I am told getting married in the usa on ESTA is illegal (even if I intend to go back home)?

[pushbrk 12,122]

"I've been told" is a notoriously unreliable source.  Actual information direct from the source, supported by actual facts, will win the day.  Foreigners get married in the USA every day, many of them, then return home to immigrate or not.  Carry on.

[Tereza 27]

4 hours ago, pushbrk said:

"I've been told" is a notoriously unreliable source.  Actual information direct from the source, supported by actual facts, will win the day.  Foreigners get married in the USA every day, many of them, then return home to immigrate or not.  Carry on.

It's shorter than "people from a facebook group of people from my country who at ome point moved to the usa are telling me..." I know FB is a meme, but at the same time I tought those people who have been in a similar situation to mine at some point mihgt know something. Turns out they dont. Thank you for answering

[Nitas_man 3,100]

12 hours ago, Tereza said:

Title. I am in a fb group for ppl who moved to usa and I asked a question about paperwork, however everyone is grilling me over me getting married in the states being illegal eventhough I clearly stated that I will be going back home before the 90 day period and well be doing CR1 visa (we wanna send out the I130 while Im still there though). I really dont think what I plan to do is wrong, I do think those people are wrong, but just to make sure.. is it ok or not?

Thank you

It isn’t wrong.  Happy travels.

[pushbrk 12,122]

2 hours ago, Tereza said:

It's shorter than "people from a facebook group of people from my country who at ome point moved to the usa are telling me..." I know FB is a meme, but at the same time I tought those people who have been in a similar situation to mine at some point mihgt know something. Turns out they dont. Thank you for answering

People often give lazy answers that do not follow the full context.  The issue can come when marrying with the intent to stay and adjust status, rather than leave and pursue a spouse visa.  Often people think the way they did it is the only way, or they were also misinformed about their options.  Your actual intentions are what make the difference here.

All that said, I would give a generic but truthful answer when asked the purpose of your visit.  Avoid, saying that you are coming for your wedding.  It's also true you'll be visiting friends, doing tourist things, etc.  No sense risking an ignorant officer that makes the wrong assumption about your intentions.

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

6 hours ago, Tereza said:

It's shorter than "people from a facebook group of people from my country who at ome point moved to the usa are telling me..." I know FB is a meme, but at the same time I tought those people who have been in a similar situation to mine at some point mihgt know something. Turns out they dont. Thank you for answering

@Loren Y, a distinguished member here on VJ, has graciously offered to officiate marriages in LAS VEGAS for VJ members (free).  You can be married with marriage certificate in hand in a matter of a few hours.  I think he is still offering his services. Good luck on your journey.

[Loren Y 2,732]

3 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

@Loren Y, a distinguished member here on VJ, has graciously offered to officiate marriages in LAS VEGAS for VJ members (free).  You can be married with marriage certificate in hand in a matter of a few hours.  I think he is still offering his services. Good luck on your journey.

Yes, I am still doing this, and have been actually pretty busy helping people from VJ get married quickly and easily. My next couple will be here in Vegas to get married on the 26th of May, about a week away. OP, feel free to message me directly, and I can give you my contact information. Will be happy to help out.

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

1 minute ago, Loren Y said:

Yes, I am still doing this, and have been actually pretty busy helping people from VJ get married quickly and easily. My next couple will be here in Vegas to get married on the 26th of May, about a week away. OP, feel free to message me directly, and I can give you my contact information. Will be happy to help out.

You would definitely be my top choice for "VJ Humanitarian of the Year"!!!!!!

[Loren Y 2,732]

Just now, Lucky Cat said:

You would definitely be my top choice for "VJ Humanitarian of the Year"!!!!!!

I started doing it on a whim, because I saw the issues people were having getting a certificate in hand, and married quickly and easily. I've found out it's a really fun thing to do. I am meeting people from all over the world, and get to hear some of the best stories about how they met, and the dedication it takes to get thru any part of the immigration path they take to get here, and I found it is more rewarding than I thought it could be.

[payxibka 10,044]

1 hour ago, Loren Y said:

Yes, I am still doing this, and have been actually pretty busy helping people from VJ get married quickly and easily. My next couple will be here in Vegas to get married on the 26th of May, about a week away. OP, feel free to message me directly, and I can give you my contact information. Will be happy to help out.

For some reason LV has more appeal than MN

[SusnOwen 132]

21 hours ago, Tereza said:

Thank you. And yes, Im in the Czech republic and the EU/UK travel ban is still on. I am still a little hopeful that itll get lifted before I go as the Mexico trip will be quite expensive for me (I just finished school ... ), but I expect to have to go there in the end.

Be sure to tell the Mexican immigration that you are on vacation, not that you are getting married.

[Troy B 223]

note also if your planning on filing while you are in the USA,

 

"The beneficiary is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in:"   should be a no, ex lines 61a-6a on the paper version should be skipped, as you need to fill in 62.

[NikkiR123 35]

Im confused , I thought adjustment of status was allowed ? Or is that not for ESTA??

[Paul Hanaki 68]

8 minutes ago, NikkiR123 said:

Im confused , I thought adjustment of status was allowed ? Or is that not for ESTA??

ESTA is a specific carve out and you can't adjust if you came to the US on that.

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

11 minutes ago, NikkiR123 said:

Im confused , I thought adjustment of status was allowed ? Or is that not for ESTA??

It is illegal to enter the US via a non-immigrant with the intent to stay and adjust status.  

[BigJoePR 1]

On 5/17/2021 at 1:46 PM, Tereza said:

Thanks. Ive been trying to explain that to them (all women from my country who moved to the usa) and Im being told Im wrong and that what Im doing is going to get me in trouble. So I just wanted to make sure Cheers

Probably they haven't even got the time to really understand what you meant. don't worry you are doing good. sucks to be scolded, here Ive been asking for some time because i'm bringing my soon-to-be wife (marrying july 4 in Guatemala) and NEVER even felt close to being scolded. I love this forum because everybody is courteous, respectful and very insightful.