I'm hoping someone could help me with an answer I recieved from an immigration lawyer in the USA.
Basically he told me that if I entered the US on the visa waver program (I'm a British citizen) and got married they would immediately file for a Petiton for Alien Relative (I-130?) and also an Application for Employment Authorization which takes 6 to 8 weeks to come through. Although the petition takes up to a year I could start work a lot sooner.
Does anyone no if this is correct?
My fiancee has arranged for a face to face meeting just to be on the safe side.


Thanks

If you enter on a VWP and tell the officer at the POE you are here to get married and file for Adjustment of Status and EAD you will be on the first flight back to the UK.....

You need a K1 visa to enter the US with the intent of getting married and remaining....

Kez

It is fraud to enter US like a tourist with the intention to get married.

People do abuse the visa waiver program in this way, but also can and do run into problems at the AOS interview, when the interviewing officer suspects that the visa waiver program was missused and the original intent was to enter the USA and then file for AOS in the first place. If they suspect visa fraud they can just as well deny the AOS and kindly ask you to leave the country, and then you will need to file a waiver to overcome this.

It is always best to file for the correct spousal visa (K-1, K-3, CR-1) and enter the country correctly.

It boils down to intent, did you or did you not intend to commit visa fraud.

WHY DOES THIS QUESTION GET ASKED IN SO MANY WAYS?

That's what I thought. But as the reply came from an immigration lawyer I wanted to double check. We have been looking at the K-1 visa but the K-3 visa seems a better option if we want to get married within the next 6 months.
Does anyone know if travel to the US is allowed while the forms for the K-3 are being processed?

Thanks again

Yes many do while K-1, K-3 or CR-1 visa is being processed, you need to show strong ties back home, like letter from employer, property deeds, ect.

I'm in a similar situation. I am a U.S. citizen and married to a U.K. citizen. We applied for a K-3 visa which was approved via a 129F. Once the application went was forwarded to the consulate in London, they are saying the marriage is not a civil marriage. We had a religious ceremony performed and were misinformed that it would serve as both a civil and religious marriage. So basically, USCIS approved my petition but the consulate has denied the visa.

I went to the local USCIS office to speak with an immigration officer. She informed me that if my K-3 is denied I can re-apply for the K-1. However, she told me a better option would be to have her come on a visa waiver, get married immiediately via court marriage. Then file an I-130, I-485, and travel and employment authorization the last 2 are optional.

I'm evaluating my options, she did indicate that questions would arise during the interview but that being a U.S. citizen I shouldn't have any problems answering the questions.

Hope this helps.

I'm curious why the consulate determined that your religious ceremony was not a valid one. Did you have a marriage license that you, your spouse and the person officiating the marriage signed after the religious ceremony?

USCIS have told many people this..... but USCIS do not admit people into the US that is done by CBP officers at each POE.... now if you show up on a VWP and the officer askes you "what is the purpose of your visit"? and you reply "I an here to get married and then file for AOS" even when you say you were told to do it this way you will find yourself denied entry and on the first flight back to the UK (at your expense) and never being able to use the VWP again....

Now if the officer does not ask you and you do not say, and you are admitted to the US then you could file for AOS and remain.... you may be asked to prove you did not have intent on entry but there again I have never seen anyone on here denied for doing AOS from a VWP....

It all comes down to how much of a risk you are willing to take....

Kez

Looks like the K-3 visa is the best option personnally. Going straight through on a visa waiver seems too risky although I still keep seeing lawyers claiming it as a way of staying in the US after marrige. Am trying to get as much information with regards to processing times, but how did everyone else manage the weeks or months apart? If I go back and forth to the US under the visa waiver program does anyone know if the allowed 90 days covers the entire year or just that one entry i.e. can I stay in the US for up to 90 days, leave and then come back for a further 90 days? assuming I could afford to stay unemployed for that length of time.

I agree that going through the VWP in your case and then adjusting is too risky. For me personally, I wouldn't do it even if I knew I wouldn't get caught because I'm a stickler for doing things right.

You can enter under the VWP repeatedly without a certain time period in between, but each time you enter it's up to the discretion of the immigration official. I would think that as long as you're traveling all the way back home each time and continually providing proof of your ties to your home country and proof you don't need to work, you should be okay. A mortage/lease agreement, return ticket dated less than 90 days out, and for extra padding maybe even a letter from someone in your family who depends on you for some type of support (if that's the case).

In case you didn't know, it's okay to travel under the VWP, get married in the US, and then return home again. Bring all your proof of ties to your home country and make the return ticket for way less than the full 90 days and you'll be good to go.

Something else - I obviously don't have a clue about your financial situation or hers, but something you might want to consider, especially if being together is the most important thing, is what my husband and I did. He entered the states under the VWP, we got married and then applied for a UK spousal visa (that is a very easy process and takes only a couple weeks but now costs £500) and I returned to the UK with him. We're now living in the UK together and have filed our I-130 directly with the London USCIS office, that process only takes about six months to get a CR1 visa, which has a lot of advantages over the K3 visa. Once she was in the UK for six months, you would also be able to do the same. Here's a link about it -

http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

So in that way, it would be just over a year or so before you had the CR1 immigrant visa, which results directly in a green card and work authorisation at point of entry. That's about the length of time it takes through the US service center, but doing it this way means you wouldn't spend any time apart or have any worries about being denied entry when visiting under the VWP. In fact, with the adjustment of status fees possibly about to go up, I don't think my suggestion would actually end up being too much more expensive.

If you have a better job in the UK than she does in the states, I would say that's definitely something to consider. She might also find it a good experience to learn about your country and spend time with your family - I know that it's been a great adventure for me, sometimes hard but not something I would change for anything.

Thanks for all that information. I hadn't considered the spousal form for this country option and shall forward that idea on. She has the better career but is self employed but gives us a bit of leeway in what we can and cannot do.
Thanks again