UK citizen marrying US citizen in UK but want to live in USA

[UKate1 0]

Hi everyone,

I just got engaged and I am beginning this VISA process. I have no idea where to start. Here is my story so far so hopefully you can help me with the type of VISA I should be applying for?! I am so very confused.

I have had a US visa as a student that expired this Xmas 2012. I just got engaged and currently I travel to see my fiance on a the Visa Waiver program. We want to get married in the UK but live in the USA. Do I still get a fiance's K1 visa and change the status. Or is the CR1 Visa for me? Can I start the CR1 visa process before I get married or does this have to be after we marry? Are these even the correct Visas?

Thanks - I really appreciate any help!

Kate

Edited September 11, 2013 by UKate1

[Lainie B 465]

You would either have to get a K-1 and marry in the US (not in the UK), or marry and start the CR-1 process (you can't start before you get married).

[britishdakota 18]

One think you are overlooking is that the UK requires foreign nationals subject to immigration controls to have a visa to enter the UK with the intent to marry. This applies whether they intend to stay or not.

If you do get married and then want to move to the USA you will need to go through the CR1 process, at the moment this is incredibly slow.

You can apply for a K1 to enter the USA to marry, you will need to marry in the USA within 90days of entry and then adjust status. Currently this process is much faster at getting into the USA.

Edited September 11, 2013 by britishdakota

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

Between the immigration issues of the USA (either start K1 fiance visa now, must get married in the USA- or get married in the UK, then wait almost a year to get the CR-1 spousal visa), and the immigration issues of the UK (must get visa to get married there, even if only staying a week), here is what I suggest:

1. Fly to the USA on the visa waiver program asap, get married legally quickly (court house, Vegas etc), go home to UK

2. Petition for CR-1 spousal visa; it will take 8+ months to get, and once you have the visa, you must use it within 6 months.

3. Have a ceremonial wedding and reception in the UK whenever you are ready; no visa needed since it won;t be a legal thing.

[UKate1 0]

Thanks @QueenPenguin @Junior and @Platinum members. I really appreciate your advice!

I presume that whilst i am waiting for my CR1 to come through I cannot travel to the USA on the Visa Waiver? So my then husband and I would need to live in the UK?

I am here now - can I just go get a marriage license and get married at a little chapel downtown (I live in Reno, Nevada) and it be legal? Don't they get nasty with people who do this?

Is the CR1 visa more expensive that the K1 or vice versa?

Thanks so much - this forum thing is great!

Kate

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You don't need a special visa to marry in the US, so no, people won't get nasty.

You can continue to visit while CR-1 is pending.

CR-1 is cheaper than K-1.

Another option, since you are here, is that you can marry and file to adjust status from within the US. You would not be able to go back to the UK for a few months until you got your travel permission, and you could not work for a few months. But that option is available to you, right this minute.

[justoleme 5]

Thanks @QueenPenguin @Junior and @Platinum members. I really appreciate your advice!

I presume that whilst i am waiting for my CR1 to come through I cannot travel to the USA on the Visa Waiver? So my then husband and I would need to live in the UK?

I am here now - can I just go get a marriage license and get married at a little chapel downtown (I live in Reno, Nevada) and it be legal? Don't they get nasty with people who do this?

Is the CR1 visa more expensive that the K1 or vice versa?

Thanks so much - this forum thing is great!

Kate

I am in the process of this - married in usa in vegas. came home and my usc husband and i got an attorney in usa to do ours.

Do not bother with an attorney they cost a fortune and so many on here will help you.

Ours was filed in January of this year, it has taken 6 months at USCIS , then 6 weeks to get to NVC and now all it says on ceac site is AT NVC. so 9 months down the line we are still waiting for case complete and then get an interview date

At the moment they seem to be taking sooo long to process stuff in either department uscis/nvc.

In the meantime my husband visits me here in UK.

I may add that when you get married you have to change your passport into your married name so that makes your ESTA void, as you have changed passport number and name, and whilst immigrant visa is going through you can't then apply for another ESTA,

If i had my chance again i would have done what our attorney suggested and stayed and adjust of status, then this would have been over and done with by now . however it is your choice what route you take .

Just wanted to give you a brief rundown on my own experience.

Good Luck and God bless.

[TomandCatie 7]

You have a good number of options to choose from. Take a look at the timelines as well, to gauge how fast these certain visas are going. That will help in your decision. I know that RECENTLY (very recently) the K-1 process seems to have sped up a bit. I know of one person who is already at interview stage within 5-6 months. Somewhere around late summer it kind of unblocked itself a bit. It's really a gamble on how long it will take. However, unless you want to spending HUGE amounts of $$$$, get married in the US.

This coming from someone who obtained a fiancee visa to the UK, then a spousal visa to the UK, than afterwards realized, that probably wasn't what I wanted to do. This came from hiring an attorney who was basically a giant scam artist. He might've helped me get approved, but it wasn't the route I was thinking. The only good thing that came out of it was that because I lived here for more than 6 months on those visas, I could get my husband his visa on one of the shortest visa routes However, If I could go back, I would've fired the attorney and found this website!

[Owen_London 65]

Thanks @QueenPenguin @Junior and @Platinum members. I really appreciate your advice!

I presume that whilst i am waiting for my CR1 to come through I cannot travel to the USA on the Visa Waiver? So my then husband and I would need to live in the UK?

I am here now - can I just go get a marriage license and get married at a little chapel downtown (I live in Reno, Nevada) and it be legal? Don't they get nasty with people who do this?

Is the CR1 visa more expensive that the K1 or vice versa?

Thanks so much - this forum thing is great!

Kate

The only comment I would add to Harpa's, above, is this: Getting married in the UK is a big hassle if you don't both live in the UK, and the non-UK resident works. This actually isn't because of the marriage visa requirement, which is much easier to obtain than US visas are, but instead because getting a UK marriage license requires the couple to both be present in the UK for 7 full days, and this can't be immediately before the marriage.

[TomandCatie 7]

Yes, I remember that last year, I had to be in the country 7 days before I could apply for a license, and then they interview you as well. They post your impending marriage on the board, and it has to be up there for around 15-20 days. If no one walks in and dislikes your marriage (creates problems beforehand by lodging a complaint or saying they suspect odd things) then you can get married. I came into the UK about a month and a few weeks before we planned to get married.

[USMatt1 0]

Hi Everyone! Thanks for all of your help and advice. I am UKate1's Fiance. I think I understand scenario and it seems that it really comes down to time and money. I'm assuming that processing times continue to fluctuate and could go in either direction. Since Kate is here in the US currently, it seems like the best option is to get legally married here in Reno, NV and then immediately apply for the CR1 (change of status from Visa Waiver). From what I have learned here, it looks like she will need to be here for a period of time while she gets the CR1? Here is Kate's situation. She has been back to the UK twice since January and has been here in the US for about 5.5 months since January. Every time she comes back to the states on the Visa Waiver, she gets a little nervous because she is fearful of being turned away. She currently has till early November on her current Visa Waiver. If we get married between now and then, do we have to apply for some other type of Visa while waiting for the CR1 or is it legal for her to stay because we got married? I just don't want her to have to go back to the UK after we get married while I stay behind for business. I also noticed something about travel authorization. What is "travel authorization" and what does that entail? If anyone could clarify or correct my interpretation, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Matt

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

If you do the adjustment of status, there is no CR-1 visa, because visas are used to enter countries and she is already here. You would follow this guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

There would be 3-4 months, possibly more, until she can travel, as she needs her EAD/ AP combo card first (travel and work permission). She would be legal to remain in the USA while AOS is processing. We have a forum for people who are adjusting from the BWP, work visas and such if you have more questions about that process specifically once you read the guide above http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/130-adjustment-of-status-from-work-student-tourist-visas/

[Boiler 43,422]

Do you need/want to go back to the UK in the next 3 months or so?

[UKate1 0]

If you do the adjustment of status, there is no CR-1 visa, because visas are used to enter countries and she is already here. You would follow this guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

There would be 3-4 months, possibly more, until she can travel, as she needs her EAD/ AP combo card first (travel and work permission). She would be legal to remain in the USA while AOS is processing. We have a forum for people who are adjusting from the BWP, work visas and such if you have more questions about that process specifically once you read the guide above http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/130-adjustment-of-status-from-work-student-tourist-visas/

Thank you so much for all of your help!

When I got back here this time we weren't engaged when I got here - Matt proposed a couple of days after I got back. So i didn't travel here with the intent of getting immigration or marriage. Those warnings at the top of that guide have scared us a little though... Is it likely for us to have trouble with this Visa? Or is that just there to scare the less genuine cases?

As far as we can tell we have 4 options (our hopes were to marry in the UK so this is focused on that):

- Struggle with the VISA waiver until we get married in the UK and then be apart for months through the CR1 process (A lot of time apart after we are married, time consuming and risky with visa waiver).

- Matt moves to the UK after we get married and I financially support him until either my CR1 comes through or his British work authorization comes through (financial strain, time consuming and risky with visa waiver).

- Marry 'on paper' in chapel in Reno ASAP with no family and get I-130 Visa and have actual ceremony in UK but not official (cheapest?, quickest to get work/travel authorization, won't be able to go home for 90 days)

- I go back to the UK and get a K1 Visa and we marry in the USA (pointless with I-130 option and expensive).

Did we miss anything? We want to have all of our options so we can make the best decision for everyone...

Again thank you so much for your advice - wish we could send you a card and some flowers!

Kate and Matt

[Darnell 8,478]

We want to get married in the UK but live in the USA - I vote you chase after a CR-1 visa, after marriage date.