marriage with travel visa?

[ruthgurt 0]

I met a lovely woman from Indonesia who was traveling to USA via a travel visa. We want to get married. The travel visa is good until the year 2011. Can she return to the USA and marry me with this visa so we do not have to go through the hellish and very long process usually involved in getting one of these marriage visas? Its no big deal, im basically trying to save me the time and energy and complexity involved in filling out all these silly forms. I just want to get the marriage over with. Once im finished with that I dont mind if i have to fill out some paperwork later on (change in visa status?). At the same time I dont want her to try and get on an airplane only to find out she wont be allowed in USA days before th wedding.

[Jenn! 918]

To enter the U.S. with an intention to marry and immigrate while on a tourist visa is immigration fraud.

If your fiancee were to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa for a visit, and you were to get married, the burden would be on you to prove that you did not have intentions to marry when she entered, but instead decided as a "spur-of-the-moment" thing.

In your situation, the best course of action would seem to be filing for a K1 visa.

Best of luck to you.

[kitkat1 5]

I met a lovely woman from Indonesia who was traveling to USA via a travel visa. We want to get married. The travel visa is good until the year 2011. Can she return to the USA and marry me with this visa so we do not have to go through the hellish and very long process usually involved in getting one of these marriage visas? Its no big deal, im basically trying to save me the time and energy and complexity involved in filling out all these silly forms. I just want to get the marriage over with. Once im finished with that I dont mind if i have to fill out some paperwork later on (change in visa status?). At the same time I dont want her to try and get on an airplane only to find out she wont be allowed in USA days before th wedding.

I think almost every person who is engaged to a non-US citizen goes through this line of thought. But if it was that easy, we would all do it.

If she returns to the US on a tourist visa with the intent to marry you, it is illegal. Even if this is not revealed during the discussion with immigration when she arrives on her next trip, it will undoubtedly come up down the road during adjustment of status. And you will be hard-pressed to prove that it was a spontaneous decision to get married and that she did not have intent when she arrived. This will open more than a can of worms for you since it is illegal to entry the US on a tourist visa with intent to marry.

So nope, not an option. Best to put it out of your head and either start researching the K1 Fiance Visa process or looking into other options.

[ruthgurt 0]

ok well is there an easy way to just go through with some kind of visa status change? Do i really gotta go through the full length K1 process? This will take forever.... it takes like 5 months for everything to process! also I will be moving in September and have a million other things to worry about. Is there an easier solution here? I mean she visited U.S.A. the first time with the intent to travel (not marry) so the marriage thing was spur of the moment, we just have not got married yet. She can't come back to USA to marry me? ugh this is annoying. Surely there must be a way so that we dont have to go through the full K1 process? to be honest in Indonesia its MUCH harder to get the travel visa than it is to get a marriage visa, so I dont know why it would be a big deal for her to come here and marry me...

Another idea is what if I went to Indonesia and married her there?

[Jenn! 918]

ok well is there an easy way to just go through with some kind of visa status change? Do i really gotta go through the full length K1 process? This will take forever.... it takes like 5 months for everything to process! also I will be moving in September and have a million other things to worry about. Is there an easier solution here? I mean she visited U.S.A. the first time with the intent to travel (not marry) so the marriage thing was spur of the moment, we just have not got married yet. She can't come back to USA to marry me? ugh this is annoying. Surely there must be a way so that we dont have to go through the full K1 process? to be honest in Indonesia its MUCH harder to get the travel visa than it is to get a marriage visa, so I dont know why it would be a big deal for her to come here and marry me...

Another idea is what if I went to Indonesia and married her there?

Had you gotten married on her first vist, then THAT would have been spur-of-the-moment. Unfortunately now that opportunity has come and gone for you. You now have intent to marry, so her crossing the border and marrying you and then trying to adjust her status would NOT be the legal thing to do. I know it seems like a catch-22 in a way, but that's just the way it is. Sure, she can come here and marry you. But she would have to return to Indonesia and you would need to file a K3 or a CR-1/IR-1. Same thing if you were to marry her in Indonesia.

We've all wished that there was some shortcut, but if you want to do things right, you will have to apply for the appropriate fiancee or spousal visa.

[Cristy 4]

We all have to wait forever (5 months is very optimistic) and it sucks, but that is life.

[meauxna 15]

ok well is there an easy way to just go through with some kind of visa status change? Do i really gotta go through the full length K1 process? This will take forever.... it takes like 5 months for everything to process! also I will be moving in September and have a million other things to worry about. Is there an easier solution here? I mean she visited U.S.A. the first time with the intent to travel (not marry) so the marriage thing was spur of the moment, we just have not got married yet. She can't come back to USA to marry me? ugh this is annoying. Surely there must be a way so that we dont have to go through the full K1 process? to be honest in Indonesia its MUCH harder to get the travel visa than it is to get a marriage visa, so I dont know why it would be a big deal for her to come here and marry me...

Another idea is what if I went to Indonesia and married her there?

Yes.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...custom&page=dcf

btw, 5 months (if only it were that fast) isn't very long in the immigration picture. Check out DCF and see if you can pull it off.

Oh, btw, she can come to the US to marry you, but she can't come to the US, marry you AND stay. But if tying the knot is the main objective, you can do that.

[ruthgurt 0]

ok, fine i will go through the K1 process. However, im moving at the end of September and I kind of want to get the process started BEFORE September . Is there going to be a fast way of making changes to my mailing address? Also, another problem is im marrying a muslim women and its a muslim family and they follow the Islamic rules for marriage, which require me to provide a marriage date. I want to fly down to Indonesia this month to go through the whole proposal process with the family so its not last minute. How am i supposed to give a date for marriage if i dont know how long this process is going to take? roughly how long does it take?

Edited June 12, 2006 by ruthgurt

[tom&tata 2]

Marriage under travel visa is not against the law, IMHO. But come to USA and intend to stay under tourist visa, that is not what the tourist visa was intended for.

You might want to check the DCF option, link provided by meauxna. It is available also for the non resident USC. You can get married in Indonesia & apply for DCF personally in consulate in Jakarta. Short waiting time & less hassle in the future as you will apply for immigrant visa rather than non immigrant visa (as in K-1).

[Cristy 4]

Marriage under travel visa is not against the law, IMHO. But come to USA and intend to stay under tourist visa, that is not what the tourist visa was intended for.

You might want to check the DCF option, link provided by meauxna. It is available also for the non resident USC. You can get married in Indonesia & apply for DCF personally in consulate in Jakarta. Short waiting time & less hassle in the future as you will apply for immigrant visa rather than non immigrant visa (as in K-1).

It is not a matter of opinion. Entering with a travel visa with intent to marry and stay is illegal.

[stinger157 0]

ok, fine i will go through the K1 process. However, im moving at the end of September and I kind of want to get the process started BEFORE September . Is there going to be a fast way of making changes to my mailing address? Also, another problem is im marrying a muslim women and its a muslim family and they follow the Islamic rules for marriage, which require me to provide a marriage date. I want to fly down to Indonesia this month to go through the whole proposal process with the family so its not last minute. How am i supposed to give a date for marriage if i dont know how long this process is going to take? roughly how long does it take?

So far you can't provide a marriage date. So for what do you want to bring yourself in trouble? If they want a marriage date tell them 4 weeks after your fiance received her visa.

So they will have their marriage date. Plus, why should you be the one who follows rules of their country if you don't intent to live there? They can and have to follow rules as well. In this case the rules of USCIS. And USCIS can be a very mean "in-law" if not everything is going the right way.

[kitkat1 5]

ok, fine i will go through the K1 process. However, im moving at the end of September and I kind of want to get the process started BEFORE September . Is there going to be a fast way of making changes to my mailing address? Also, another problem is im marrying a muslim women and its a muslim family and they follow the Islamic rules for marriage, which require me to provide a marriage date. I want to fly down to Indonesia this month to go through the whole proposal process with the family so its not last minute. How am i supposed to give a date for marriage if i dont know how long this process is going to take? roughly how long does it take?

Start by reading the guides. Also read the State Department instructions. You will undoubtedly find information there on how to change your address. Since you will also be changing your address with the US Post office, I don't think this part of it is a big deal worth worrying about.

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrant...es_1315.html#3d

You can certainly follow the Islamic rules for marriage. But no one is able to have an actual marriage date in this process unless you plan it a good year or so from now. Many people first go through a civil or justice-of-the peace marriage and then plan a big wedding in the US later. In fact, DHS recommends that you make no specific plans, do not buy plane tickets, etc. with any visa process because unfortunately there are just too many variables. There is no way to predict exactly how long it will take and since we are in the middle of a nightmare with the new IMBRA law (do a search on IMBRA) we are at an even greater loss than normal to predict timing. Each case is different. Some consulates set interview dates fast, others don't. Some people get delayed based on name hits or other unforeseen issues. Some people (in the past before IMBRA) got through the whole process in 2 months. Others have waited close to a year.

So start by reading about your options as this will help you to make an educated decision.

[Sherlock 0]

It is not a matter of opinion. Entering with a travel visa with intent to marry and stay is illegal.

This is true. However, it is possible to enter on a tourist visa and get married if you remove the "stay" part. It is not illegal if the new spouse returns to her country of origin after the wedding. That's what my wife and I did.

She could come into the country on a tourist visa, then you get married, then she goes back. Then you file the I-130 for spousal visa, and the K-3 so she can come here to wait for approval of the I-130.

I don't know how long this takes, haven't been following processing times as not an issue for us anymore. I will say that when we went through this process in 2004, our I-130 got approved before the K-3. Also, it took so long that we trashed the whole US-filed process and I flew there and did DCF anyway. My wife was here 8 months after the wedding, but could have been here in 2 months had we done the DCF to begin with.

Depending on availability of DCF in Indonesia, that would probably be the best bet, and the fastest. But do the research, each embassy has it's own eligibility rules for DCF.

[TracyTN 237]

Is there going to be a fast way of making changes to my mailing address?

I think its good to remember that NOTHING is ever 'fast' when dealing with the US government, let alone immigration. Keeping that in mind at all times will definitely help your mental health during the process.

Good luck on your journey!

[kev74 0]

I feel for you because I am in the same situation. It crossed my mind too and I asked this very question but I've decided to go the K1 route because i don't want any complications.

Why a K1 visa cannot be issued like a regular tourist visa at the consulate and the fiance(e) allowed to join his/her partner in the US right away while the rest of the process is going on I do not know. It seems really silly to keep 2 people apart who intend to be together anyway, I don't understand it and it frustrates me too but that is just the immigration law for you