UK to USA immigration

[NCPilot 0]

I am engaged to a United Kingdom citizen, and right now I live in the USA, and she lives in the UK. She wants to immigrate to the USA and set up a tattoo polar business (she's very talented when it comes to art and body art). However, neither one of us has done anything like this, so we're kinda lost on what we need to do. So far everyone is saying that we should get married, and that will make the immigration process easier. However, we don't know if that would be a good idea as it may appear to the US Immigration Department that we just got married just so she can get her visa.

Well that, and we do have our own wedding plans, which include getting married in the Appalachia mountains on October 13th (2013 or 14) with all of our family and friends in attendance.

So can anyone help us out, please?

[LeftCoastLady 441]

If you have definite wedding plans and the goal is for your fiancée to move to the U.S. then either the fiancée or spousal visa would work for your situation. You're already engaged, so the intent to immigrate is present, so unless she's only marrying you to come to the U.S., that should not be an issue.

There are pros/cons to the K-1 and the IR-1/CR-1, so to start, you should check out the comparison chart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

One thing to note, the K-1 isn't really ideal if you have a specific wedding date in mind as there is no control over when you will have the petition approved or when the actual visa interview will occur. There is some room for delaying entry into the U.S., but you would still be at the mercy of having everything approved in time. So, if getting married on October 13 is a non-negotiable, opt for the spousal petition. Just know that she will need to return to the UK.