TexanScot

That's fair, of course.

I do think that there's a difference (and most people would probably appreciate the difference) between exigent circumstances accelerating something that was probably already on the cards, and marrying someone purely for an immigration benefit.

The former is understandable, but doesn't free you from the little digs and comments that people will make forever after, as true as they may be in a sense

TexanScot

I hear putting your national origin and accent on your Tinder profile is a winning strategy, but I couldn't possibly comment...

ivanidea

Are there any work related conferences you can attend in the USA? That's how I met my wife.

We also had many common interests which helped though.

Be aware that there may be American ladies out there who might see you as a means to get British citizenship.

Whilst my wife would like to obtain British citizenship, she currently doesn't want to leave a warm and sunny Florida (she spent too many cold winters in New York).

Pulaski

I can't help but think that this anecdote precisely disproves your point, and that people are far more likely to wonder why you didn't obtain a spouse visa than why you did.

IMO so long as you appear to have a sincere relationship with your spouse, which is broadly in line with societal norms* (yeah, I know that isn't very PC in 2019, but it's still the case in the real world, and IMO likely to remain so), and that you are from the UK, or any western/ industrialized country, the question of possible visa fraud is unlikely to ever rear its head. But as Tom hinted, unless someone is a USCIS officer acting in an official capacity, I don't give two hoots what anyone else thinks!

A friend (white, Christian, life-long resident of rural Virginia) of my mother-in-law married an Indian and sponsored a spouse visa for him, and just over three years later he apparently went directly from the citizenship oath ceremony to a divorce lawyer's office, and sponsored a fiance visa for an Indian woman a few months later.

BritInParis

This happens a lot. There's a whole subset of Albanian men who claimed to be Kosovan in the late 1990s in order to claim asylum in the UK, married the first British woman they could, acquired citizenship three years later and promptly divorced their wives in order to marry their actual partners back in Albania and bring them over to the UK. Half the time said Albanian partner was heavily pregnant by the time the divorce went through safe in the knowledge that the child would be entitled to a British passport by descent.

TexanScot

The fact that it's not PC doesn't make it any less true - this is Texas after all, and I'm very aware that I'm largely playing on easy mode when it comes to immigration.

After all when politicians, news commentators and members of the public talk about "immigrants" they aren't talking about me, and I'm painfully aware of that fact...

RICH

you are not an immigrant, you are an expat. Like me, Different thing altogether.😁

Jerseygirl

My old mum said I can’t be an immigrant because I am British.

spouse of scouse

Someone should write a book of all the mum sayings we put on BE. They're priceless, and funny, and sooo wrong

Jerseygirl

One of my favourite ‘mum sayings’ was back in the early 70s, Mum asked me if Elton John could do anything else but sing. I said yes, thinking he wrote music. ‘Good’ she said ‘because he will never make a living out of singing’.

spouse of scouse

Love it.

tom169

Then all of this is a moot point. If your relationship isn't at marriage level then that's it.

TexanScot

Not really.

We might not be at the point of walking down the aisle, but it's certainly one of those relationships where we both know that it's likely on the cards.

tom169

It's all hypotheticals until you get on the knee and she says yes.

RICH

I remember back in 2003 an American girlfriend. We met in London. She was over on business. She got me a trip to Florida on BA points. I found I liked Tampa bay. I explored visa options. I proposed NYE. Applied for K1. Moved to FL in June 2004. Married August. Divorced 2009. Citizenship 2013. Still in FL..
if anyone thinks I did It just to be here. I don't care. I am sad it did not work out, but happy i got the chance to be where i am.😀