Procedure of getting married and getting a green card.

[craftercool 7]

Hi there!

I have like... a thousand questions

My fiance (a US citizen) and I are already living together in Mexico, now, we want to go to El Paso Tx with her family, we're about to get married there but we are like "which are the next steps?", "how can I start working legally?", "where should we go (or do) after the wedding?".

I can go legally to the US with my visa but I understand that I cannot stay just because I marry her there, so, after being married what should we do?

And also, something that worries me a lot, from what point in the Green Card process I won't be able to leave the American territory? (and for how long?)

Thank you in advance for any help they you could provide me about this matter.

Edited June 22, 2015 by craftercool

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

What kind of visa have you got currently?

If it is just a tourist visa, you must go home to Mexico after the wedding. The US citizen spouse then petition for a CR-1 spousal visa. It takes about a year to process; you can visit during that time on your tourist visa, but you cannot work or live in the USA.

[craftercool 7]

Yeah it just a tourist visa, I understand that I would need to return to Mexico but I was told that once that my wife started my green card procedure I would be able to leave the U.S.

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

Yes you can leave the USA, no problem. Like I say, it takes about a year and you can go to the US to visit your wife if she decides to live in the US, just make sure not to breech the terms of your tourist visa, ie no overstays, no work etc.

[craftercool 7]

Excellent Penguin_ie thanks for the info.

[KierenHby 897]

And once married and then entering the US on tourist visa.. make sure to carry proof of your ties to Mexico to show at the border.

[craftercool 7]

Oh now that you mention it, I was told that there was a way to stay there (in the U.S.) and then my wife make the petition and get the SSN and the work permission in about 3-4 months. Does anyone knows anything about it? Is it true? How could we achieve that?

And once married and then entering the US on tourist visa.. make sure to carry proof of your ties to Mexico to show at the border.

[MacUK 983]

Oh now that you mention it, I was told that there was a way to stay there (in the U.S.) and then my wife make the petition and get the SSN and the work permission in about 3-4 months. Does anyone knows anything about it? Is it true? How could we achieve that?

No, entering the US with a tourist visa with intent to stay is immigration fraud.

[craftercool 7]

I didn't mean that, let me restate my question: how is it faster to get my green card once we're married?

1. My wife starting the procedure from the U.S. while I'm back at my country

2. My wife starting the procedure from Mexico while we are here but already married in the U.S.

No, entering the US with a tourist visa with intent to stay is immigration fraud.

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

The fastest way would be if she lives in Mexico with you officially (not sure what kind of visa she'd need for that from Mexico). If she lives there for more than 6 months, she can file DCF- ie file for the spousal visa directly with the embassy.

[craftercool 7]

We have a year living together in Mexico, so if this month we go to the U.S. and get married, then we get back to Mexico and she files the petition in the U.S.A. embassy (in Mexico): That would be the fastest way?

The fastest way would be if she lives in Mexico with you officially (not sure what kind of visa she'd need for that from Mexico). If she lives there for more than 6 months, she can file DCF- ie file for the spousal visa directly with the embassy.

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

Yes, definitely. We went that route (in a different country) and got the visa in less than 2 months, though that is fast even for DCF.

Check out our DCF forum for more questions: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/82-direct-consular-filing-dcf-general-discussion/ but as each country does DCF slightly differently (each embassy having different policies), be sure to also read the Mexican US embassy's website.

[craftercool 7]

Excellent Queen Penguin! That's what I wanted to know Thank you a lot.

Yes, definitely. We went that route (in a different country) and got the visa in less than 2 months, though that is fast even for DCF.

Check out our DCF forum for more questions: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/82-direct-consular-filing-dcf-general-discussion/ but as each country does DCF slightly differently (each embassy having different policies), be sure to also read the Mexican US embassy's website.

[MacUK 983]

We have a year living together in Mexico, so if this month we go to the U.S. and get married, then we get back to Mexico and she files the petition in the U.S.A. embassy (in Mexico): That would be the fastest way?

You don't need to get married in the US, you can get married where you are right now.

[craftercool 7]

Ok new assumption: Since we already have our marriage license, what if we get married at the bridge without me crossing to the US? That way I wouldn't be lying and crossing with the intention of getting married.

Then after married she files the petition either from Mexico or from the US.

What do you think?