Help...which do we choose?

[Lissahonee 0]

My fiance and I are planning to marry in the Fall in England. Should we use a fiance visa for him to come back and forth to the US and then after we are married come to the US and then apply for adjustment of status or should we forego the fiance visa and wait until we are married and then apply for a spousal visa - which I assume will mean that he won't be able to come back to the States with my right away after our wedding. Someone told me to get married in England and have him come back to the States on a tourist visa and then apply for adjustment of status...but doesn't that constitute fraud? Has anyone gotten married out of the country and returned immediately with their spouse? Thanks for your help!

[UmmSqueakster 54]

The purpose of a fiance visa is to get married in the United States. It is not for a visit before the wedding.

If you're getting married in England, then you're stuck with a marriage based visa.

Time apart is inevitable.

[payxibka 10,044]

My fiance and I are planning to marry in the Fall in England. Should we use a fiance visa for him to come back and forth to the US and then after we are married come to the US and then apply for adjustment of status or should we forego the fiance visa and wait until we are married and then apply for a spousal visa - which I assume will mean that he won't be able to come back to the States with my right away after our wedding. Someone told me to get married in England and have him come back to the States on a tourist visa and then apply for adjustment of status...but doesn't that constitute fraud? Has anyone gotten married out of the country and returned immediately with their spouse? Thanks for your help!

You need to understand the limitaitons of each visa type. A fiancee visa is not a visa that you can go back and forth on. You will benefit greatly if you do a little research.

Edited January 30, 2007 by fwaguy

[Martin 0]

If K1 VISA (Fiance) works the same for every country that VISA allows your Fiancee to enter to USA (but ONLY ONCE ) being there you have three months (90 days) to marry him, and apply to the change of status.

Usually the K1 VISA expires in 6 months.

Based on my experience, the K1 visa is the faster/better way to do this.

[Lissahonee 0]

If K1 VISA (Fiance) works the same for every country that VISA allows your Fiancee to enter to USA (but ONLY ONCE ) being there you have three months (90 days) to marry him, and apply to the change of status.

Usually the K1 VISA expires in 6 months.

Based on my experience, the K1 visa is the faster/better way to do this.

Thanks to everyone for all the prompt replies! I'm only starting this journey, having gotten engaged last week.

Wow..good thing I asked because when I looked on the US Immigration website, I thought that the fiance visa was good for multiple visits for 3 months but after the three months were up...he either had to get married or get out.

Thanks for your help..

[payxibka 10,044]

Wow..good thing I asked because when I looked on the US Immigration website, I thought that the fiance visa was good for multiple visits for 3 months but after the three months were up...he either had to get married or get out.

Close... One visit for up to 90 days (not 3 mos.). Must get married at anytime during the one visit. If not, get out......

[Lissahonee 0]

Wow..good thing I asked because when I looked on the US Immigration website, I thought that the fiance visa was good for multiple visits for 3 months but after the three months were up...he either had to get married or get out.

Close... One visit for up to 90 days (not 3 mos.). Must get married at anytime during the one visit. If not, get out......

Thanks so much for the clarification. I've been reading through pages and pages of on line stuff and must have missed the one time visit.

I'm trying to tackle two different things at once...US immigration laws and permission to marry in the UK issues.

OK...I see I have a lot of research to do before I ask some more dumb questions... Thanks so much to everyone for their time and comments. You guys are wonderful as you saved me from going down the wrong direction. What a disaster that would have been!

[featherB 1]

Ooh, you really need to read up on this - the guides on here are great for explaining the basics of each option, and also giving some of the pros and cons of each.

I think that's probably a common misconception - that a fiance visa is a visa you get if you are engaged to a US citizen, so you can visit them etc - whereas it's a one-entry-only, must-get-married-within-90-days, cannot-leave-the-US-in-the-meantime (and not for a good while afterwards, either - at least, not if you want to be able to get back in again!) visa...

Have a read of the guides, you'll have a much better idea of which option's going to work best for you. You'll probably have some more questions when you've digested the info a bit, so come back and ask them (well, a browse/search through these forums will probably answer the majority of questions, to be honest, but still - asking to double-check if anything is unclear can't hurt!)... this site is great, you can find so much useful info here and will be able to make sure you're going about everything in the right way!

Edited January 30, 2007 by featherB

[Lissahonee 0]

Ooh, you really need to read up on this - the guides on here are great for explaining the basics of each option, and also giving some of the pros and cons of each.

I think that's probably a common misconception - that a fiance visa is a visa you get if you are engaged to a US citizen, so you can visit them etc - whereas it's a one-entry-only, must-get-married-within-90-days, cannot-leave-the-US-in-the-meantime (and not for a good while afterwards, either - at least, not if you want to be able to get back in again!) visa...

Have a read of the guides, you'll have a much better idea of which option's going to work best for you. You'll probably have some more questions when you've digested the info a bit, so come back and ask them (well, a browse/search through these forums will probably answer the majority of questions, to be honest, but still - asking to double-check if anything is unclear can't hurt!)... this site is great, you can find so much useful info here and will be able to make sure you're going about everything in the right way!

Thank you so much for your kind and upbeat note. I just found this site today and the whole process seems so overwhelming I'm practically in tears here. I've printed out a lot of info to digest and mark up at home so hopefully by tomorrow I'll be a bit more savvy. No doubt I'll have more questions..but hopefully, with the use of this site, I'll become a pro and one day be able to help others in the same situation.

From what I can see on the UK immigration site, I'm thinking it would be quicker and easier for me to emigrate to England...except for the fact that I don't want my two dogs to go into quarantine.

Of course we could have a civil wedding over here...and then the religious ceremony in England...but that would mean having two wedding dates and I really do not want to do that. One wedding is stressful enough. Although it does mean...more anniversary presents!!

[TimsDaisy 0]

I don't think they quarantine dogs anymore.

And for couples with uncomplicated relationships (I mean, no history of immigration problems), the option of visiting while the visa is processing (K1 or K3) may still exist. But there are LOTS of things you'd have to do to safeguard yourselves in the process. After you know your way around this site better, you'll find some good information to help you make that decision.

[JenT 0]

Start here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Congrats on your engagement!!

Jen

[TimsDaisy 0]

If you really want to marry in the fall (and do you mean fall september or fall november/early december?) you need to file like RIGHTNOW for something. i'm guessing the process for getting you into england isn't speedy - but if you want your fiance to have access to the US in the fall, or to get married in the fall, you should be filing your forms quickly. if you only want to get married in the UK, then don't sweat the info on this site too much right now - you can't file your K3 materials until after you are married in the fall. Plan on a 7 month or so wait while that processes (check the "immigration timelines" link at the top of the page - K1 and K3 are about neck-and-neck right now, though people say K3 takes longer).

Be aware as well that there have been some confusion-causing changes lately with something called direct consular filing - which might apply if you were going to the UK to get married and then apply from over there. Don't get too bogged down in the details, my point is that the USCIS website may or may not actually help you clear things up.

The only way to have him come back with you immediately after marriage without fraud is if he's coming to visit and really, really isn't planning to stay here. But you can bet on an almost insurmountable challenge from the boarder people if they get a whiff that you two are married - even if the foreign spouse as a TON of evidence to prove a return to the UK.

[1HappyGuy 45]

You have a lot of work ahead of you. From everything that was said I need to clarify some things. You and your fiance plan to live in America, right? But, you want to have a nice big wedding in England this fall. So, is it possible to have the big wedding in England that is mostly ceremonial and not legally binding? If you can answer yes, then the K-1 is for you. You can file for his K-1 and go through the approval process. The visa is valid for six months from date of issuance.

Then have your big ceremonial wedding in England. Use the K-1 to bring him to America, have a small legal civil wedding and file for adjustment of status (AOS). Then wait for completion of AOS before you plan any trips back to England.

If the marriage ceremony in England can not be ceremonial only without being legal, then you are probably looking at the K-3 application and the separation that is likely to occur after the marriage. You could go the other direction and do the K-1 with the marriage here first, but you are looking at a considerable delay to return to England after the marriage. He is not suppose to leave America without advanced parole (travel documents) or a green card. They take about the same amount of time to process.

[Lissahonee 0]

I don't think they quarantine dogs anymore.

And for couples with uncomplicated relationships (I mean, no history of immigration problems), the option of visiting while the visa is processing (K1 or K3) may still exist. But there are LOTS of things you'd have to do to safeguard yourselves in the process. After you know your way around this site better, you'll find some good information to help you make that decision.

You are right...there are ways around the quarantine and I have looked into it and the process is not that difficult. All the paperwork has to be done on this side....but the dogs cannot fly with me on the plane. They have to be sealed in a crate by a USDA Vet and fly in a separate compartment on the lane. With all the horror stories I've heard about dogs in transit, there is not enough valium in the world to get me through the flight.

Thanks for your note about the visiting. I'm going to really research this site. It is a great resource of information... and see what can be done...Of course, our main concern is to do everything above board.

[Lissahonee 0]

You have a lot of work ahead of you. From everything that was said I need to clarify some things. You and your fiance plan to live in America, right? But, you want to have a nice big wedding in England this fall. So, is it possible to have the big wedding in England that is mostly ceremonial and not legally binding? If you can answer yes, then the K-1 is for you. You can file for his K-1 and go through the approval process. The visa is valid for six months from date of issuance.

Then have your big ceremonial wedding in England. Use the K-1 to bring him to America, have a small legal civil wedding and file for adjustment of status (AOS). Then wait for completion of AOS before you plan any trips back to England.

If the marriage ceremony in England can not be ceremonial only without being legal, then you are probably looking at the K-3 application and the separation that is likely to occur after the marriage. You could go the other direction and do the K-1 with the marriage here first, but you are looking at a considerable delay to return to England after the marriage. He is not suppose to leave America without advanced parole (travel documents) or a green card. They take about the same amount of time to process.

Thanks for all the great info. I'm totally not into weddings at all...but he would like to have a religious wedding with his family and friends. I would prefer not to have two weddings...but if I have to, I'll suck it up.

We were hoping to be married in the fall and be together at Christmas..but I can see now that there is no way we can do that without two weddings. I was wondering if we had the legal civil marraige in the fall in England...could you still at least come and visit me for Christmas and New Year's - even though we are married? I would not file for the K-3 until after he went home in January. Would that be something that is doable? If not, we'll have to start talking about taking a different route - most likely two ceremonies.