bewildering

Why was he banned?

To the OP. Do not overshare with the CBP officer.Answer only what is asked. You are visiting a friend. You are not "going to get married but intending to leave back to the UK afterwards".

Twinkle0927

What????? This was a simple question of whether the K-1 or the CR-1 is better and whether he/she can marry whilst visiting under the VWP. What "issues" does this present? It's not any different from the majority of posters in this section of the forum. The OP has it given any information that suggests that he/she has any reason to be denied. No previous overstay (in fact, the OP is commended for asking how to do things the correct and legal way). No mention of criminal history or drug usage. I'll wager my case was more complex than this and mine was not the most complex I've heard of by any stretch (petitioner has a criminal record and is a former drug addict that bans him permanently from the U.K., beneficiary having lived in 5 countries and holding 3 passports - what fun that was getting criminal records checks, especially as I hold a passport of a country I have spent only 24 hours in throughout my entire 43 years on this planet) but we managed our IR-1 in 10 months without an RFE, without a denial or 221g and, most importantly, without speaking to a lawyer once. In fact, I've even seen "lawyers" and "experts" spouting online that Americans with felonies and/or a past history of drug abuse cannot petition a spouse at all. Imagine if we had listened to them! There's nothing at all that can be gleaned from the OP's posts that suggests there would be any unusual circumstances whatsoever. I can only assume you have a personal or financial interest in the "business' that you have recommended.

OP, there is absolutely NO need for a lawyer for a straightforward case.

tom169

I'm with Twinkle0927. Seems a very cut and dry, usual marriage forum thread.

Pulaski

Me too.

I see not the slightest hint of anything to be concerned about, other, perhaps, than the risk of lawyers scaring you with tales of the bogey man, that only they have the experience to handle!

bewildering

I think Mr Folinsky is reading between the lines - is the OP asking whether they can marry under the VWP and then just adjust status. That question is worthy of a legal consultation but is also allowed to be discussed in this forum. I also thought that particular question was what the OP was asking.

elgr

To clarify - I want to do things *legally*. If I am able to marry in the US then return to the UK to file the CR1 then that is what I will happily do. I am not looking to marry and then stay in the country illegally. I would never do something so stupid to jeopardise everything but thank you to the posters who have expressed concern.

I was simply confused over the different visas and what was legal and not. I was also concerned that border officers would question my visits, but since I have done nothing illegal in the country, have no convictions, have never overstayed or come close to overstaying, and have no intention to stay without proper documentation I can see that there hopefully would not be a problem.

Pulaski

I have seen nothing in your posts that should cause the slightest concern. .... With the exception that perhaps Mr Folinsky was hinting at, about marrying on a VWP visit and then trying to stay in the US.

I am increasingly of the opinion that lawyers like that route exactly because it is a bit iffy and generates work for them when otherwise visa applications are usually very straight forward and can easily be handled by most people without need for a lawyer. A lot of immigration lawyers seem keen to create concern about how "complex" the process is, and take any opportunity to make it more complex as if to prove their point.

Twinkle0927

And I could understand that if the title of the thread was not 'Which marriage visa?'

OP is fully expecting that they will have to go through a visa process, that they need a visa to be able to immigrate. If the thread had been 'How do I get to live in the US the quickest?' or 'How can I stay with my boyfriend when I visit next month?' I could understand that people would think that the OP was hinting at 'slipping through the net' by posing as a regular tourist at the CBP desk but then having a Damascus moment and changing their mind in the baggage hall. OP has repeatedly stressed that they want to do everything legally. Good for our OP!

scrubbedexpat099

Most people I have actually met here adjusted in Country, think I have only come across one K1, maybe a few CR1's.

Rete

I've, in-person, met at least 4 who have come to the US via the K-1 visa. Back in the late 90's and early 00's it was taking up to 18 months to get a CR-1 visa so K-1 was far faster.

I've also met 2 who have done the enter the US, gotten married and remained and both have done so on the advice of counsel. This was one of the reasons why people were admonished to seek attorney consultations and to keep the conversation in private.

scrubbedexpat099

That was the Lawyer advice I had, come over on the VWP and adjust, now I know better and that you need to change your mind once you are here.

S Folinsky

My friend:

As you know I really don't have any objection to DIY. Sometimes it just ain't advisable.

As an attorney formerly in practice, my point of view is somewhat broader than most posters in these forums. Successful DIY'ers will post and brag about how smart they are. Unsuccessful ones won't.

One of the more frustrating aspects of immigration practice were the after the fact consultations where I had to go that you are "terminally f**ked" but which could have been easily avoided had they consulted beforehand.

A couple of months back I received a phone call from a college BFF [we've known each other since 1969]. After exchanging notes on the grandchildren, she informed me that her daughter was petitioning for her husband, can you talk to her? I gave daughter the CYA warnings from Hell [I'm not your lawyer, I am retired, I have not seen the paperwork, etc etc etc]. So, her situation should have been the cleanest immediate relative marriage case on the planet. Daughter and her husband are both advanced degree professionals. They had done their research.

It turned out that the adjustment was a FUBAR and I will not go into the reasons. I told daughter that I post on DIY forums and she looked like a textbook case where an advance attorney consultation would have avoided problems. "You are saying I was stupid?" "Oh, no, not at all. You are multi-lingual but 'immigration' is not one of your languages." I gave her a reference to an attorney in Tel Aviv who could rescue the case. I later called the mother back and emphasized the situation now required an attorney.

BTW, what daughter did was a new one on me. I don't think she would have asked even if perusing BE.

I think of at least a consultation with a competent attorney as an insurance policy.

scrubbedexpat099

Makes you wonder what in life you might be thinking of doing that does not require legal advice.

I signed up for a new Satellite deal, thought I was buying a House.

Pulaski

I am inclined to think the same.

While I have no doubt it is possible to screw things up on your own, I can't help but think that they are such bizarre outliers that one would only be left thinking "were they actually trying to foul things up?"

Therefore I maintain, and will continue to do so, that the recipe for obtaining a visa is relatively straight forward and is written in relatively plain English, such that most people should either be able to (i) do it themselves, or (ii) self-identify that they have compilations warranting the guidance of a lawyer.

However if you start messing with the recipe for simple choc-chip cookies, and for who-knows-what-reason substitute axle grease for butter, cement for flour, and hex nuts for chocolate chips, then all bets are off and you will only end up with a situation that indeed may be totally FUBAR!

elgr

Thanks all for your advice. We are still considering options