Getting married under Visa Waiver Program / ESTA with firm intention *not* to reside in US

[Colleen9037 0]

Hi!

 

My boyfriend and I are in the same situation as the original poster. He has dual British/Irish citizenship, I'm American.  We're living in Poland at the moment, and when we go to the US in a few weeks to spend some time traveling/visiting family we are also planning to get legally married. We have no intention of remaining in the US, we'll be moving to Ireland shortly afterwards and I'll be applying for a spousal visa to live there. So, my boyfriend was just planning to enter the US under the Visa Waiver Program with his ESTA as usual, even though we'll be getting married while there. I understand this to be legal, however, like the OP, we do want to stay well within the law so as to not jeopardize any potential future US spousal visa application. So, after reading through everyone's replies I have a couple additional questions....

 

1. I understand most people are suggesting just to answer the questions the CBP officer asks and not divulge any more information than necessary....i.e., don't volunteer the fact that we'll be getting married unless specifically asked. But is there any concern that by not fully divulging our intention to get married now, this will create some issues for us in a few years if we apply for a IR-1 spousal visa? Because, for example, our marriage license would be dated from the time of this visit, but there would be nothing in their system evidencing that we mentioned our plans to marry when entering the US? I don't know how much they data they actually track from your border entries, or how much they would even care...

 

2. Is there any need for me, as the American citizen, to accompany my boyfriend through border control/immigration at the airport? We've always split up in the past, with me going through the US citizen line and him the line for foreigners/ESTA holders, but I was just thinking if he does encounter any issues with the CBP officer, would it be better for me to be there?

 

Thanks in advance for the help :)

[JFH 12,189]

1. No, it won't cause a problem. Many of us are living of that. If you're not asked "are you getting married?" you don't need to tell them and they don't need to know.

 

2. You should always go through together as you complete one customs form per household (I assume you live together).