ESTA Marriage taboo?

[wbeem 567]

9 hours ago, Lil bear said:

unfortunately everyone one who has replied to your questions so far has omitted one essential requirement for marrying while visiting ..  all the vjers who have given you such good , wise and sound advice need an invite to the wedding !! I love destination weddings!! 🤪

I'll just settle for a slice of cake. I'm a cheap guest. What kind of cake will it be? 

[Duke & Marie 1,389]

22 hours ago, ChrisL101 said:

Hi everyone,

 

                    I am sure this question has been asked far too much and so I apologise in advance I'm just still so confused/concerned. I am a UK citizen and I am planning on marrying my US fiancé. Our plan though is to get her a UK Spouse visa and live in the UK. My concern is our lawyer has suggested that I enter the US on an ESTA to marry her. I believe it is perfectly legal to marry on an ESTA with the intent on leaving the country. I'll only be there for around 4 weeks anyway before I have to return to the UK to work. My worry is that theoretically speaking in 5 years time after we have been living in the UK with her Visa what if we decide that we want to move to the US. Can I legally apply for a US Green Card a couple of years down the line from the UK even though I got married on an ESTA? Another worry is what if our UK visa application gets denied and as a plan B we decide to move to the US? Will I have a problem applying for a US Green Card from the UK since I got married on an ESTA?

 

My questions broken down are; 

 

1. Is it legal to marry on an ESTA with the intent of leaving the US?
2. Is it legal to marry on an ESTA then leave and apply for a US Green Card outside of the country?

3. If I get married on an ESTA with the intent on leaving. After living with my wife in the UK for a few years can we then still legally apply for my Green Card?

4. If I marry on an ESTA then leave the country but our UK Visa application gets denied can I legally apply for a Green Card straight away from the UK?

 

Thanks again for answering what Im sure are common questions.

Yes to all the above... and so long as you don’t plan on staying it shouldn’t be an issue... 

 

We did pretty much the same thing... American hubby and I got married on ESTA in Aus, before he went home, I have both Aus and uk citizenship... 

 

With ref to getting visas etc, we got 3 countries to choose from...and are applying for me to go the states, purely because it takes between 3-7 years to get him here.. uk is out of the question for me, I hate the cold these days 😁 unless of course our visas get denied then it will become an option purely because Manchester to New Orleans is just 5.5hrs... and not a massive 21hr flight like now lol... 

 

So what you’re doing is perfectly fine, provided you don’t overstay or plan to stay after you get married.. if that’s your plan it should be K1 Visa that you enter the states on, not ESTA. 

 

 

AND YES, I LIKE CAKE TOO! 

Edited July 28, 2019 by Duke & Marie

[Lil bear 3,831]

18 minutes ago, Duke & Marie said:

Yes to all the above... and so long as you don’t plan on staying it shouldn’t be an issue... 

 

We did pretty much the same thing... American hubby and I got married on ESTA in Aus, before he went home, I have both Aus and uk citizenship... 

 

With ref to getting visas etc, we got 3 countries to choose from...and are applying for me to go the states, purely because it takes between 3-7 years to get him here.. uk is out of the question for me, I hate the cold these days 😁 unless of course our visas get denied then it will become an option purely because Manchester to New Orleans is just 5.5hrs... and not a massive 21hr flight like now lol... 

 

So what you’re doing is perfectly fine, provided you don’t overstay or plan to stay after you get married.. if that’s your plan it should be K1 Visa that you enter the states on, not ESTA. 

 

 

AND YES, I LIKE CAKE TOO! 

Hi from one Aussie to another. We’re from   Melbourne 

[Duke & Marie 1,389]

Just now, Lil bear said:

Hi from one Aussie to another. We’re from   Melbourne 

👋👋👋 Brissy 😁

[ChrisL101 0]

You guys are all amazing! 

So when I arrive in the US if they ask at imagination why I’m entering the country should I just be honest and say I’m getting married or I should I just say visiting my fiancé? 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

7 hours ago, ChrisL101 said:

You guys are all amazing! 

So when I arrive in the US if they ask at imagination why I’m entering the country should I just be honest and say I’m getting married or I should I just say visiting my fiancé? 

Always be honest. 

They keep notes.

lying to immigration has serious consequences. 

 

Make sure you have plenty of evidence as to why you will return home after the marriage.

Edited July 29, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[ChrisL101 0]

On 7/29/2019 at 7:45 AM, SusieQQQ said:

Always be honest. 

They keep notes.

lying to immigration has serious consequences. 

 

Make sure you have plenty of evidence as to why you will return home after the marriage.

What kind of evidence? I can show the return flight? Maybe the contract from our lawyer saying we’re applying for the U.K. spouse visa? 

[Daphne . 1,670]

1 hour ago, ChrisL101 said:

What kind of evidence? I can show the return flight? Maybe the contract from our lawyer saying we’re applying for the U.K. spouse visa? 

I told them honestly that I would get married and would return back home ( I chose to volunteer that second bit of information so the officer knew that I was very aware of the rules). The officer even joked about the fact that marrying an American did not work out very well for him, so he wished me luck 🤣

 

As evidence I showed my work calendar appointments that were scheduled upon my return, a statement from my employer, and obviously  my return flight details. This, combined with a good track record of returning home every time I told them I would, has made the experience very good for me.

[geowrian 22,335]

7 hours ago, ChrisL101 said:

What kind of evidence? I can show the return flight?

1) An onward or return flight is required for VWP travelers

2) Nearly everybody who has overstayed and entered by plane had a return ticket that never got used.

 

The best things you can show is a stable job that requires you to be abroad, and intent to stay abroad. So I would suggest having the evidence of your application for a UK spouse visa.

[ohcoffeeeyes 120]

On 7/27/2019 at 5:46 AM, ChrisL101 said:

Ive heard somewhere that if you enter the country with the intent of getting married on an ESTA it could effect your Green Card application? Because there's evidence that we have been engaged for 8 months. Even though we do plan to have a very small wedding it wouldn't be 'spontanious'

Me and my wife had been preparing to get married for 6 months when I entered on an ESTA. Honestly, you could just not tell them cause they probably won't ask but I let it slip (well, wrong wording. I boldly said it as I was so happy!) that I was planning on getting married which led talking to me about it all for another 10 minutes before he let me through. They'll just talk to you about it and it depends on the agent, mine was in a really bad mood cause some Air China passengers kept going on their phone and ruining his day, plus not following his instructions and he still just let me in. They want to know youre legit. That's all.

 

Anyway. No one has an issue with it. It's super common I'd imagine!

Edited August 2, 2019 by ohcoffeeeyes

[SalishSea 16,770]

45 minutes ago, ohcoffeeeyes said:

Honestly, you could just not tell them cause they probably won't ask

They DO ask though.....they ask what you're doing in the US, who you're visiting, etc.  And to hide your intent to marry while here is a lie which could have dire consequences for future immigration benefits.  Please don't lie.

[ohcoffeeeyes 120]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

They DO ask though.....they ask what you're doing in the US, who you're visiting, etc.  And to hide your intent to marry while here is a lie which could have dire consequences for future immigration benefits.  Please don't lie.

I have read mixed things on here, people saying they weren't asked and the like. The immigration officer didn't ask me at all, he asked me how long I was staying and where I was staying in San Antonio, and asked me for the address, then he asked me how much money I had and then I let it slip but he seemed like he was going to just let me through before that.

 

I wasn't advocating lying.

[ElDiablo 95]

It's amazing that people still don't know the difference between the VWP and ESTA.

 

Nobody on this Earth has ever 'entered or got married on an ESTA' jeeze get it right people it's not hard.

[geowrian 22,335]

It's usually a distinction without a difference since people know what is meant.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 7/26/2019 at 11:35 PM, ChrisL101 said:

Amazing quick answers. Here's one more quick question. Why then is it so frowned upon to marry on an ESTA?

It isn’t

 

It’s frowned on to enter on an ESTA with intent to marry, adjust status, and stay

 

What you are planning is very common and has no issues.