Help! US citizen marrying an Irish citizen, what do we do?

[nikkioooo 0]

Hey everyone!

I am a US citizen and my boyfriend who's Irish is moving here in June on a J1 visa. We are planning on getting married in July...and we're thinking of going to Vegas to do it, but I heard that was a bad idea? I need to know if we need to hire an attorney, if not what paperwork do I need? Also, can he live here while everything is being processed? If anyone has any suggestions or knows what to do, help would definitely be appreciated

Edited April 6, 2011 by nikkioooo

[Anh map 2,098]

Does the J1 visa have a home residency requirement? It would be printed on the visa itself.

[nikkioooo 0]

Does the J1 visa have a home residency requirement? It would be printed on the visa itself.

Ugh were not sure yet! he's waiting to get in the mail, I asked someone in immigration the same question and they couldnt give my any information on what to do unless I knew that as well. does it make a big difference? I dont even know what that term means to be honest!

[JoannaV 173]

Essentially: if it's not subject to the home residency requirement, then you can get married then adjust his status. But if it is, then he cannot get residency in the US until he has returned to his home country and lived there for 2 years, though you can attempt to apply for a waiver of this.

Now, it shouldn't be too hard for you to get residency in Ireland for two years, so it's possible that you could live there once his time in the US is up and then decide whether to return to the US. Just another option :-)

There is no problem with you marrying your boyfriend in Vegas whenever you want, and living in the US whilst he is on his J1 visa. The potential hurdle is his getting permanent residency.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

***** Moving from K3 to AOS from Work... forum as op's fiance is considering adjusting status from J1 *****

The J1 is not a dual intent visa. Thus, while you can certainly get married while he is here, he is not supposed to come here with the intent to get married and adjust status/ immigrate. Getting married so quickly after he arrives, and obviously planning it now, could cause issues with AOS. How long is his J1 for? The best option may be to get married, then apply for a CR-1 spousal visa; kit will take about 8-12 months to process, and he then returns to Ireland for the medical and interview.

[Irishlover 2]

Getting a lawyer is very unnecessary. Use this site for your questions and you will be just fine... I don't know much about the j1, but I don't due to first hand experience, that if you wanted to go back to Ireland while the residency visa was in process (CR-1) then you will have no problem. I am a USC and have been here for a year and just got my GNIB card renwed for another 4 years. Ireland is a very no hassle country when it comes to living here! Good luck.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Why not cancel the J-1 and apply for a K-1?

[Ironman140 45]

Why not cancel the J-1 and apply for a K-1?

I second that ;-) ????

[Little_My 463]

If your boyfriend has been issued a J1 visa, I assume he is coming here to go to school / do research? How long is that visa for? As mentioned by Penguin, J1 is a NON-immigrant visa - i.e. you are not supposed to intentionally use it to come to the US with the specific intent to immigrate. Had he come here with the J1, and then a year down the road for whatever reason you two decided to get married, that would have been fine - but you obviously are planning to marry and for him to immigrate already, which is violationg the terms of the visa.

Now, whether or not this would actually be a big problem in the AOS process is impossible to say. If he was asked a direct question about his intentions in the US when entering, and he knows he is going to get married and lies, that can come and bite you up in the a**. If for some reason he was pulled over for secondary inspection and grilled in more detail, he would either A) lie, which is always a very bad idea, or B) Admit to planning to marry a USC while on J1, which most likely would lead the IO to deny entry, since he would be attemtping to enter with a non-immigrant visa with obvious immigrant intent.

I'd say do one of the following..

1. He comes as J1, you two forget about the marriage plans for a while, see how it goes.. and, who knows. Plans change, things happen. But don't plan ahead too much at this point. If he is at any point asked about a US girlfriend, he should just be honest. I was with my F1, and had no problems getting it though I told the interviewer I had an American boyfriend.

2.Forget J1, go for K1 fiance visa. If he is planning to come here to study and his program is scheduled to start in the Fall, he would have to postpone that. You apply for the K1 visa which will allow him to enter as your fiance, then you have 90 days to marry in the US, and once you are married, you file for AOS to permanent resident.

3. CR1. Cheaper than K1 - don't know if it is that much faster. You get married first (US or Ireland, doesn't matter, but if in the US he MUST leave after the marriage) and apply for CR1 spousal visa. He is in Ireland during the process, but when his petition is approved he can enter as legal permanent resident and start working - or studying - immediately upon entry.

He probably has paid for the J1 visa already, so abandoning that route might not feel like the best option. Ultimately, the decision is yours to make. Just make sure that you are familiar with all of the possible ways to go about this, and that you know the risks (if any) associated to all of them.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Mrs.Finland-USA

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

The only issue here is the potential home requirement of the J-1.

Yes, the J-1 is not an immigrant visa, but nor is the K-1 or the B2, people! The guy comes to the US to go to school here or work for a certain amount of time. During this time he's allowed to live, go to bars, meet people, get laid, and -- should he decide to do so -- get engaged and get married.

Afterward, it would be ludicrous to abandon his US gig in order to go home to Ireland and apply for a CR-1. For these cases, exactly these cases, the AOS process was put into place.

Nikkio,

if he has no home requirement attached to his J-1, there will be no issue in adjusting status. None.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

Bob- I would agree with you if they met while he was on a J1, or even if they "spontaneously decided to get married" a few months after he arrived, but getting married a month after arriving on the J1 WILL look suspicious. Doesn't mean that AOS will be denied, but it might, and then there is the potential of a ban.

[nikkioooo 0]

So, it sounds like, once he gets that visa in the mail and he has no home requirement attached then there will be no problems? Also, if its sketchy that we get married a month into it, then we have no problems waiting...

should we cancel the J1 and get the K1 or will it not make a difference?

If we stick with the J1 and he IS subject to the home requirement would we for sure be able to change it??

[nikkioooo 0]

***** Moving from K3 to AOS from Work... forum as op's fiance is considering adjusting status from J1 *****

The J1 is not a dual intent visa. Thus, while you can certainly get married while he is here, he is not supposed to come here with the intent to get married and adjust status/ immigrate. Getting married so quickly after he arrives, and obviously planning it now, could cause issues with AOS. How long is his J1 for? The best option may be to get married, then apply for a CR-1 spousal visa; kit will take about 8-12 months to process, and he then returns to Ireland for the medical and interview.

Penguin, the J1 is for four months...once we get married and apply for the CR-1...can he stay here while its processing? This is the issue were having...he's planning on moving here not just staying for the four months, so when that J1 comes to an end, were trying to figure out a way that he doesnt have to go home and wait for two years or whatever to apply for a new visa!

[nikkioooo 0]

What if we get married as soonas he arrives? We're going to be living together and getting a joint account etc. Would that not be enought grounds to have his J1 waiver status changed? What you guys opinion on the best way to get him here and not have him to leave legally? Cause he has flights booked for June

Also how much is the K1??

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

He couldn't stay while the CR-1 is processing, but he could visit on the visa waiver program.

No need to cancel the J1, but one option would be to start the K1 now, and you should have it by the end of the year- still would mean he has to go home for a few months, but not as long as for the spousal visa. Downside is the K1 is more expensive and once he gets back to the USA, it will take a few months until he can work.

The home stay requirement is often waived, but not always.