Mark Seymour

Basic info
Have been dating a girl from Kansas area for now coming up to a year and we would like to be together longterm.
Would like some basic advice please on the following questions but if there are other tips please let me know.

1 Do I apply for a fiance or marriage visa

2 How long does it take for the visa to be granted once the application has been submitted.

3 Is it worth employing an attorney or is it easy enough to do yourself.

4 Once I apply for the visa what are my next steps

5 Can I continue to travel to the USA once the process starts if I can prove that I intend to return to the UK ( return flight, job commitments, diary ect )

6 Once Im married when can I leave the USA to sort out my house sale, close business ect.

7 At what point can i start working in the USA

Many thanks in advance
Mark

C_C

1 Up to you. If you go for a fiance visa, you'll have 90 days to get married once you enter the States, and then you'll need to file for adjustment of status. For a marriage visa you'll have to be married before you apply (duh!).

2 6-8 months for a fiance visa (K1), 8-10 months for a spouse visa (CR1)

3 If your case is straightforward without red flags (e.g. big age difference, divorce right before filing for the immigrant visa, violation of US immigration laws or criminal records on your part that could make you inadmissible) then it's easy enough to do by yourselves. You'll still have to do a lot of reading to make sure you get everything right as there's a lot of paperwork and steps involved

4 Go to the top of the page and read the relevant wiki entries. They'll help you a lot as they explain the whole process

5 Yes you can. Whether you'll be admitted to the US with an immigrant visa pending is at the discretion of the IO at the port of entry. If you can prove strong ties to the UK and you don't visit too often while your case is pending, you should be fine

6 If you enter on a fiance visa, I believe you need to apply for advance parole to leave the US, as getting a green card will take a few more months (you'll have to go through the adjustment of status process first). If you enter on a spouse visa, your green card will be produced shortly after your entry and should be sent to you within a month or so of entry. As soon as you get the green card you'll be fine to go. Just don't stay outside the US for too long (the usual recommendation is no more than 6 months continuously) or you may be putting your Permanent Resident status in danger.

7 If entering on a fiance visa, you'll first have to apply for Employment Authorization before you can start working (takes about 3 months) and you'll be doing adjustment of status at the same time. If entering on a spouse visa, pretty much from day one, although you still won't have your green card or social security card in hand for the first few weeks.

meauxna

Please review the answers to your last thread and the pinned topics at the top of the forum. That will help with some of the FAQs.

ian-mstm

Did she move away from Missouri?

Ian

ian-mstm

We have a Wiki (blue bar top of page) that answers all of these questions. I suggest you read it first before asking random questions that have already been answered in myriad other threads.

Ian

Mark Seymour

Ian
Kansas City is in Missouri !

Mark Seymour

Hi CC
Many thanks for your answers. and Marriage will be the route we take.

Sorry if this is duplicated

1 Does Kim apply now for marriage licence and then in 8/10 months we go ahead and have a ceremony as I thought it was illegal to enter the USA with the intention to marry ?
2 We could marry in the UK... would that be easier or more complicated

Thanks
Mark

C_C

1 No, for the marriage visa (CR-1) you need to get married first (civil or church ceremony is up to you) and only then - as soon as you have your marriage certificate in hand - you can apply for the visa. It takes 8-10 months from initial application to final approval - several steps in between. It's not illegal as long as you intend to enter, marry and return to your home country to do the immigrant visa process. It would be illegal if you entered with the intention of marrying AND staying in the US immediately without the proper visa. Marrying in the US and going back to the UK is absolutely fine and legal. Still, do make sure that you can prove strong ties to the UK and that you ARE going back.
Re the marriage license: look at your State's regulations for issuance of marriage licenses - each State has a little different requirements.

2 Again this is up to you, but generally, it's easier in the US. Usually both people have to show up at their local registrar's office with proof of ID, pay the fee, swear that they're telling the truth, and the marriage license is issued there and then. In the UK your fiancee would need a special license from the government as she is an overseas national, similar to a fiance visa which could take around 3 months to get. If you want the easiest option, I'd go for a US wedding.

Good luck.

ian-mstm

Fair enough... you never said Kansas City. In another thread you said she lived in Missouri, and in this thread you said she lived in the "Kansas area". Although not an issue here, being precise will really pay off as you deal with US immigration!


Did you read the link provided and our Wiki?


It is not illegal to enter the US to marry. It is illegal to enter the US to marry and then stay to adjust your status.

You marry first. Once you have the marriage certificate, Kim submits the I-130 to start the process. In 8-10 months, you'll enter the US with an immigrant visa and immediately become a US permanent resident (= green card).


More complicated. You can marry in the US on the VWP; she needs a visa to marry in the UK.

Ian

Mark Seymour

Thanks Ian

jeffreyhy

One of them is, there's another one across the river in Kansas.

That aside, you didn't write 'Kansas City', you wrote "Kansas area", so when one references only a state name readers tend to not realize that you are really writing about an entirely different state.

Regards, JEff

Slartybardfast

I am responding only to your item (7) as others have done a good job answering the others.
Regarding when you can start working this may also help: If you make your Port of Entry (POE) as JFK Airport then I believe you should be able to get your passport stamped with a temporary work permit - think its good for up to 90 days. I immigrated on a K1 Fiancee visa via JFK and got the work permit stamp on arrival when going through immigration. At the time (January 2007) I understood that JFK was the only POE doing this. I was advised to wait a couple of weeks before applying for a social security number (Americans wont believe you exist without one) to allow my details to get into the system - and it worked out fine. With your 90-day work permit on arrival you should be able to start work immediately, but as your employer will need your social security number, you may find it better to wait for that before you start.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Noorah101

We still don't know for sure if Mark is coming over on a K-1 or an Immigrant Visa, so your answer is for the K-1.

However, times have changed, and now the employer needs to fill out an I-9 form for everyone he hires. Unfortunately, the temp 90-day EAD stamp given out at JFK is no longer a valid hiring document on the I-9. Therefore, even if Mark enters on a K-1 and gets the temp EAD stamp at JFK, he won't be work authorized until he gets his EAD in hand. It takes about 90 days from filing AOS to get EAD in hand.

If Mark decides to marry and then do the Immigrant Visa, he becomes a US PR when he enters the USA, and is work authorized from Day 1.

Rene

Noorah101

Hi Mark. We understand that marriage will be the route you'll take. The K-1 fiance visa is also a marriage-based visa. Do you mean you'll be getting married first, and then taking the Immigrant Visa route? That will help narrow down the answers you get. People are still thinking you might do the K-1 visa.

Rene

Slartybardfast

How times have changed! Guess I just squeaked-in