Welsh Wizard

I am a Brit resident in the UK and intend marrying an American lady. I
can't afford going over there and not working for several months (as
the fiance visa suggests) so is it possible for us to marry and for me
to return to the UK whilst a work permit is processed? Any suggested
courses of action woule be most appreciated.

ian-mstm

Yes, this happens all the time. But it's not a work permit that will be processed... if you want to work immediately as soon as you return to the US, you'll need to pursue an immigration visa - the whole kit 'n kaboodle. Once the process is complete, you'll become a US permanent resident the moment you enter the US... and you'll receive a green card and social security number (well, in a week or two afterwards - which is just about as fast as it gets).

You're looking at anywhere from 6 months to a year or more from the time the paperwork is filed until you get the visa.

Ian

Rete

Ian has given you an excellent overview of a solution to your question. However, just curious why you think you will be able to find employment immediately upon entry to the US? Many with excellent qualifications and work experience find themselves unemployed months after entry to the US even though they have the right to accept employment.

One suggestion would be not to marry at the present time. Both you and your fiancee start saving up your money for the future so that when you do marry you will have enough in savings to float your household for several months.

Doesn't your US Fiancee work? Of perhaps she is a SAH mom or college student, in which case, you can work this out.

Alex Clark

Hi Mr Wizard,

In order to leave the US after entering on your K1 visa and be able to
return, you either need to have obtained your GC or you need advance parole.
I'm no expert but I think even A-P can take 4-6 months to obtain. Without
those things, there's nothing stopping you from leaving the US after entry
on a K1, it's just very tricky to get back in again.

It is my understanding however that the K1 is actually a work-authorised
visa anyway - it's just that not a lot of people are aware of this.

Kind Regards and good luck,
Alex





"Welsh Wizard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...
    >I am a Brit resident in the UK and intend marrying an American lady. I
    > can't afford going over there and not working for several months (as
    > the fiance visa suggests) so is it possible for us to marry and for me
    > to return to the UK whilst a work permit is processed? Any suggested
    > courses of action woule be most appreciated.
    >

ian-mstm

You're absolutely right on this point... I didn't want to burst his bubble - he seemed so focussed on the goal and not so much on the journey.

Mr. Wizard - I was able to work from day one when I moved from Canada to the US... and I was unemployed for 4 months. Further, I was well educated and was already familiar with the culture, customs, and traditions... and I didn't have to deal with a language barrier. Best of luck to you.

Ian

Noorah101

This is true, a K1 actually is work authorized from Day 1. However, unless he goes through JFK to obtain the 90-day temp EAD stamp, he wont' have proof of that work authorization, and it's hard to prove to an employer that you ARE work authorized, when you have no physical proof of such. Even with the stamp, it expires in 90 days...employers might not understand that in the meantime, he'll apply for the 1-year EAD and continue working....and also , there is usually a gap between the 90-day stamp and the 1-year EAD, so the OP might not be able to work during that gap anyway...

Best Wishes,
Rene

Capt. Tuttle

ian-mstm wrote:
    >>Ian has given you an excellent overview of a solution to your
    >>question. However, just curious why you think you will be able to
    >>find employment immediately upon entry to the US? Many with excellent
    >>qualifications and work experience find themselves unemployed months
    >>after entry to the US even though they have the right to accept
    >>employment.
    >>One suggestion would be not to marry at the present time. Both you
    >>and your fiancee start saving up your money for the future so that
    >>when you do marry you will have enough in savings to float your
    >>household for several months.
    >>Doesn't your US Fiancee work? Of perhaps she is a SAH mom or college
    >>student, in which case, you can work this out.
    >
    >
    > You're absolutely right on this point... I didn't want to burst
    > his bubble - he seemed so focussed on the goal and not so much on
    > the journey.
    >
    > Mr. Wizard - I was able to work from day one when I moved from Canada to
    > the US... and I was unemployed for 4 months. Further, I was well
    > educated and was already familiar with the culture, customs, and
    > traditions... and I didn't have to deal with a language barrier. Best of
    > luck to you.
    >
    > Ian
    >

I mentioned in another forum about the affidavit of support his fiancee
would have to file.
If Mr. Wizard HAS to work that could be a problem.

marymiss22

I have a post for the exact same issue under work permit. you may want
to read through that (my fiance is french and wants to do the exact
same thing as you do). In my case at the end some people were giving me
more relationship advice rather than answers to my question!

After talking to many people as well as a lawyer, I think we are going
to get married here and then I will go back to paris and file the
petition to immigrate for him (I-130, for a green card) from there
because it is faster. The fiance visa does not gain you a whole lot
since you don't want to stay here and wait (and not work). That is
mostly good for those who need a visa to come here as a tourist.
according to the lawyer I talked to, fiance visa can take b/w 4-6
months, plus a 30 days after you get here to get a social sec number,
not to mention that the actual workpermit may not get processed before
you are married in the 90 days period of the validity of the visa, and
after you are married, you need to petition for a green card anyways.
The application for green card from the US takes about 8 months. If the
consulate in UK accepts to file the I-130 for you guys in the UK, it
can be a lot faster (in my case, paris does this). Both of you need to
be present when you file, and then she can get back to whatever she
wants to do and you wait in UK until your papers are ready. With the
green card papers in hand, you can start working in the US as soon as
you get your social sec num, which in that case would be about a week.
Good luck

Capt. Tuttle wrote:
    > ian-mstm wrote:
    > >>Ian has given you an excellent overview of a solution to your
    > >>question. However, just curious why you think you will be able to
    > >>find employment immediately upon entry to the US? Many with excellent
    > >>qualifications and work experience find themselves unemployed months
    > >>after entry to the US even though they have the right to accept
    > >>employment.
    > >>
    > >>One suggestion would be not to marry at the present time. Both you
    > >>and your fiancee start saving up your money for the future so that
    > >>when you do marry you will have enough in savings to float your
    > >>household for several months.
    > >>
    > >>Doesn't your US Fiancee work? Of perhaps she is a SAH mom or college
    > >>student, in which case, you can work this out.
    > >
    > >
    > > You're absolutely right on this point... I didn't want to burst
    > > his bubble - he seemed so focussed on the goal and not so much on
    > > the journey.
    > >
    > > Mr. Wizard - I was able to work from day one when I moved from Canada to
    > > the US... and I was unemployed for 4 months. Further, I was well
    > > educated and was already familiar with the culture, customs, and
    > > traditions... and I didn't have to deal with a language barrier. Best of
    > > luck to you.
    > >
    > > Ian
    > >
    > I mentioned in another forum about the affidavit of support his fiancee
    > would have to file.
    > If Mr. Wizard HAS to work that could be a problem.

Noorah101

Hi Mary,

This process of filing the I-130 at the embassy in his home country won't work for Welsh Wizard. The London embassy does not accept an I-130 from a USC who isn't really resident in the UK, for a specific amount of time and on the correct visa. Their DCF won't work the same way yours does. Every country has different DCF rules. You got lucky that in Paris they allow it. In the UK, they are much stricter.

Welsh Wizard has only 2 choices to work immediately upon entry to the USA: either on a fiance visa coming through JFK and getting the stamp, then hoping an employer accepts that stamp as proof of long-term employment (unlikely); or getting married and getting the CR-1 Immigrant Visa (not the K3).

Best Wishes,
Rene