Amethystmoon

Hello!
My fiance and I met online about a month ago. We fell madly in love right away. We want to get married. However, he lives in the UK and I am here in the US. I'm a natural born citizen. He wants to move here and be with me and spend our lives together. Can anyone please tell me how to go about this? I have read so much information my head is going to explode. I need to know what forms we need, what the process is, Roughly how long it'll take. And if possible rough estimate of how much it will all cost. My fiance is squeaky clean. No health issues, no illegal activity, never over stayed His welcome. However we have not physically met as of yet. I greatly appreciate any help we can get! Especially if its answered in layman's terms lol. Thank you all so much!

BigBoss1984

Firstly, you must submit an I-129F petition for an alien fiance. The filing fee is currently $535. Check out the wiki on this forum for a guide as to what needs to be included in the petition. It will take around 8-10 months from filing the I-129F to getting the Visa in hand.

One problem is that you must have met in person before you can file this petition. And you must provide proof you have met in person.

KK85

Yep - first things first, book that flight! After that, your options open up a little. As BigBoss says, you could go the fiancé visa route, or you could get married right now, if you like, and then file a petition (I-130) to apply for a spouse visa. This visa would also mean an 8-10 month (average) wait before you could be together in America, but it would mean your husband could start working as soon as he arrives in the USA, whereas on the K-1 visa he could not.

The wiki is your best friend for now, I think. And once you've decided which route would best suit you both, the kind folk here can certainly point you in the right direction when it comes to figuring out the processes you'll need to go through.

Book that flight!

tom169

I recommend him booking a flight to the USA, entering via the VWP (as it sounds like he's eligible from information you provided) and then you two getting married.

He then returns to the UK and you can then petition for him as a spouse. The visa category would be a CR-1 (form I-130).

I'm not sure on the exact amount for this, but budget about 8-10 months and a few thousand dollars.

ian-mstm

We have several wikis dealing with this - but perhaps the one that will be most valuable to you is this one. It outlines the 2 routes available to you.

Read it, digest it, and read it again... and then ask questions!


If you're going to pursue a K-1 (fiancé) visa, you must meet. Indeed, the sole criterion for the K-1 is that you have met, at least once face-to-face, within the prior 2 years.


You're about to learn a new language - so it's best that you take some time and do it right. Most especially, when you're talking about the forms (and there are a lot of them), use the form number (ie. I-129F) so that we know exactly what you're talking about. Also, the more precise you can be, the better we'll be able to help you.

This isn't a difficult process - in fact, it's fairly straight forward... but it will take time for you to become familiar with the language and the process.

Ian

ian-mstm

I'll also add a note of caution here - don't marry the guy until you've spent a considerable amount of time together. Online romances are fun - yes, and even intriguing... but that is no substitute for being together and learning each others' habits - both good and bad.

Rushing into marriage after one month of online chats is not a good strategy. Don't substitute a short-term, hormone-inducing fantasy for a long-term commitment.

Ian

Pulaski

There is no substitute for spending some time together, though "considerable " is subjective. Mrs P and I only spent about six weeks together before we got married, but they were spread over 18 months (21 months since we met on-line). Of those six weeks, one was the week before we got married, and two were at Christmas two months before we got married.

We have now been married for 17 years!

KK85

17 years?! You could well be one of the first ever Internet romance success stories, surely! Congratulations!

My husband and I knew each other for ten years (having met on a journaling website when we were teenagers ) prior to ever having met in real-life. We only spent seven weeks physically together (over a period of two years) before getting married, though talked every day for the couple of years prior. Hopefully we'll have as much success as you, Pulaski!

Pulaski

Thank you, and you might think so, but I know of at least two, if not three, currently active members of BE who are married and started their relationships on-line before Mrs P and I.

Rete

They only met online last month. Never have met in person. Imagine they are between 18 and 20 years old and one or both lives with their parents and the parents will have to be joint sponsor because the kids don't have jobs. Mommy rant over. My apologies if I am completely off on my take.

Rete

Nope for this forum that would be Ian who will be married 19 years this June and myself who will be celebrating 19 years in September.

Fortunately for both Ian and myself, my husband and Ian were from Canada so we were able to spend more time together. However, hubby and I only meet up on August 23, 1997 and married on September 26, 1998. But we spent two weekends a month together either in NY or in Ottawa and a week here and there before he came on his K-1 in August 1998 and we married.

KK85

19 years! Wonderful! Congratulations to you, Ian and both your partners, and thank you for holding down the fort against the still-rife stigmas associated with Internet-borne relationships, and especially long-distance ones. They DO work!

tom169

My recommendation was from an immigration standpoint. I get and share your concerns for every other angle.

Personally I dated 5 years before getting married.

Pulaski

I think Nutek has you both beat - going back to around 1995-96.

Amethystmoon

Lol I am 38 and he is 32 we both live on our own. But I understand