Vukki

Hello All,

Sorry for the rather general title, Just been a very confusing time for my fiance and I. I have tried researching and even calling USCIS (useless from my experience) and only now am I finding British Expats!

Basically here is the story:

My Partner and I met online, since then i have been to america to see her and she has been here (Northern Ireland) we both stress each out about it, She is unable to work due to her disabilities, she is trying to her benefits although that's a long process, we plan to get married in the UK then moving myself to the USA, I'm not flooding with money and the same can be said for herself also, She needs to prove that she can support herself here for her stay *PROBLEM No. 1* We have planned for me to just send her money to come over with so that she can show she has money to do while she is here, although we don't know if this will hold up. *PROBLEM No. 2* I will be out of the house by Dec-2018 // Jan-2020. So im trying to figure out what is the timescale i have or if it is even possible. *PROBLEM No. 3* I'm not sure if it will be a problem but just in case, ill be going over there and living with her and her mother until we are able to get our own place.

I'm horribly worried as this has been my plan and future plans for the past 3 years, I not only want this to work, but need it to.. Any Advice on this will be greatly appreciated, ask me anything you must, I'm an open book!!

Thanks Again everyone!... Also i hope I'm asking this in the correct place

Noorah101

Hi and welcome to BE.

So, you want to get married in the UK? The USC will need a special visa for that, plus some waiting time in the UK until the marriage can happen. If you don't mind getting married in the USA, that's much easier, as you're allowed to marry on the VWP fairly quickly in most states.

As for moving permanently to the USA, the USC can use a joint sponsor for the financial requirement.

Did you have another question in there somewhere? Something about being out of your house in the UK by a certain time? That shouldn't be a problem, you'll just get temporary accommodations in the UK until you have your CR-1 visa in hand.

If I missed something, let us know.

Rene

KK85

It sounds like you have a lot of anxiety on your plate! Let's try and break the situation down a little:

First of all, you talk about marrying in the UK. Do you know that it is cheaper for you to fly to the USA under the VWP (I'm presuming you qualify for an ESTA, past travel considered) to get married over there, than it is for your partner to join you to marry in the UK? Marrying in the UK would require your partner apply for a marriage visa, which you'd not have to do if you got married in the USA. If money is tight for you both, the cost of that visa might be worth some consideration (I'm sorry, I don't know how much it is). Not only is it cheaper for you to fly to the US to get married, there are less logistics involved - in theory, you could fly out as soon as tomorrow and be married within the next week. Just be sure to check the laws relating to marriage licenses (specifically, when you'd need to get one) for the state you marry in if you do decide to go down that route. As for sending her money so that she can prove she's able to support herself during her visit to the UK... I'm afraid I don't know anything about that process, or how it might hold up. Perhaps someone else will be able to help. For what it's worth, I have never had to prove to an officer at border control that I have X amount of money in the bank, but maybe that's different for everyone.

Secondly, you mention you will be "out of the house" by December 2018 and January 2020, and you pose this as a problem - what do you mean? Are you moving house? This wouldn't affect your visa processes, necessarily, although you would of course want to ensure you had somewhere reliable to receive your mail.

Thirdly, living with your partner's mother is no issue at all when it comes to immigration, but you need to be aware that you will need somebody to sponsor you in your petition for a CR-1 visa (the visa you'll be petitioning for if you want to move to the USA as a spouse). If your spouse does not have an income, you will need to find another person willing to sponsor you (a co-sponsor - your spouse will still be your primary sponsor), who earns above the poverty threshold for their household and you. Might that be your spouse's mother? More food for thought.

I recommend becoming a regular on this forum, reading as much as you can, and taking a look through the Wikis at the top of the page here. They are full of useful information relating to marriage visas and immigration in general - even if you do marry in the UK, it is still worth educating yourself on the processes that will follow if you intend to move to the USA. It sounds, though, like your first priority is working out the logistics of getting married.

Good luck! Take a deep breath. If it's what you truly want, you and your partner will work this out and find a way to be together. You first need to arm yourself fully with information on all your options.

Zara Linn

I'm the lucky lady in question! And I've done some of my own research as to which would be a cheaper option considering my current circumstances. https :// rapidvisa. com/marry-british-fiance-uk-us/ this article is a tad outdated but I'd like to know if it still has some fact to it or if it has changed a lot since the article was published. I've also looked into the options for sponsorship when it comes to myself being unable to sponsor him on my own from this link https :// www. boundless. com/immigration-resources/income-requirements-for-a-marriagebased-green-card/

Please do let us know if any of you could confirm or deny this information! Thanks!

The links are spaced out because I really would love for this information to be looked at to further help my understanding.

Noorah101

Makes it hard to click in the link when it isn't really a link, though....

Rene

Vukki

yeah, sorry about that, she wasnt able to post link until she made 5 posts so she had to put it in that format so that she could, sorry for any confusion

Zara Linn

https://www.boundless.com/immigratio...ed-green-card/

https://rapidvisa.com/marry-british-fiance-uk-us/

Went and made 5 posts on things so this will help! Sorry bout that!

Noorah101

Thanks. Those are both fairly long articles and it would take a lot of time to study and confirm everything in them. I suggest reading the actual USCIS website www.uscis.gov, and the US Embassy website for current, valid information.

For marrying in the UK, we also have a forum for that. This forum is for USA only. Maybe someone here knows, as we've pointed out the basics, but details can be asked in the other forum.

It sounds like you did a lot of research, but would be easier to help you if you had specific questions rather than "is everything in these articles correct?"

We do want to help!

Rene

RICH

In general, it would be cheaper/easier to marry the US. You clearly have enough money to have visited each other. The US mother as co-sponsor seems a simple option if she has the funds.
The CR1 visa process is the same for everyone ,worldwide, regardless of circumstances - familiarize yourselves with it, and ask here if you have problems understanding, or meeting the requirements. As Rene said, we want to help. We all started with possibly incorrect assumptions, and worked through it! Good luck!

RICH

Just noticed you are my neighbor! Happy to help in person!

civilservant

The obvious problem here is the I-864 requirements, especially if her only income will be SSI disability.

BritInParis

As mentioned getting married in the UK will require the USC to hold a Marriage Visitor visa and be in the country to give notice. Perfectly doable but it would be easier and cheaper to marry in the US. The fee is $126.

https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships

RICH

I had a glance this morning and the info in those links is pretty acurate and up to date. Nothing jumped out as "wrong".

Rete

As Rene advised, a better source of information for the future is to go directly to the source. www.uscis.gov and the US Embassy website in London.

The sites you have been reading are those that are attorney mastheaded and work done by paralegals. Their info is usually slanted to their advantage to reel you in to using them to obtain you visa.

Marrying in the US is cheaper and faster than marrying in the UK as you don't have to apply for a visa for permission to marry. The cost of a conditional resident immigration visa (CR-1) will be about $2,500 in total with the cost of the I-130, the cost for the Affidavit of Support verification, the cost for the CR-1 visa in London, the medical, the police report, courier fee, green card manufacturing fee, etc. Since the bride has no income at present and the groom will be the one paying for all of this, so it is wise to get a firm handle on what the steps are from the beginning to the end.

scrubbedexpat099

Avoid RapidVisa, seen so many people who have used them and seriously regretted doing so,

Not sure when you are looking to marry but even if you did so soon moving before your Jan-2020 date is unlikely so nothing to be worried about.