Need advice on which approach to take to get married in the US

[zipline3022 0]

Hello everyone,

We're a couple consisting of an American woman and an Egyptian man; we're currently trying to figure out the optimal way in terms of time and legality to get married and reside in the United States.

We've done our research regarding the K1 and CR1. It does seem like the K1 could be our best option. Getting married in Egypt and then applying for a CR1 is not an option because of the absence of civil marriage in the Middle East along with other legal challenges (notary appointments, etc.) that would make it difficult to achieve or would take several months before we even get to file the CR1 paperwork, making the K1 actually faster. The problem with the K1 is the period of time spent not being able to work after getting into the U.S, as it could take up to a year if we’re unlucky. 

 

So, after searching more, we found out that there are ways to get married on a tourist visa by getting the foreign partner into the US on a tourist visa and then either:

• Get married after 90 days and then apply for Adjustment of Status and overstay until we get the interview for the CR1. 
• Get married almost immediately after getting into the US and then leave the country on the specified departure date. Wait a few months (90 days?), and then apply for the CR1.

Even though the first option would get us together faster, we’re not sure if it’s actually completely legal or not, and it possibly has the same issue of not having a work permit during the period we wait for the CR1 interview. Meanwhile, the second option sounds more doable since the foreign partner can work immediately after entering the US, but we’re still not sure if the USCIS would deny the application because we would have gotten married on a tourist visa or if that would be legal in the first place.

 

We're hoping someone who has done something similar before (getting married on a tourist visa) could help us decide if that's even a legal option or not.

 

Thank you!

Edited June 27, 2022 by zipline3022

[Dashinka 23,273]

The first option is not legal, so that only leaves you with option 2.  As to option 2, you only need to wait until you get your marriage certificate to file the I130 for the CR1.  

Edited June 27, 2022 by Dashinka

[SalishSea 16,804]

7 minutes ago, zipline3022 said:

get married on a tourist visa by getting the foreign partner into the US on a tourist visa and then either:

• Get married after 90 days and then apply for Adjustment of Status and overstay

This is immigration fraud.  Do no do it.

[zipline3022 0]

1 minute ago, Dashinka said:

The first option is not legal, so that only leaves you with option 2.

Thank you for the reply! Do you have any advice regarding the second option? and if the USCIS would mind the fact that we wouldve gotten married on a tourist visa in the first place? especially since we read about the 90-days rule and that option only leaves us with getting married in the first week of the stay or so.

[Verrou 1,899]

1 minute ago, zipline3022 said:

Thank you for the reply! Do you have any advice regarding the second option? and if the USCIS would mind the fact that we wouldve gotten married on a tourist visa in the first place? especially since we read about the 90-days rule and that option only leaves us with getting married in the first week of the stay or so.

Married with tourist visa is fine. Many people did that in Las Vegas but then they went back home to their home country and applied for spouse visa 

[zipline3022 0]

We're also not sure if we would be able to meet the required paperwork proof of relationship applying for a spouse visa. Since it requires proof that we're living together or sharing a bank account. While we would just be in separate countries and visiting each other once in a while. any thoughts on that?

[Dashinka 23,273]

6 minutes ago, zipline3022 said:

Thank you for the reply! Do you have any advice regarding the second option? and if the USCIS would mind the fact that we wouldve gotten married on a tourist visa in the first place? especially since we read about the 90-days rule and that option only leaves us with getting married in the first week of the stay or so.

There is no such thing as the 90 day rule.  When applying for the spousal visa, they will focus more on the overall relationship, not how soon you married after entering on the B2.  People come to the US on B2’s to get married and leave for spousal visa processing all the time.  The biggest hurdle will be getting the B2 if fiancé does not already have one, and having a US based fiancé will make that even more difficult.  You can also look into the Zoom Utah wedding, get married now, get your marriage certificate and then once you meet again in person either in Egypt, the US or a third country, you can file the I130.

[zipline3022 0]

2 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

There is no such thing as the 90 day rule.  When applying for the spousal visa, they will focus more on the overall relationship, not how soon you married after entering on the B2.  People come to the US on B2’s to get married and leave for spousal visa processing all the time.  The biggest hurdle will be getting the B2 if fiancé does not already have one, and having a US based fiancé will make that even more difficult.  You can also look into the Zoom Utah wedding, get married now, get your marriage certificate and then once you meet again in person either in Egypt, the US or a third country, you can file the I130.

That's interesting. I just looked up the Zoom Utah wedding and it seems like it's seen as illegitimate in the eyes of immigration officials? I'm not sure. 

[powerpuff 5,914]

~~ Topic moved from DCF forum to What Visa Do I need ~~
 

19 minutes ago, zipline3022 said:

That's interesting. I just looked up the Zoom Utah wedding and it seems like it's seen as illegitimate in the eyes of immigration officials? I'm not sure. 

Why would it be illegitimate….? They issue marriage certificates that are as valid as any other marriage certificates you obtain. All you have to do is show you saw each other after the ceremony (ie consummated the marriage). 

[Verrou 1,899]

29 minutes ago, zipline3022 said:

We're also not sure if we would be able to meet the required paperwork proof of relationship applying for a spouse visa. Since it requires proof that we're living together or sharing a bank account. While we would just be in separate countries and visiting each other once in a while. any thoughts on that?

You don’t need to live together to apply for spouse visa. It doesn’t require u to live together or sharing bank account if ur spouse is waiting for consular processing outside US while u are in the US

Edited June 27, 2022 by Misscloud

[powerpuff 5,914]

This one of the first members to do it, many others followed suit:

 

[zipline3022 0]

1 minute ago, powerpuff said:

This one of the first members to do it, many others followed suit:

 

 

3 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

You don’t need to live together to apply for spouse visa. It doesn’t require u to live together or sharing bank account if ur spouse is waiting for consular processing outside US while u are in the US

 

Thank you so much!

[Boiler 43,539]

Does he have a US Tourist Visa?

 

Yve on 90 Day went the K1 route.

[Crazy Cat 39,324]

12 hours ago, zipline3022 said:

Since it requires proof that we're living together or sharing a bank account.

That is just not true.....I suggest you study the guides here.  You seem to be misinformed about multiple things  The immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and money.

[Crazy Cat 39,324]

12 hours ago, zipline3022 said:

and it seems like it's seen as illegitimate in the eyes of immigration officials?

It is a valid, legal marriage......