Can we marry without the K1 VISA?

[manna.mfrancesca 0]

Hello! I'm Italian and my boyfriend is American, currently living in California.
We want to marry, but we don't want to spend 5 or more months apart waiting for the K1 VISA to be approved.
I have an ESTA, can we marry anyways and then fill out the form I-130 as a spouse?

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Are you currently in the US with him? If so, then sure you can marry and file for AOS.

 

If you are not in the US currently, then K-1 visa is best/quickest route. Using a tourist visa, or VWP, with intent to immigrate is visa fraud.

 

Or you can enter the US, marry, then file for the CR-1 spousal visa; but this can take 12-14 months approximately.

 

 

[Boiler 43,433]

You could marry in Italy or the US, but the process for Spouses is much longer, about a year.

[f f 725]

16 minutes ago, manna.mfrancesca said:

Hello! I'm Italian and my boyfriend is American, currently living in California.
We want to marry, but we don't want to spend 5 or more months apart waiting for the K1 VISA to be approved.
I have an ESTA, can we marry anyways and then fill out the form I-130 as a spouse?

make sure to tell cbp your plans upon entry they will advise him to the quickest route available to you.

[Roel 7,191]

Basically

Are you in the US at the moment?

If the answer is yes - then yes, you can marry and adjust.

If the answer is no, then no, you cannot go to the USA with the intent to marry AND adjust.

 

K1 is the way to go. It doesn't really take that long. Adult people usually can survive few months apart, lol.

[Ortolan 381]

If you're already with him in the US, go on and marry him now. You'll have to stay in the U.S., though, until you've filed for and gotten your AOS processed. You won't be able to work or leave the U.S. until then.

 

If you're in Italy, sorry, you can't come to the U.S. with the intent to get married and stay and then file AOS. That's immigration fraud. 

 

You can file for a K-1 fiance visa, wait about 5 months or so for it to be processed, and then come and marry within 90 days, OR, you can always come on a tourist visa, get married, and then go back to Italy and file for a CR-1 spousal visa. It'll take a little less than a year, probably.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Ortolan
shortened reply

[manna.mfrancesca 0]

27 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

Are you currently in the US with him? If so, then sure you can marry and file for AOS.

 

If you are not in the US currently, then K-1 visa is best/quickest route. Using a tourist visa, or VWP, with intent to immigrate is visa fraud.

 

Or you can enter the US, marry, then file for the CR-1 spousal visa; but this can take 12-14 months approximately.

 

 

Hello, Thank You!

Well, yes I'm currently with him, with the ESTA, that expires in 1 month.

Honestly, I'd like to go back to Italy, then fly again to the USA with the ESTA again, and marry him and start the whole process for my AOS, because I have read that if I'm in the USA already I don't need to go back to my Country.

By the way, to marry him as a tourist, what documents do we need?

Where should we go?

[manna.mfrancesca 0]

2 minutes ago, Ortolan said:

If you're already with him in the US, go on and marry him now. You'll have to stay in the U.S., though, until you've filed for and gotten your AOS processed. You won't be able to work or leave the U.S. until then.

 

If you're in Italy, sorry, you can't come to the U.S. with the intent to get married and stay and then file AOS. That's immigration fraud. 

 

You can file for a K-1 fiance visa, wait about 5 months or so for it to be processed, and then come and marry within 90 days, OR, you can always come on a tourist visa, get married, and then go back to Italy and file for a CR-1 spousal visa. It'll take a little less than a year, probably.

Hello, Thank You!

Well, yes I'm currently with him, with the ESTA, that expires in 1 month.

Honestly, I'd like to go back to Italy, then fly again to the USA with the ESTA again, and marry him and start the whole process for my AOS, because I have read that if I'm in the USA already I don't need to go back to my Country.

By the way, to marry him as a tourist, what documents do we need?

Where should we go?

[Roel 7,191]

1 minute ago, manna.mfrancesca said:

Honestly, I'd like to go back to Italy, then fly again to the USA with the ESTA again, and marry him and start the whole process for my AOS,

 

Nope. Immigration fraud.

[f f 725]

you can file the k1 now while he is in the us and he is allowed to use vwp while it is processing. he just needs to be in Italy for the interview.

[manna.mfrancesca 0]

38 minutes ago, manna.mfrancesca said:

Hello! I'm Italian and my boyfriend is American, currently living in California.
We want to marry, but we don't want to spend 5 or more months apart waiting for the K1 VISA to be approved.
I have an ESTA, can we marry anyways and then fill out the form I-130 as a spouse?

Maybe I should tell the whole story.

We met online, after 10 months of texting I came to the USA to visit him.

We are in love with eachother, I'm not planning to marry him for the green card or something, just for LOVE. But we don't wanna wait that long...

And my 90 ESTA days are coming to an end, and it's too late to marry now.

That's why I want to go back to Italy, come to the USA again and marry him.

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

1 minute ago, manna.mfrancesca said:

Maybe I should tell the whole story.

We met online, after 10 months of texting I came to the USA to visit him.

We are in love with eachother, I'm not planning to marry him for the green card or something, just for LOVE. But we don't wanna wait that long...

And my 90 ESTA days are coming to an end, and it's too late to marry now.

That's why I want to go back to Italy, come to the USA again and marry him.

 

Again... you can marry him now and AOS, stay in the US...

 

But you can not leave, then come back with intent to marry and stay, that is visa fraud and can cause you a lot of problems.

 

You again can marry now and AOS, and stay.... or, file for the K-1 fiance visa, or marry now and then file for the CR-1 spousal visa. During the processing for the K-1 or CR-1 you can still visit as long as you can show ties to home and are not planning to misuse the visa/VWP by immigrating on it.

[Roel 7,191]

6 minutes ago, manna.mfrancesca said:

Maybe I should tell the whole story.

We met online, after 10 months of texting I came to the USA to visit him.

We are in love with eachother, I'm not planning to marry him for the green card or something, just for LOVE. But we don't wanna wait that long...

And my 90 ESTA days are coming to an end, and it's too late to marry now.

That's why I want to go back to Italy, come to the USA again and marry him.

The "whole story" doesn't matter honestly, definitely doesn't matter to the USCIS at THIS point. Doesn't matter that you don't want to wait. And it's not really long.

 

You either marry now when you're in the US, stay and adjust.

Or go back to the Italy and file for K1. During the process you can still travel on the VWP, just not stay. You need to have an interview back in Italy.

 

No other options.

[databit 328]

22 minutes ago, manna.mfrancesca said:

And my 90 ESTA days are coming to an end, and it's too late to marry now.

 

No it's not too late. Drive over to Las Vegas and get married the same day.

[jessgriff86 6]

My husband and I are six years into this and I would personally suggest doing things the correct way.  We have never had any issues, nor have we been interviewed and things have gone very smoothly.  A few months to wait, for the fiance visa, is such a short period of time!  I have known two couples that have married either abroad or in the states and then applied and in both cases-they have been separated.  It is rather sad because one of the couples has had two babies from their trips back and forth...the father is stuck in his home country.  Our good friend is an immigration lawyer and she always suggests to do things by the books when it comes to immigration...the littlest things can cause delays throughout the way.