Hi,

I intend to get married to a US girl - She has a green card but not US citizenship - although she has been in America for the last ten years.

What is the best way to do this in order to minimise

1) Amount spent on legal and processing fees
2) The quickest way to do this?

3) How much it should all cost?

I ve read all about Direct Consular Filing for marriage purposes - But I dont think its available in London

Thanks


Do you have to be engaged in order to get married - We actually got engaged a long time ago and had an engagement party but did nt think the US giverment would wat to know

Can I just apply to get married now or do I need a K1 Visa

The K visa is only available for spouses of US Citizens. And the waiting period for spouses of permanent residents can be several years. Easiest path would be for her to become a US Citizen, then you could file with no waiting period.

Firstly she needs to file for Citizenship, that will take perhaps 6 months to a year.

Is there any reason she can not?

Then she can petition for you as a fiancee or a spouse depending on whether you what suits best for you.

I think that last time I looked the wait for a spouse of a permanent resident was 7 years, but if hse has been a PR for 10 years and meets the other requirements by far the quickest route will be to get her Citizenship first.

Or her move of course.

DCF is available in London, but she would need ILR Status in the UK, if she has that she would likely have issues retaining her PR status and obtaining Citizenship.

She doesn't need ILR, it varies with every case and the amount of time you have been present in the UK.

I have been here for 3 and 1/2 years but have LLR and I could still DCF...

Joey,

You've asked a number of interrelated but disorganized questions. You might want to have a consultation with a US immigration attorney who can extract all of the relevant facts of your situation from you, organize them, and lay out your options for you. The cost of a consultation will not be significant in relation to the total cost and may end up saving you money.

Yodrak

Has anyone used a good immigration lawyer in New Yorl?

I was wondering whethe rto do this in New York or London - ie have a London lawyer look at this rather then a New York one - Which would you go for.........

Yodrak advised a US attorney... take his advice. He's forgotten more than any of us will ever know about any of this.

Jen

We require evidence in the form of a photocopy of the leave to remain stamp in the petitioner's passport (must also include a photocopy of the photo page of U.S. passport) or a letter from the Home Office confirming the petitioner's status in the United Kingdom; or a copy of the petitioner's orders if he/she is a member of the U.S. military stationed in the United Kingdom.

Lawful Permanent Residents may only file with this office if they are in possession of a valid Reentry Permit:

Joey,

In your situation - choice of London v New York - I don't think it would make any difference where the US immigration attorney is practicing. It might depend more on which of you - you or your fiancee - is the best person to answer the questions that the attorney will ask to get an understanding of your situation. Ideally I would think that both you and your fiancee would want to participate, so it might depend on who will next visit who in which city.

Yodrak





Jen,

Just to be sure there's no confusion, when I recommended a consultation with a US immigration attorney I did not mean that the attorney had to be practicing in the USA. (A US immigration attorney who I sometimes consult with practices in my wife's country.)

Yodrak

hi Yodrak,

Can you recommend a lawyer ?

PM me is thats better.......

Would teh cost be comparable in US and London?

Thanks

Joey,

The AILA web site has an attorney locator listing AILA-member attornies.

Yodrak