ktgirl

I am a british/ canadian citizen... yes have both passport but am living in the uk at the moment... my fiance and I want to marry.. he is in the US now.. would it be easier to marry in the UK or the US then to go and live in the states... I have read and re read forms and am a little dizzy with it all..any suggestions? also where to find out the laws of getting married in the US... things such as blood tests etc..am getting confused...

Caro

What is the citizenship of your fiance?

Caroline

NC Penguin

If your fiance is holds US citizenship and can move to the UK and fulfill the residency requirements for US citizens to file for an I-130 direct with the Embassy (commonly known as DCF, Direct Consular Filing), the I would urge you to do this.

Why? 'Cos it only takes up to 4 months as long as you have a straighforward application (spouse to be has clean criminal history, clean medical history, no previous marriages for either of you).

Check the US Embassy's website in the UK. You'll find the URL from a search on the web.

Others may add to what I've mentioned, especially if I've forgotten something.

I can't help you about laws about getting married in the US. My US husband & I (I'm British), went through the DCF process in 2000. It took us about 4 months from start to finish.

ktgirl

he is a US citizen.. I dont know whether to apply as a british citizen or a canadian... just want to cry most of the time..

Scout

Tell me about the crying thing. I know how it is! The quickest route is to have your fiance file the I-129f and go that route. If you get married first it takes longer. Either way though you are in for a wait. Where does your fiance live in the states? The speed of it all depends a lot on what Service Center he will file the petition through. The good news is that London is about the best Embassy in the world to go through for this and you are a UK citizen which means it's not going to be as difficult if you were from another country. So find out what Service Center he would go through and you can check on line for apporximate processing times.

Cheers and chin up,

Leslie

L D Jones

ktgirl wrote:
    >
    > I am a british/ canadian citizen... yes have both passport but am living
    > in the uk at the moment... my fiance and I want to marry.. he is in the
    > US now.. would it be easier to marry in the UK or the US then to go and
    > live in the states... I have read and re read forms and am a little
    > dizzy with it all..any suggestions? also where to find out the laws of
    > getting married in the US... things such as blood tests etc..am getting
    > confused...

An argument could be made that it would be easier for you to marry in
the US

Marriage "rules" are on a state-by-state basis in the US. You should
contact the local state govt where you plan to marry.

If you marry in the UK and your then husband does not have residency in
the UK you will be separated while th I-130 paperwork is in process.
This could take several months. Because of this, marrying in the UK has
no advantages for you since you can't simply marry and then go together
to the US immediately

On the other hand, if you enter the US as a Canadian (or as a British
citizen, it really doesn't matter) *without the intent to immigrate*
(ie, you make a "clean" entry, since entering with such intent and then
marrying is illegal I believe) you can marry and then file AOS
paperwork. You will not be able to leave the US without filing for and
receiving advance parole but you will be together during the process. I
only mention entering as a Canadian since you will by default be allowed
to stay longer, as I understand it, than the (maximum) 90 days under the
visa waiver program (WVP)

Of course, these are simply suggestions. This is not legal advice and I
have no experience with AOS as I filed DCF.

LD

Scout

Now now now. We know that entering the US without the intent to marry, but doing it anyway and after having discussed it here is a no no. If the INS suspects immigration fraud you can be deported and your fiance can be jailed and/or fined heavily. Is it worth the risk? it's tempting but IMO it's just not worth the risk.

Think about it seriously,

Leslie

Morkai Kurst

ktgirl wrote:
    > I am a british/ canadian citizen... yes have both passport but am
    > living in the uk at the moment... my fiance and I want to marry.. he
    > is in the US now.. would it be easier to marry in the UK or the US
    > then to go and live in the states... I have read and re read forms
    > and am a little dizzy with it all..any suggestions? also where to
    > find out the laws of getting married in the US... things such as
    > blood tests etc..am getting confused...

Marriage licence requirements vary from state to state, some require a
bloodtest some don't - some make you wait for 3 days before you can actually
marry others do not.

your basic options are this:

K1 - fiance visa - takes approx 4-6 months depending on service center where
I-129F is sent. You marry in the US after your visa is issued.

K3 - spousal visa - Marry in the UK then apply for visa, takes as long as
Nebraska feels like dragging it's feet - not recommended at the moment.

or you can DCF as Penguin suggested

Good luck

Morkai

L D Jones

Scout wrote:
    >
    > Now now now. We know that entering the US without the intent to marry,
    > but doing it anyway and after having discussed it here is a no no. If
    > the INS suspects immigration fraud you can be deported and your fiance
    > can be jailed and/or fined heavily. Is it worth the risk? it's tempting
    > but IMO it's just not worth the risk.
    >
    > Think about it seriously,

I agree that a K-1, as others have said, is the fastest (and most
strictly legal) method. This would mean a marriage in the US, of course.
My original reply was based on the fact that they would already be
married by the time they decided to file. DCF is not offered in Canada
and would be difficult since the US citizen is probably not a legal UK
resident.