amyb

Looking for advice to minimize time spent apart.

This is the situation:

I am a USC, my partner is a UKC. We met 2.5 years ago while travelling in South America.

I transferred jobs to my company's London office and we have been living together in the UK since April 2007.

My work permit expires in March 2009, and I would like to return to the US at that time. We have decided to get married, but are unsure as to the best place to do this or way to go about this.

If we were already married today, the I-130 petition would be the first place to start. I think I can apply DCF in London to speed things up as well. This was our initial plan.

However, we quickly discovered that since I'm not a UKC, I have to apply for a certificate of approval (COA) from the Home Office to marry in the UK. This costs £295 and can take up to 2-14 weeks.

Does the additional wait time before we can get married here negate the time benefit of getting married before I return to the US?

Would it be faster (in terms of being together in the US) to apply for the I-129F instead and get married there? Can I petition him for the I-129F even if I don't currently live in the US?

Cheers,
Amy

BritishGuy36

You've left it a bit late for DCF (if you even qualify). Can you be more specific about your status in the UK (what visa etc)? This would help to determine if you can do DCF.

To not be apart at all will be difficult, but you may be able to minimise the time apart.

What's more important to you? Less time apart, or less cost? What I am thinking is, you can fly to the US for a week, get married there (the UKC can enter on the VWP and marry, then return to the UK for processing). If you qualify for DCF if's feasible to get it done by March or April 2009, in this case.

You can petition for the fiance visa while not in the US (you still have to post the documents to the US though) but that isn't going to get you both in the US to stay and live, anytime close to March - 8 to 10 months is the norm.

amyb

My status in the UK is on a work permit/ UK Entry Clearance until 31/03/2009.

Less time apart is more important than less cost. I hadn't considered flying to the US for a week to get married as an option... Thanks for the idea!

Noorah101

Be aware that your I-130 might not be accepted for DCF in the UK if you have such a temporary status there. Worth trying, since you've been there a while now, but don't be surprised if it gets returned to you in a few weeks with a note saying to file it in the USA.

Rene

Gingerert

Really? When my USC got married to me at the end of 2006 he didn't need that. He needed approval from the local bishop (we had a C of E ceremony) and a sworn declaration that he wasn't married to anyone else, which we had notarized at the London Embassy. Whole thing took less than two weeks and cost a lot less than the 295 you say.

Is that your only option for marriage in the UK? I'm asking curiosity's sake, not because I think you're wrong.

amyb

Interesting. I did read about the C of E loophole, but neither of us attend a local parish or have any family members in the C of E. I was told we'd have to find a sympathetic vicar, or attend the church for about 6 weeks -- which seems a bit fraudulant if we're not really intending on being part of it.
Were you already members of the church?

Gingerert

I was, yes, but my OH wasn't. It is a little bit cheeky to get married in a church if you don't believe in its principles, but some churches will allow you to marry there if you are a member of a church in another country. You'd just have to convince your local bearded bishop .

C of E churches charge you for the ceremony, which may or may not bring the balance up to your original quote anyway. Just thought of that.

Bluegrass Lass

I believe the law has changed since then. I read about the requirement for non-UKC needing a visa to get married quite a while ago. I didn't think there were any loopholes, but perhaps there are.

BritishGuy36

If you do go for it, you must get a court-certified marriage certificate and not just the signed marriage license. The certificate will bear the words "solemnized by..." and the name of the person who conducted the vows at the ceremony.

You may have to go to the local probate court to get this certificate, a few days after getting married.

penguinbar

When My Fiancee and I were looking into getting married in Scotland .I was told that I needed a marriage visa as a US citizen. I don't know if the terms are different since you have been living and working there.

amyb

Thanks for all the feedback here, I think we are set on paperwork requirements, but it's difficult to know what is the quickest way to go about getting us both in the US together.

Since we haven't married yet, I think we still have options. I know we have left this until very late, but it is such a big decision we wanted to make sure we were doing this for the right reasons, and not because it will make it easier for him to live with me in the US.

I work for a US company and am planning to return to the US at the end of Feb. 09 as my UK work assignment is finishing then.

It seems that whether or not I'm allowed to petition him DCF is a key decider for when/where we marry. Is there anyway to find out for sure if I can petition DCF short of filing the I-130 and holding our breath? I did check my passport and I have a UK Entry Clearance certificate, and have lived in the UK (lease agreement, utility bills, etc) for the past 20 months. London Embassy website says only 6 months required.


Option 1: To marry/petition in the UK (Scotland)

I first need a COA (certificate of approval) from the Home Office. This is all I need as I'm in the UK legally on a work visa. We'll get this back in best case, 3-4 weeks. worst case, 14 weeks. That's a big difference. If I knew it would take 14 weeks, then I'd say we should scrap getting married in the UK and go to the US, then come back here & file the I-130 as BritishGuy36 suggests. If it's only 3-4 weeks, we can probably wait and do it all here.

After getting the COA, we have to submit an M10 - notification of marriage to the registrar where we'd like to marry. Because I've been married before, this can take another 4-6 weeks to be approved because it needs an additional step at the Edinburgh consular office. These can't be done in parallel, I already checked.

Once we're married, I can petition him DCF (if possible) with the I-130, and hopefully he could move to the US 4-6 months later (but if I can't do DCF, possibly 8-10 months later?)

If it turns out I can't petition DCF, is there a way he can come to the US sooner while we're waiting for his visa? Is this where the K-3 visa would come in, or is that a separate thing all together?

Once he as a CR-1 he can come to the US as a LPR and work immediately. No travel restrictions.


Option 2: Marry in the US (K-1 Fiance visa)

Can submit I-129F petition now. (Processing times approx. 6 months)
Get married as soon as he arrives and file for AOS. However, there will be a delay (3months?) waiting for his EAD before he can work and he can't travel outside the US without authorization (while waiting for the I-485)

Has anyone had experiences with how difficult it is to get a travel document (I-131)? This scares us a bit as his Gran is quite old (90th birthday this year) and if something were to happen to her he wouldn't be able to come home for a funeral, etc. Can we file for an I-131 immediately, just in case, or do you need a specific trip/timeline in mind?



So, in summary -- it seems like Option 1, while more waiting and paperwork now, more months apart, gives him more flexibility and rights once he's in the US. And Option 2, gets him to the US more quickly, but is more faff and headache once we're in the US.

Any thoughts? I realize we are going to have to spend some time apart in this process, but would like to keep it to a minimum as I can't imagine starting out in a new marriage by moving away from each other.

Bluegrass Lass

If, in the best case, it will take 8 weeks or so to get married in Britain, not to mention how long it could take for you to get your ,marriage certificate, I'd go forward with getting married in the US (no visa for your spouse required) and then returning to Britain to file for the CR-1 via DCF. There is absolutely no way of knowing if London will allow you to file there; you need to go ahead and file then wait and see what happens. Obviously, if they decide that you can't file there, then you would need to start over with filing the I-130 in the USA. With this approach you could have lose some valuable time, but I think it's a risk worth taking.

If you want a 'guaranteed' acceptance, then you need to go ahead and decide if you want to marry and file an I-130 in the USA, or go ahead and file the I-129f to get a fiance visa started right now. With either of those two routes, you can pretty much guarantee the petition acceptance.

Personally, I would take a shot at DCF, and filing as soon as possible. If you do get denied the DCF process, then at least you haven't lost too much time. And even if you get denied DCF, then at least once your (future) hubby joins you in the US, he is already legal to work as he will be a Permanent Resident upon entering. Versus, if you file for the K1 instead, there is that gap for work authorization and not being able to leave for an emergency for a period of time, not to mention further paperwork and fees to be sent in.

Getting the I-131 isn't that difficult, but expect it to take possibly 60-90 days. Which would mean it is vitally important to marry and file the Adjustment of Status as soon as you could. You don't need a specific timeframe or trip.

Noorah101

The only way he can come to the USA while waiting for his Immigrant Visa, is to come as a visitor (90 days on the VWP), and he can't work while in the USA. The K-3 is no longer any faster than the Immigrant Visa, so don't even bother with that.


When he enters on the K-1 visa, he has automatic work authorization for his first 90 days here. However, the only way to get proof of that is to come through JFK as the POE and get the temp EAD stamp on his I-94. That's the only POE which gives the temp EAD stamp anymore. If he does not get that, he will have trouble proving to an employer that he is work authorized. Also, that temp EAD is only good for 90 days. It usually takes longer than that to get the 1-year EAD, so there will most likely be a gap in between the two work authorizations. The employer may or may not want to keep him employed during that gap. The 1-year EAD comes about 90 days after filing AOS.

It's not difficult to get the AP at all. It is granted for all reasons, including just going back to visit family (i.e., does not have to be an emergency situation). You can't file the I-131 alone, you have to file it with or after the AOS package. Once you file AOS including I-131, it takes about 60 days to get the AP in hand. He cannot leave the USA until he has the AP in-hand.

[QUOTE]So, in summary -- it seems like Option 1, while more waiting and paperwork now, more months apart, gives him more flexibility and rights once he's in the US. And Option 2, gets him to the US more quickly, but is more faff and headache once we're in the US.[J/QUOTE]
These two options are correct, you have the basics down correctly. The choice is really just yours on which way to go.

Rene

John Manley

Amy,

The I-129F is available to you whether you marry or do not marry. If you are not married, your fiancee receives a K-1 visa. If you are married, your fiancee/spouse receives a K-3 visa. For the K-3 keep in mind that the interview will generally take place at the U.S. Consulate that has jurisdiction over the place where you marry. If you marry outside the U.K., that is where your spouse would go for his interview.

Based on your questions, the K-1 or K-3 are your better options.

meauxna

Hi John,
Do you have some recent K-3 experiences? We've found that K-3 visas are lately not what their advertised purpose seems to be. The Immigrant Visa takes about the same amount of time and produces a 'final product' as a benefit.

Amy, if the marriage takes place in the US, that is not where your (then) spouse would interview for the K-3 visa; the interview would still be in the UK.