mathremuk

I am seriously confused as to the best option for myself and my partner.

I am into 4 months on my b2 visa. We want to get married and eventually for me to move there. He absolutely must come to england and ask my dad first over christmas. We want to marry as soon as he has done this but he is deployed for a year next spring so i still want to come and go as much as possible.

So i hear he can apply for a marriage visa for in the uk and then we can apply for a cr1. He has limited vacation and ive heard he has to reside in the uk 7 days before we apply and then we have to wait another 15 days. Is his the same for scotland as i can only find 14 days on their site in total. Also can i still go for short trips on my b2 while we wait? And is this way a totally legal way because ive been reading about the b2 and fraud if you marry in the US then go home and apply.

Then of course there is the K1 app...which if we applied now we could just about do it before hes deployed. Can i go back and forward to england if i get approved and we get married or is here some hold on me staying in the US.

I just want some advice about doing it properly.

Thank you in advance

Michael

It is only illegal if your intent was to enter the US with the intention to remain. Getting married in the US on a visitors visa or the visa waiver program is allowed in whichever state you desire and many on BE has done that and returned to the UK to await their visa. In fact once you get married and have the marriage certificate in hand, the I-130 petition can be filed while the UKC is still in the US. It is even legal to enter the US and later decide to get married and remain and adjust status but you risk that the adjudicating officer will not believe that you didn't have intent to remain prior to entering the US. However probably well over 90% that do it that way are approved since on BE we seldom ever hear about an adjustment of status being denied when doing it that way and many have reported success.

While waiting on the visa, you can travel to and from the US on your B2 visa or the visa waiver program.

On the K-1 visa, you are landlocked in the US until you get your Advanced Parole document (about 60-90 days after you file for adjustment of status) which allows you to reenter the US while you case is being adjudicated. Without the Advanced Parole document, it is assumed that you have abandoned your adjustment of status if you leave the US and will then have to start all over with a marriage visa (CR-1). Also on the K-1 visa, you have to repeat many of the same things that were done to get the visa such as biometrics and those must be done in the US instead of the UK like it was done for the fiancé visa.

Normally the USC must enter the US at the same time or prior to the UKC when entering on an immigration visa (CR-1). However since he will be deployed, there may possibly be an exception for that. You must enter the US to activate your immigration visa (CR-1) or your K-1 visa within 6 months following your medical. You can delay processes to time your entry according to your desires.

mathremuk

Ok thank you for that information. That's cleared it a lot up for me.

Speedwell

Most of us do not recommend the route of marrying in the US then remaining to adjust status. This is because by the time we are asked about it, the poster is clearly planning to enter or have their fiance enter with the intention of marrying and staying, which is illegal and risky. We are not in the habit of giving advice to do anything illegal. If you had been visiting the US, then met a guy and married him quite suddenly, then asked us what to do now that you're married, having had absolutely no idea you wanted to get married when you entered the country, we could presume you had no illegal intent. Please do not assume that we are advising you to do this so-called "90 percent success" thing. I don't want you to be a member of the presumed 10 percent who incur bans, potentially lifetime bans, for immigration fraud.

Michael

I'm not even sure if there is a ban unless USCIC can prove that the person entered with intent. I suspect that when adjudicating officer suspects that is what happened, he will recommend removal so that the person can go back to his/her country and do it the correct way.

It is really hard to say but since I've been on BE, I can't remember anyone being denied adjustment of status as long as they didn't overstay before filing.

I supposed they could get a ban if they told the adjudicating officer that was their intent but even then, unless they lied to the POE officer they didn't commit fraud but only misunderstood the regulations.

mathremuk

Im either going to marry on the B2 in the US and then go home and file for cr1 or marry in the UK, remain there and then file. Im not going to overstay or intentionally marry and stay in the US. I just wanted to clarify correct ways of doing it.

Michael

I understand and knew that was the case. I don't recommend that anyone get married in the US and adjust status since there is a risk (although it may be small) that is not incurred when doing it 100% the correct way.

Speedwell

If you are removed from the country, the least that can happen is that you are barred from using the Visa Waiver Program, and applying for a first or subsequent B2 or other visa could be made difficult. I have heard of bans without overstaying. Overstay and impermissible adjustment of status (AOS) are two different things. If the visa user was honest about their intention to marry and adjust status, and the visa was not one that allowed AOS, they would be very unlikely to be let in at the port of entry at all.

Because someone may ask, it is fine to enter on the Visa Waiver Program or, in general with another nonimmigrant visa that does not permit AOS, and marry, if you have no intention of adjusting status or of overstaying. If you can prove to the satisfaction of the adjudicating officer that you had no intention of adjusting status when you came to marry, but legitimate and acceptable circumstances that arose after you entered caused you to need to stay, or if the nonimmigrant visa is specifically one that allows AOS, I can see an AOS being approved.

Already-married couples with one spouse in the foreign country should not try to have the foreign spouse enter on the VWP, or in general with a nonimmigrant visa that does not lead to AOS, and adjust status. I understand that there is a rebuttable presumption that the foreign spouse intends to stay because of the marriage. It may not prevent the foreign spouse from entering the US (although it sometimes does); my husband visited me during the I-130 processing, for example. But it could cause problems during the AOS process.

In the end only you can decide whether the risk is worth the reward. This board actively advises against doing anything illegal.

Speedwell

My husband and I chose to marry first and then file for CR-1, basically because the forms seemed easier and he didn't want to subject himself to any length of time in which it was impossible for him to accept work. We also married in the UK, something that is not barred to K1 holders, but an advance parole is necessary if the K1 holder is already in the US, and that can take a long time to apply for and receive. I didn't need to apply for a UK (Scottish) marriage visa because I already had a Tier 2 work visa that covered all the necessary elements (as researched and verified by the head registrars in Aberdeen and Edinburgh). So it just made more sense for us to do it that way. Every couple's situation is different.

civilservant

This statement confuses me, and can't be right. If someone enters the US on a K1, does not get married, leaves, and gets married in the UK, they can't re-use their K1 to enter the US and would require a CR1.

Or have I just woken up on the wrong side of the bed

jeffreyhy

I don't understand what you mean by this sentence. Marrying outside the USA is inconsistent with a K1 visa, which requires that the couple marry in the USA.

Regards, JEff

civilservant

Glad I wasn't the only one!

Speedwell

You're right, I overcomplicated it. Thanks for the correction.

Pulaski

Also the OP has a lot of "here's" and "there's" which are confusing and makes her posts difficult to follow.

To the OP: please refer specifically to the US, UK, or other country at all times, rather than relying on pronouns.

jeffreyhy

+1

To all posters - pronouns suck when used in writing, try to avoid them even if it does make a post sound awkward when read out loud.

Regards, JEff