tommyh99

Hi all,

I've just signed up to this site and having read a few threads on here am hopeful I will be able to get some help and advice as well as answers to a few questions I have. Everyone seems very helpful and knowledgeable so please share with me your words of wisdom.

Almost a year ago I embarked on a long distance relationship with a lovely girl I met on holiday in Croatia. She lives in Miami, I live in London. We have been seeing each other every 6 weeks ever since, I spent Christmas with her and her family and she has been here to London. All of which has been great. Ultimately though, it cannot continue in this way indefinitely and this is far from ideal long-term.

I am now coming to terms with the fact that if we want to be together I will need to relocate to Miami as the harsh & gloomy weather, public transport and hustle and bustle of London is far from ideal for my lovely lady. Having spent a 6 month stretch in California in the past & loving Miami each time I have visited, I know living in the sun, near the beach is something I can adapt to without too much trouble.

At this time we are not married, nor engaged. We do plan to get married in the future and would do so if it was mandatory to allow me to gain entry at all or even to make the process easier.

I also currently have a B1/B2 visa that allows me to enter the country for up to 6 months at a time as a tourist. Sadly, I have no specialist skills or qualifications either.

Things I’m looking for help and advice on:#

1) What sort of visa/green card do I need to allow me to permanently reside and work in America?
2) How can I get one of these?
3) Is being married essential?
4) Do I have to be married before I apply, if so, for how long?
5) How long is the application process?
6) Will I have to be in America for the whole visa application process?
7) As long as I don’t work, am I allowed to come & go from America on my B1/B2 visa while my green card/visa application is processed?
8) When can I begin applying for jobs in America?
9) Any other hints, tips or advice?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Tom

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

As you've got quite specific visa related questions, I've moved your thread to our US immi section, where hopefully the kind folk there will be able to help you.

Best of luck with your move.

tommyh99

Thank you

Ray

for a fiancee visa


US Citizen can apply for a special visa to allow a non-citizen (their fiancée) to enter the country in order to get married to a US citizen inside the US.

Once issued, the K1 visa will allow the non-citizen to enter the United States legally, for 90 days in order for the marriage ceremony to take place. Once you marry, the non-citizen can remain in the US and may apply for permanent residence. While USCIS processes the application, the non-citizen can remain in the US legally
The US citizen income must meet the require minimum to fulfill the affidavit of support
currently $19660 ..

tommyh99

Thanks Ray. Do I really need a K1, couldn't I just enter the country on my B1/B2 visa for the purposes of getting married?
After getting married, can I stay there for the duration of the application process? Equally, if I wanted to leave, is that allowed as well?

AlphaTangoMike

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the forum. It's recommended that you read the WIKI first:
Pulaski's Ways: How to Live and Work in the USA : British Expat Wiki

Short story and the most likely path for you to live in the USA (in your case): get married.

ian-mstm

It is illegal to enter the US as a visitor with the intent to stay to adjust status. So no, you can't do that - because at some point you will be required to return home to get a police certificate, a medical, and have an interview with US immigration.


Once you're in the US, you can leave any time you want... after all, you're not a prisoner. However, if you apply to adjust your status, you must first have Advance Parole (A/P) in hand... because if you leave before you have A/P in hand, your adjustment will be deemed abandoned - and you'll need to start over again.

Ian

ian-mstm

You'll need either a CR-1 visa (which means you must marry first before getting the visa) or a K-1 visa (which means you marry after entering the US with the visa and then adjust status). There are two other main routes to the US: employment-based, and investment-based. But family-based (CR-1/K-1) is still the easiest.


Google is your friend... or check our Wiki (in the blue bar at the top of each page).


That'll depend on the visa and the order in which you want things to proceed.


If you pursue a CR-1 visa, you can apply the same day you marry as long as you have the marriage certificate.


About 6-8 months for a K-1 visa, about 8-10 months for a CR-1 visa.


Again, that depends on which process you choose.


Yes... but you can't move to the US until you have the appropriate visa in your passport.


Today, if you want... but, as a practical matter, unless you have a US address, most employers will pitch your job application in the bin.

Ian

tommyh99

Thanks for your responses, very helpful.

From what you are saying the sequence I need to go through is as follows:

1) Get a K1 Visa
2) Get married
4) Compile an AoS package
5) Submit AoS package to USCIS
6) Wait for a response
7) If I wish to travel to America in the meantime, apply for advance parole so my application isn't deemed abandoned

Please tell me if this is incorrect?

Do I actually need a K1 or could I enter the country as a visitor, get married, then leave. Then subsequently, as a married man, submit my application for an AoS before making the move? Or do I need to be in the USA to submit my application for an AoS.

My thoughts are that I run my own business which I am planning to close down when I move. However, the longer I can keep my business running the better as any additional income will be helpful for the move/setting up home when I move.

Thanks,
Tom

ian-mstm

Not quite correct. Everything that happens from #2 onwards is done in the US. So, for #7, you'd already be in the US... and you need A/P to travel outside the US and return without having your AOS deemed abandoned.


Yes.


It's an either/or situation. Either you get a K-1 visa, enter the US with the visa, get married, and then apply to adjust status and stay; or you get married, apply for a CR-1 visa, enter the US with that visa, and stay... no adjustment necessary. You can't mix and match. If, as you suggest, you get married while on a B-2 visa and then leave the US, you must then pursue a CR-1 visa as the spouse of a US citizen.

Ian

tommyh99

Ian, very useful. Thank you.

Pulaski

Yes you can do this, but you'd need a CR-1 (see below), and you don't need to "adjust status", you arrive in the US "fully authorized" with a green card and the right to work. Re point 7) "Advance parole" is if you want to leave the US. To adjust status you must be in the US.

As a practical matter, from arrival in the US on a K-1 to getting your EAD to accept a job, will be about 5 months. It sounds from what you said as if income is important to you, so you might consider the alternative "straight to CR-1 marriage visa route". This would mean marrying first (no special visa reqd), then leaving the US and applying for a CR-1 visa. Meanwhile you can keep on working in the UK right up to the day you fly to the US "permanently", and you will be legally able to work in the US from the moment you clear immigation! This is what I did, more or less, and I started my first job in the US six days after I arrived in the US.

I don't recall seeing in this thread if your girlfriend is a USC. If she isn't it will change a few things.

tommyh99

Pulaski, yes, my GF is a US citizen so it seems reasonably straightforward. Sounds like the CR-1 is going to be the best route for me, thanks for clarifying all that.

Now just the daunting process of getting married, applying and getting everything approved!

az2014

Interesting thread!

Im Croatian..which part did you meet her in? I also live in London..work for 'public transport'...its better than a lot of other countries!

Met my girlfriend while on holiday too, in Greece, she lives in New York. We are gonna get married over there when I come on my B2, very very simple, but shes gonna be the one making the move to here, at least for a few years so we can go travelling as it would be impossible if we were both over there.

We are going to Miami in June to check it out..havent been yet.

Good luck with your love journey!