Howdy,

I'm looking to marry my American fiance and move to the US sometime next year (I live in Nottingham, UK). I've read the guides but my brain is swimming with information at the moment so I was hoping I could get a few points clarified We've already chosen the date we'd like to get married (June 2008), so it's a case of trying to work around this date.

Anyway, a few questions:

* The plan is for me to fly to the US in June, get married and then return to the UK. I don't think there will be time to file a K-1 before June, so the choice is between a K-3 and DCF. If we decide on DCF, does it need to be sent to London or the State which she lives in?
* Would my wife need to file the DCF in person?
* Would there be any problems with entering the US on a visa-waiver to get married and return?

Plan B is to get married in the UK and then file a K-3/DCF, so that it would (hopefully) be ready by June and then we could have a "proper" wedding in the States. Naturally my wallet would prefer to only pay for one wedding, but I don't really like the idea of getting married and then having to sit in the UK for 9 months twiddling my thumbs!

Any advice would be most welcome

Cheers!

Hi Wogan,

There's no problem entering the US on a visa waiver and getting married there, as long as you don't stay in the US after the wedding. My husband and I live in Italy but had our wedding in the US a few years ago. He and all his family entered on a visa waiver, and we all returned to Italy a couple of weeks after the wedding. Now, some years later, we're going through the DCF process to move to the US.

DCF (not an official term but a shorthand way of referring to applying for an immigration visa through the US Consulate of the country of residence) is only for US Citizens who LIVE abroad. If after a US marriage in June, your wife lives with you legally in the UK for a while, then she could petition for your immigration through the Consulate (or actually the USCIS office) in London. She doesn't need to file "in person" but she does need to be resident in the UK, probably for six months, before petitioning there. If instead she remains in the US, the process would need to be initiated in the US for either a CR-1 immigration visa or for a K visa followed by adjustment of status...

Hope this is helpful.

Hello there. It sounds like your future wife lives in the US. DCF is only available for USCs who are resident in the foreign country. Generally, she would have to have a resident visa (such as spousal visa) and show that she had made the UK her home. The general rule is that she has been living in the UK for six months on a resident visa before they'll accept her I-130 in London. It's done by mail and not in person.

Unless she wants to move to the UK, you are looking at quite a long period of separation. It is perfectly fine to marry in the US having entered under the VWP and then leave the US before your 90 days are over. This is in fact what my husband and I did. We got married in the US, got a UK visa for me in Chicago, and then returned to the UK together. That was a year ago. We're now in the DCF process.

I would avoid having to have the legal ceremony in the UK since you're planning to move to the US asap. She'll have to have a visa to marry you in the UK - I'm not sure if she would be able to get a marriage visit visa instead of a fiance visa. If it's the fiance visa, it costs 500 GBP.

Something to consider - go to the US soon and have a quick court ceremony to get legally married, apply for a UK spousal visa for her and return to the UK together. After about six months, have her file the I-130 in London. Then have the fancy pants ceremony in June 2008 in the UK. DCF in the UK takes about six months. An immigrant visa through a US service center and NVC normally takes about a year. So either way, you're looking at a year, but if she can live in the UK with you for a while at least you'd be together.

I can possibly answer a few questions - I did DCF in Canada this summer.

My application was done in it's entirety in Canada. Nothing was sent anywhere in the USA.

I was the beneficiary (foreigner) and I did not have to be in person at the consulate when my husband did the initial application.
I of course had to attend the consulate 8 months later for the interivew.

I don't think you should enter on a visa waiver because they might view that as a bit deceitful (you came to get married, and eventually to immigrate, but presented to the border officials as though you were just a typical 'tourist') That's just my personal opinion though, not sure if it's accurate.

We got married by a justice of the peace (for under $200) in Canada, then immediately started the DCF paperwork. 8 months later with the visa in hand, had a "real" wedding in the U.S. That worked well for us.
Good luck with everything.

Wow, thanks for the responses! Looks like things just got a million times more complicated I hadn't realised DCF was for US citizens who were residents in a different country.

So, it looks like our options are either:
1) Get married in the US, have her move to the UK for 6 months and file the I-130 in London - having big wedding here in June
2) Get married in the US, file for a K-3 and wait for around a year.

I'm pretty sure they won't like me entering on a visa waiver if I'm in the process of applying for a K-3, so that almost rules out the June date.

Thanks for all the help

There's definitely no trouble with entering on the VWP even if you plan to eventually immigrate as long as you don't try to immigrate on that specific entry. After the immigration process has begun, as long as you bring proof of your return to the UK (employer letter, copy of lease/mortgage, return ticket), you should be fine to enter under the VWP. It's possible that your future immigration won't even be brought up when you enter for a visit.

The K3 won't take quite the whole year, but there are big advantages to toughing it out for the CR1 visa - it results in a green card as soon as you use to enter the states and you're able to work and apply for SSN right away. Plus the original purpose of the K3 was that it used to take a lot longer than a year to get an immigrant visa, so they introduced the non-immigrant K3 visa to bring families together sooner. The cost and hassle of adjusting status in the US and the wait for work authorisation pretty much make the K3 useless for couples when the foreign spoouse is from a place where immigrant visas rountinely take just a year or a bit less (which includes the UK).

So I would say, your options sound right, but I'd do CR1 visa instead of K3 visa if you go option two. All you have to do is just file the I-130 and not file the I-129f.

It's not deceitful at all. It doesn't matter what your future immigration intentions are. All that matters is what you intend to do during that specific entry. You don't have to present yourself to the border official as a typical tourist. My husband said he was there to get married to me and then return to the UK.

Looks like it'll be option 2 for us, as she's attending a college course and has pets she doesn't want to leave. It all seems so close, yet so far away. It's frustrating when "normal" couples don't have to jump through all of these hoops, but then where's the fun in being normal?

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!

[quote name='whattodo' date='Sep 18 2007, 03:03 AM' post='1199663']

DCF (not an official term but a shorthand way of referring to applying for an immigration visa through the US Consulate of the country of residence) is only for US Citizens who LIVE abroad.

Hi Whattodo - my daughter and her new husband are just starting the DCF process in hopes of moving back to the states sometime after the first of the year. She arrived in Italy (Naples area) last February. Got their Nulla Osta in early March 2007, which is now more than 6 months ago. They were married July 30 and she's just recently gotten her Italian residence card. Do you have any idea if the 6 months requirement to be able to file directly at the consulate can be based on when she arrived and/or got her Nulla Osta or will it be based on when she officially got her residency?

Thanks -- PD