Irish citizen marrying US citizen

[devliop 0]

Hi all, hope everyone is doing well! 

Myself (Irish) and my Fiancee (American) plan to get married this year in California and eventually move there. Currently we live in Canada where I have permanent residency also. 

Im just wondering does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? What documents were required prior to marriage, was it easy to get married in the states and were there any pitfalls along the way? 

Any information would help tremendously, 

 

Thanks!

 

[Redro 4,600]

7 minutes ago, devliop said:

Hi all, hope everyone is doing well! 

Myself (Irish) and my Fiancee (American) plan to get married this year in California and eventually move there. Currently we live in Canada where I have permanent residency also. 

Im just wondering does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? What documents were required prior to marriage, was it easy to get married in the states and were there any pitfalls along the way? 

Any information would help tremendously, 

 

Thanks!

 

Have your future spouse to be investigate what is needed from the county you’re getting married in… marriage is governed by states it isn’t federal. 
For Michigan,  all I needed was my passport.

once you have your marriage certificate you can file the I130 and I130a… 

ETA if you both live in Canada why California? Why not get married in Canada? 

 

Edited February 18 by Redro

[Boiler 43,451]

I seem to remember Canada is a bot slow issuing Marriage Licenses and you need to have one before she can file the I 130.

 

Will she be moving first? Canada is quite strict on Domicile and Sponsorship. You can use a Joint sponsor for the latter.

[Crazy Cat 39,268]

1 hour ago, devliop said:

Hi all, hope everyone is doing well! 

Myself (Irish) and my Fiancee (American) plan to get married this year in California and eventually move there. Currently we live in Canada where I have permanent residency also. 

Im just wondering does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? What documents were required prior to marriage, was it easy to get married in the states and were there any pitfalls along the way? 

Any information would help tremendously, 

 

Thanks!

 

This is posted under the K-1 forum area.  If you live together why not a spousal visa?

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1 
  More expensive than CR-1
  Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)
  Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx up to 6 months) 
  Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx up to 6 months) 
  Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period 
  Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
  A K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
  In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice 
  A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  K-1 entrant cannot file for citizenship until after having Green Card for 3 years.
  Once an I-129F has been approved, delaying the case is difficult to impossible if the need arises.

CR-1/IR-1
  Less expensive than K-1 
  No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required. 
  Spouse can immediately travel outside the US 
  Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival. 
  Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US 
  Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
  Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  The clock for citizenship filing starts immediately upon entry to the US.
  A CR-1/IR-1 case can be delayed indefinitely at NVC if the need arises. 
   

 

 

 

Edited February 18 by Crazy Cat

[Ontarkie 13,917]

~~Moved to What VIsa DO I Need, from K1 P&P - as the OP is just starting to ask questions about options.~~