be required to give up your current citizenship.

Ian

Bob

Fiance visa for the UK takes a couple weeks to get, but if you got married in NZ, the equivalent of a spouse visa would only take a few weeks to get by mail, or a few hours if in person at the consulate.