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-   -   marrying an american woman (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/marrying-american-woman-106501/)

smith69 Feb 1st 2002 3:41 am

hi i was wondering if anyone can i am marrying an american woman in march and its a spur of the moment thing and i have no visa except my tourist visa is it possible to marry her and then get the visa when i come back to england or is it easier there

Kim Feb 1st 2002 9:22 am

smith69 <[email protected]>
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You can certainly marry here on a tourist visa and then do the AOS but you must be
extrememly careful when entering the US because if the INS officer finds out you are
coming here to marry a USC he/she will turn you away. The point is to NEVER lie to
the INS officer when asked the purpose of your visit, but also don't volunteer more
information than they ask for. I don't know what kind of answer you will give to the
INS questions but remember that if they are not satisfied with your answers they
still have the authority to turn you away. You say this is spur of the moment but
you're actually planning on entering the US with the intention of marrying a USC and
this is tricky indeed. I know it's been done many times before and people will
continue to do this but proceed at your own risk. I've read on this NG and others
that people were sucessful in gaining entrance to the US on a tourist visa with the
intention of marriage to a USC but it required hard proof that the alien had a
compelling reason to return to their home country. If you marry in the US and decide
to return to England, remember that you still risk being turned away from the US
should you decide to return with only the toursit visa. If the INS knows you have a
USC spouse they will view you as an intending immigrant and require you to return to
your home country to apply for the proper visa. If you decide to marry in the US and
then return to England, you'll need to go through the K-3 visa process. If you decide
to go the tourist marriage route, don't show up at the US POE with anything in your
luggage which would cast suspicion on your reason for the visit (i.e. wedding rings,
copies of corresponsdence with your fiance talking about the marriage, more "stuff"
than the INS officer thinks you'll need for a 90 day visit). Perhaps that sounds a
bit paranoid but it wouldn't look good for your luggage to be inspected and a wedding
ring be found. Anyone else here want to point out what I'm sure I've left out?

MarkW Feb 1st 2002 1:54 pm

Kim's giving good advice but let me add this: If you marry her while you're here and do not file your I-130 and AOS and then wait for an approved Advance Parole before you leave the country again, you WILL NOT be able to come back and complete the process here. You will be required to file the petition abroad through the consulate (3 or 4 month process).
My advice is to marry (if you're sure that's what you want to do), file and wait for advance parole. Most districts don't take more than a month or so to issue this.
Mark

smith69 Feb 1st 2002 7:54 pm

hi
 
i would like to say a big thank you for both of your help and i just wanted to ask one more thing if i marry her on a tourist visa do i do the paperwork there and if so where would i get it from to fill it in advance

MarkW Feb 1st 2002 8:42 pm

Not sure I understand what you mean by "there" but if you are asking whether you should fill in the paperwork before you get here, don't. If you choose to enter on a B-1, get here, get married THEN fill out the paperwork and file.
Mark

smith69 Feb 1st 2002 9:15 pm

thanxs mark
 
hi well thanks for your help i was wondering if i get the paper work when i am in the states where would i get it from and would it be worth it if my girlfriend got it a couple of weeks before i arrive in the states

MarkW Feb 1st 2002 9:21 pm

There are alot of forms so, yeah, it might be good idea for her to get familiar with them. The forms are available at http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-485.htm Download the whole package of forms. If you run into any difficulty you can email me.
Mark
[email protected]

smith69 Feb 1st 2002 10:34 pm

hi
 
thanxs mark for your help there are a lot of things on the site but what do i need to go too

MarkW Feb 2nd 2002 1:05 am

This is the link to the whole package. I think it includes the I-130 but if it doesn't you'll need that too. http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee...s/i-485pk1.pdf

smith69 Feb 4th 2002 12:25 pm

hi
 
hi again well i just wanted to know something about the marriage visa because it says we need to get married within 3 months of me entering the united states and i was wondering is it possible that they would extend it by another 2 or 3 months if possible and if so how would i go about finding out

many thanks
justin

Betastar Feb 4th 2002 1:03 pm

On Mon, 04 Feb 2002 13:26:27 GMT, smith69 <[email protected]> spake:

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I think you mean the fiance visa...

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No, it is not possible to extend it.

Rete Feb 4th 2002 1:20 pm

Smith

You are talking about a Fiancee Visa not a marriage visa. The K-1 is designed so that the foreign fiancee interviews eventually at the US Consulate in their country and gets permission to enter the US to marry the USC. This is not what you were asking about. You were asking about entering the US as a tourist and then marrying your USC fiancee and staying and adjusting status.

If you can make a clean entry, then you can do that. If you had a formal tourist visa, B-1, rather than using the visa waiver program it usually means you can stay in the US for longer than 90 days.

However, if you really wanted to marry this person, why are you wanting to wait 5 to 9 months until you marry after you enter the US? Do you have enough funds to support yourself in all that time without working? Is your fiancee willing to support you while you sit around doing nothing but being a tourist?

Check out the URL's below my signature. The first set for the K-1 describes the Fiancee Visa. The Doc Steen site describes the I-130/I-485 if you come here as tourist and marry.


smith69 Feb 4th 2002 3:06 pm

hi
 
thanks for your help the only reason i want to wait longer before i marry is because we want to organise and get everyone we want there and also put some money by to help pay for it in stead of being made to marry after 3 months

Rete Feb 4th 2002 4:06 pm

Well since you obviously want a large wedding with out of state and out of country attendees then DO NOT come into the US with a tourist visa and marry and file for adjustment of status. To do so would be obviously fraudulent. A simple justice of the peace would be appropriate with few, if any guests. Since you cannot work in the US until after your marriage (if you enter with a tourist visa), how were you planning on organizing and paying for a large wedding reception? It is not viable.

Do yourself a favor and use the I-129F/K-1 Fiancee Visa route. It is foolproof for a couple such as yourselves and will allow to remain in your country to work and save money for the special day. Plan on coming into the US close to your wedding time and you will be fine.

Rita

smith69 Feb 4th 2002 4:11 pm

hi
 
hi thanks for all your help and you have a good day i am pretty new to this but thanks


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