Suzey

Hi everyone

I live in the UK and am currently looking into how to move to the USA to be with my boyfriend. I have read through a number of threads and the various USCIS web pages but can't unravel enough to find the specific info I'm looking for. However I did find some info on a lawyer website which confused me.

Brief background is that we are both UKCs, he is also a USA LPR and resides in the USA with no plans to leave. He is eligible to apply for US citizenship and will be doing so within the next few months. I have read that the timescales would be quicker if we do this after he obtains USC as opposed to him being an LPR (something about a pecking order and second preferences).

Neither of us are in a position to get married now as we are both in the process of getting divorced following lengthy separation (I would be grateful of any advice re whether or not that is a factor. He obtained LPR through sponsorship by his US-born wife).

We have seen each other several times in the past few months - I've visited him and he's visited me and can evidence this. He earns more than $20k/year.

I have seen that there are two options available to us: that either I apply for a fiancee visa and we get married there, then I apply for AOS to get LPR, or we marry without the visa and he does a spousal sponsorship for me to enter to gain LPR and then I move there.

My question is, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options? Are the timescales much different?

The obvious advantage of going as a fiancee looks to be that we get to start married life together in the USA and I wouldn't need to leave the USA within the 90 days afforded under the VWP.

I've read about two-year conditions being attached to LPR gained by those who entered on a fiancee visa - what are those conditions and do similar/same conditions get attached to those coming who are already married?

The third option I have read about is to visit him under VWP at some point and then spontaneously marry, then I stay there and apply for AOS. Is this actually a feasible option? I found it pretty unbelievable when I read about it. How long does AOS take under these circumstances given that I would still have ties in the UK (eg job, house)? I should point out that I would not enter with the intent to marry him without telling the immigration officer, but I would like to know what my options would be if my boyfriend proposed to me during a visit one day and we decide to see if we can get married before I left.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

Suze

Noorah101

Since you are planning ahead, you need either a K-1 fiance visa or a CR-1 spouse Immigrant visa.

Both take approximately the same amount of time (once he's a USC). You have to factor in that you can't start the immigrant visa process until you are married. The biggest advantage of the immigrant visa is that you become a US PR upon entry to the USA (no AOS involved).

We actually have a wiki guide with a chart that shows the main periods and cons of each path.

Rene

Wintersong

Hi Suze,

Congrats and good luck

I'd definitely recommend one of the two 'above board' methods of obtaining a visa (i.e. spouse or fiancee). The key word here is spontaneous - given the info you've provided, it's clear that any wedding while you were in the US on VWP would not be spontaneous, since you're already semi-planning the "spontaneous" proposal and "spontaneous" decision to get married before your departure. Would it be possible to adjust status after such an event? Quite probably. However, given that in order to get married you'd likely need to bring with you your birth certificate and divorce decree, you might be hard pressed to prove that you had no intent to marry when you entered.

If you arrived on VWP and told the immigration officer that you intended to get married, you'd probably find yourself on the next plane back to the UK.

Pulaski

You've already got some good info, but one thing you asked that I don't think you have an answer to yet is about the "conditional green card". It is a green card for permanent residents in every way except that it is issued to anyone who has been married for less than two years, no matter whether they entered on a K-1 fiancée visa or a CR-1 spouse visa. It's nothing to worry about, and you apply to have the conditions removed two years after you got the green card (not two years after you married).

scrubbedexpat099

Lots of tourists marry in the US, big business.

Pulaski

It's fine, so long as you leave again after marrying - I know, I did so myself. That said, if you're marrying a USPR or US-resident-USC, I would advise against volunteering to the CBP immigration officer at the airport that you've come to get married as you could find yourself turned away as being an overstay/ immigration risk.

scrubbedexpat099

Only answering questions asked is a general rule of thumb.

Sometime it seems that forums such as this do not reflect reality. Well that has been my experience.

Pulaski

"Only answering questions briefly ......"

My answer are rarely sentences, and often only 2-3 word phrases. Sometimes a single word suffices.

Wintersong

Not sure that the immigration officer would view the OP as a tourist in this instance, though...

scrubbedexpat099

How would they know?

Wintersong

Well there's this:
I'm assuming that the immigration officer would then proceed to ask some probing questions about the OP's long term plans, the answers to which might not convince them that she's purely a tourist with every intention of returning to the UK. Maybe, maybe not - but not something I'd be comfortable risking, personally.

themadpooper

How long has the op been with her bf because you'll need to show evidence of a long term relationship for a green card?

Besides being with your bf, what will you do in America? What job do you currently have in the UK and do you believe your qualifications/experience will translate here? What does he do here and does he have the required income he'll need to sponsor you for a green card? It's 125% above the state poverty line at the time of applying so a lot higher than 20 grand

America is an amazing country, Americans in general are some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet but the grass isn't always greener if you've never lived here previously and don't know anyone here, what will do if it doesn't work out with the bf?

Pulaski

No you don't. For a K-1 fiancée visa you need to prove that you have met at least once in the preceding two years. For a CR-1 visa you need to prove that you are married. Those are the two paths to a green card via marriage.

civilservant

Wrong, the only requirement for the CR1 is that you are legally married. While it's true that a short relationship before marriage might raise questions, it is not in itself a reason to deny.

themadpooper

Should the op apply for a GREEN CARD, without supplying pictorial evidence, utility bills in both their names, general evidence of being in a long term relationship together, they absolutely will be asked questions about this to determine it's not a bogus marriage for immigration purposes