Easier to marry in the UK before coming to the USA??

[rocks 494]

Not true?

I came to the UK in January 2011 on a 6-month

tourist visa and got married in north west

England in June 2011. The registrar's

office never asked for a visa.

You cannot enter the UK on a visitors visa knowing that you want to get married. This requires a visit for marriage visa.

Can you come to the UK for marriage or civil partnership?

If one or both of you are abroad

If either partner is not already in the UK, they will need to obtain a visa before they come to the UK to marry or register their civil partnership, unless they:

are a British citizen; or

are a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, or the family member of a national of the EEA who has the right of residence in the UK; or

have a certificate of entitlement in your passport, giving them the right to live in the UK; or

are not subject to immigration control.

[lynndy38 64]

We're definately getting the visit to marry visa.......we will be doing the whole process the legal way!!!

I even bought a fishing license on my last visit just in case we used the lake at the end of the garden.....I'm not taking ANY chances to get into trouble.

We know theres a cost for the CR-1 and that it will take many months of us living apart as man and wife a gruelling interview and medical before Im even close to moving over to him. But we WILL succeed.

Ive just looked on the UK border agency site and it says £78 for the visit to marry visa. Also all the steps on how Eric will have to apply will be on that site too.

[trojam227 18]

lynndy, if you would rather marry in England so you can have your family there with you, it really doesn't take long for your husband to get a UK marriage visa. I got mine in 2 weeks. If your husband absolutely cannot get 3-4 weeks off, than Scotland might be the faster option. Just realize that the US only recognizes a marriage as legal if you follow the laws of the country in which you marry.

[lynndy38 64]

lynndy, if you would rather marry in England so you can have your family there with you, it really doesn't take long for your husband to get a UK marriage visa. I got mine in 2 weeks. If your husband absolutely cannot get 3-4 weeks off, than Scotland might be the faster option. Just realize that the US only recognizes a marriage as legal if you follow the laws of the country in which you marry.

Hi thankyou for the reply,

Yes Eric couldnt leave his business for longer than a week,hes the only doctor,so its costly to bring in a cover Chiropractor.

I am sure......well I was sure that a Scottish marriage would be recognised in the USA.Now you've worried me!!!!

I must look it up!!!! Id imagine many non Scottish residents have married there and its recognised as legal????

The registrar certainly never mentioned it as a problem.

Im off to google it!!!!!

[trojam227 18]

Hi thankyou for the reply,

Yes Eric couldnt leave his business for longer than a week,hes the only doctor,so its costly to bring in a cover Chiropractor.

I am sure......well I was sure that a Scottish marriage would be recognised in the USA.Now you've worried me!!!!

I must look it up!!!! Id imagine many non Scottish residents have married there and its recognised as legal????

The registrar certainly never mentioned it as a problem.

Im off to google it!!!!!

Oh, I am sure it's legal if you follow Scotland's laws. What I meant was if a registry office says your husband doesn't need a marriage visa, don't listen...get one anyway. Whichever country you marry in, just follow the instructions for foreign nationals.

[lynndy38 64]

I totally agree....We will be doing everything legal and even more than legal!!!!!!!!

After 4 years of trans atlantic flights we certainly wont be screwing up at the last(but still rather long)final stage to be together.

To be honest Im rather terrified of all the official steps to come,

Eric and I have lived together(over 4 periods of 3 months at a time) and know each other inside out. We adore and love each other,but now we have to prove it to complete strangers,attend medicals and interviews. BUT I will NOT let all the official and legal stuff get in the way of enjoying getting married.

Hopefully in 18 months or so all this will be behind us and we can start living our lives together.

[trojam227 18]

I totally agree....We will be doing everything legal and even more than legal!!!!!!!!

After 4 years of trans atlantic flights we certainly wont be screwing up at the last(but still rather long)final stage to be together.

To be honest Im rather terrified of all the official steps to come,

Eric and I have lived together(over 4 periods of 3 months at a time) and know each other inside out. We adore and love each other,but now we have to prove it to complete strangers,attend medicals and interviews. BUT I will NOT let all the official and legal stuff get in the way of enjoying getting married.

Hopefully in 18 months or so all this will be behind us and we can start living our lives together.

I know, it's really hard and doesn't seem right that we have to go through all this just to be with the ones we love, but just take each step as it comes. We've also been doing the trans-atlantic relationship for 4 years so I can totally understand how drained you are. The leaving gets harder & harder each time...but it will all be a thing of the past one day soon.

[david'sgirl 134]

Hi thankyou for the reply,

Yes Eric couldnt leave his business for longer than a week,hes the only doctor,so its costly to bring in a cover Chiropractor.

I am sure......well I was sure that a Scottish marriage would be recognised in the USA.Now you've worried me!!!!

I must look it up!!!! Id imagine many non Scottish residents have married there and its recognised as legal????

The registrar certainly never mentioned it as a problem.

Im off to google it!!!!!

If you get married in Scotland it is legal in US (and any place else in the world for that matter). It was simple, a lot less hassle and we applied for the CR1 which got him here much quicker than if we had used the fiance visa. That said, visa times are constantly changing and we did it in 2009. I've sent you an email. If you need anything else let me know. Our details are on the timeline. Best of luck

[lynndy38 64]

If you get married in Scotland it is legal in US (and any place else in the world for that matter). It was simple, a lot less hassle and we applied for the CR1 which got him here much quicker than if we had used the fiance visa. That said, visa times are constantly changing and we did it in 2009. I've sent you an email. If you need anything else let me know. Our details are on the timeline. Best of luck

Thankyou so much for your input Davidsgirl.....I tried replying to your email but it said I could'nt until later on today...how odd!!!!

Im now going into panic overload about the medical as I have suffered with severe depression in the past,also Im 3 years sober (drank during my terrible marriage)No longer needed to when I met fiance!!!!

I have worked SO hard to overcome some personal issues and am scared now I will be penalised for them.

If they say I cant be with Eric after all this heartache of trying to be I'll be just crushed.

I hate having to prove Im genuine and no threat nor danger, to the people I'll probably only meet once for a matter of minutes during the interview/medical process

[david'sgirl 134]

Thankyou so much for your input Davidsgirl.....I tried replying to your email but it said I could'nt until later on today...how odd!!!!

Im now going into panic overload about the medical as I have suffered with severe depression in the past,also Im 3 years sober (drank during my terrible marriage)No longer needed to when I met fiance!!!!

I have worked SO hard to overcome some personal issues and am scared now I will be penalised for them.

If they say I cant be with Eric after all this heartache of trying to be I'll be just crushed.

I hate having to prove Im genuine and no threat nor danger, to the people I'll probably only meet once for a matter of minutes during the interview/medical process

You can search on the forums for other people's experience with the medical.

They are worried about communicable disease and dangerous people. I don't think that a recovering alcoholic with managed depression is a threat and no reasonable physician will forbid entry based on it. You may be asked for your medical records so if you want to head off an RFE I would request a letter from your doctor stating how long you have been sober, what meds you are on etc and bring it to the medical exam just in case it comes up. BTW congratulations on your sobriety. My dad was a very bad alcoholic but got sober back in 1976 and stayed sober until his death a few months ago.

I'll PM you my aol email address as soon as aol is back up. For some reason I cant login!