rothwell

Hi there,
I'm a UK citizen and I'm wishing to marry a girl from the US.

I'm wondering if I can marry her on a tourist visa in the US. The reason that I can't go on a fiance visa is as thus:

I am a member of the British army. I can't get long periods of leave, nor do I get enough chance to go to an American embassy to set up the correct visa. Equally, from what I have heard, I can't leave the US and come back still on the fiance visa, and I would have to wait to get a spouse visa before leaving. Thats what I have heard.
So basically a tourist visa is my only option. I'm not looking to get US citizenship right now: that can wait for a few years until I finish my time in the army.

Another suggestion I had was that she comes over to Britain for us to marry. There are two points that prevent this:

1) She doesn't have enough money (nor do I) for her and her two kids to come over here and rent somewhere.
2) She doesn't want to pull the kids out of school for a long period of time that falls in line with my leave.

The thing with the money is that if I go to the USA then I can stay at hers so it costs a plane ticket to get there. In comparison, her coming here would mean three plane tickets and renting out somewhere (which neither of us can afford).

So I was wondering if it is legal to marry on a tourist visa in the US. I don't know if it affects the law on this, but the state is Indiana.
As I said, I'm not trying to gain citizenship from it, more just trying to take our relationship to the next stage.

Thanks for any advice or links

meauxna

Hello,

Generally as a UK citizen, you are eligible to use the Visa Waiver Program/VWP and travel without a 'tourist visa'. I'll make a guess that you are using the terms interchangeably.
Even if you aren't, the answer is virtually the same: Getting married to a US citizen is a valid tourist activity. So, yes, you can do that. You must depart within the terms of your visitor admission (90 days under the VWP). Check out the marriage license laws for the state/county where you want to marry, apply, wait (or not) depending on local rules and ta da, you get married.

You may want to establish a joint bank account while you're in the US, since this can be hard to do from overseas. Your wife will need to file her US income tax return as 'married' for the year the event happens, and can investigate if there would be any tax benefit for filing you as a 'US resident for tax purposes' (I doubt there would be an advantage for your situation).

For the future, you will need an Immigrant Visa when it's time to move to the US. This takes 6-12 months to accomplish, and your USC spouse will initiate the first round of paperwork. The Consulate in London will help you organize and interview for a time when you're available.

"Citizenship" is different from Permanent Residency. When you come with an Immigrant Visa, you'll be a PR and can elect in the future to apply for US citizenship (you get to keep the UK one as well).

lansbury

You can come to the US on the VWP and marry no problems, as long as you meet the license requirements for the State you are marrying in. You cannot stay in the US and must leave within the time granted, usually 90 days, when you arrived. You cannot use the VWP if you come with the intent to get married and stay to adjust status.

I married having came in on the VWP.

rothwell

Thank you very much for your response.

Yes, I was using the terms interchangeably... the way I think of it is like getting a tourist visa without the hassle of going to apply for one xD

I am also aware that I have to be PR before a citizenship application, but I'm an idiot and keep forgetting things.

You have both been very helpful, so thank you.

Rothwell

Eric S

To clear up a couple of things about the fiance and spouse visas: Basically, they are both used to become a resident of the US (ie. get a Green Card). You need a fiance visa if you're not married yet. It allows you to come to the US and marry your fiance, and then stay and adjust status to a resident. The spouse visa is used if you are already married. It allows you to come to the US to live with your US citizen spouse.

It sounds like you just want to get married now and then move to the US in a few years when you finish your time in the army. If that's true, then you'll need the spouse visa at that point (assuming you've gotten married by then).

- Eric S.

rothwell

I see... so Spouse/fiance visas are only necessary for a GC application?
Thats good.

I had a quick check on the marriage law in Indianna. Basically, I have to be present for the application for the marriage license, and then we have to get married within 60 days.
I'm going to have to take leave twice just to get married it seems xD unless I can find a way to take a monday off instead of a saturday. Will have to talk to my TC.

Thanks again all!

Noorah101

One of those visas is necessary if you plan on living in the USA.

Why do you need to take leave twice? If there's no waiting period after obtaining the marriage license, then you can get married that same day or the next day, if you want. The marriage license is valid for 60 days, not that you have to wait 60 days to get married.

Rene

meauxna

A GC, aka Permanent Resident status, is required for living in the US.
You need a visa before you can have the green card. In your first post, you correctly identified the problem with the Fiance K-1 visa for you; you will not have enough time to complete your GC application before leaving again, and you don't want to live in the US just yet.

With the Immigrant visa (spouse), there is no green card application per se; you become a Permanent Resident when you arrive with the visa.

Have your fiancee check with her marriage license bureau. There may be a way for you to put the license application in without you being here, if you'll only have a short leave.

rothwell

The thing about marriage the same day or next day is that, knowing my luck, something would go wrong because we were concentrating on the marriage licence more than the wedding, and I want her to have a perfect day.

Although I WILL look into that and talk to her about it...

And I will also get her to look into getting exemption from being physically there. If not, will just have to work hard on arranging everything...

Everyone is so helpful here

Thanks
Rothwell

Edit:
@ meauxna
Just wondering, you said that in the future I would be able to enter the US as a permanent resident with a spouse visa?
In that case, what would I do? Go to the embassy and apply for a spouse visa with our marriage certificate? Would this (pretty much) grant me the right to a spouse visa? This seems to me like a much better option than a fiance -> spouse visa... the transfer to a spouse visa from a fiance one is apparently long, whilst if I just get married and then come back I can be on a PR already? :S It seems to me like one can miss out a lot of waiting around if they have enough money to marry, leave, apply for spouse visa and then go back... money really does quicken things up xD
Thanks again

Noorah101

Yes. When you get a spouse Immigrant Visa, when you use that visa to enter the USA, you become a US Permanent resident from Day 1. This is a "better" visa than the K-1 fiance visa in the long run because it's the quicker way to the green card (i.e. permanent residency).

In that case, after marriage, your wife would file an I-130 petition in the USA to start the ball rolling. Eventually, after some correspondence with National Visa Center (NVC), you would attend an interview and get your Immigrant Visa. Thats' a very simplified version...do more research for all the details of the process. The process takes about 8 - 10 months total, from filing I-130 to getting visa in hand.

Unless you have issues such as medical, criminal, past immigration difficulties, then you should have a smooth case and be awarded the visa.

Money does not quicken things up at all. The fees are pretty much the same for either the K-1 or the Immigrant Visa. And there is still a lot of waiting around between the time you get married and the time you get the Immigrant Visa....as I said above, about 8 to 10 months waiting.

Rene

Eric S

Yes, you'll need a spouse visa when it comes time for you to move to the US. For more information on that process, visit the Marriage Based Visas forum on here.

Basically, your spouse will submit a petition for you. Then, when it's approved, you will send in a visa application to your local US consulate. They will schedule you for an interview. When you go in for the interview, they will either approve or deny the visa. Assuming they approve it, they will attach it to your passport and send it to you in a couple of days.

- Eric S.

BritishGuy36

It's more complex than it sounds....it will take 8-10 months from start to finish. You don't just show up with a marriage license and they issue you a 'spouse visa'.

You'll probably need to get it sorted before too long (maybe before you intend to move permanently). It's possible but risky to keep entering the US on the VWP after the wedding. Why? Because the official at the point of entry may take the view (with a wife, stepchildren and a place to live in the US) that you aren't going to leave, and you will attempt to stay and adjust status without leaving the US (which is illegal - even if you are married to a US Citizen). And to be honest, there's not much you can say to argue against such a view.

Remember, it's not what your plans are that's important. It's what the border control agent thinks your plans are that's important. Nobody except US citizens has the right to enter the US; for everyone else, the border agent is judge, jury and executioner.

So you may have to look into getting the visa sooner rather than later.

Noorah101

When will your army duty be finished, so you can immigrate to the USA? Plan on starting the Immigrant Visa process about a year before you actually intend to make the permanent move to the USA.

Rene

rothwell

My duty doesn't really have a finish point... its when I choose. I just have to give one year's resignation notice... So I guess the day I hand it in will be the day we start the ball rolling.

I take on board the point about using the tourist waiver... I guess I would take the same view as them... I dunno, I'm going to chat to her about it and post back here tomorrow.

Thanks everyone.

Rete

Why the rush to marry if you cannot be with your wife and step children for several years. Would not be better served just continuing your relationship as it is and then marrying when you know you can be with them without having to leave them?