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Amyy

Getting married on an ESTA with no plans for AOS?

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Hi,

 

I'm not really sure what forum section to put this under.. so I hope this okay.

 

My partner and I want to get married, we were wondering if it would be okay if he entered the US on an ESTA and for us to get married, because we would not be seeking an adjustment of status. He would be going back to his home country, and then we would eventually be applying for me to move to his country rather than for him to come to the US. It’s a lot of time, energy, and money involved to get a K1 visa, so I was wondering if since he wouldn’t be staying it would be okay for us to get married on an ESTA?

 

Thank you

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
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The VWP, but yes quite common to do this.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

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43 minutes ago, Boiler said:

The VWP, but yes quite common to do this.

 

3 minutes ago, P055UM said:

Yes, this is common and legal.

 

Thank you both for your replies! Do either of you know if that could cause any problems for him getting another VWP/ESTA in the future? Or if that could cause any problems if he ever wants to come here in a more permanent fashion and we apply for a spouse visa? Would it make them more suspicious of him even if it is legal/common?

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8 minutes ago, Amyy said:

 

 

Thank you both for your replies! Do either of you know if that could cause any problems for him getting another VWP/ESTA in the future? Or if that could cause any problems if he ever wants to come here in a more permanent fashion and we apply for a spouse visa? Would it make them more suspicious of him even if it is legal/common?

No effect - it is a permitted use of the VWP scheme. As long as he is honest at the port of entry about his intentions and doesn’t overstay the VWP period, there is no reason it would affect future entries/plans. 

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
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13 minutes ago, Amyy said:

 

 

Thank you both for your replies! Do either of you know if that could cause any problems for him getting another VWP/ESTA in the future? Or if that could cause any problems if he ever wants to come here in a more permanent fashion and we apply for a spouse visa? Would it make them more suspicious of him even if it is legal/common?

As long as he does not overstay or abuse the ESTA/VWP system (visiting for the entire authorized stay, leaving for a week/month, and then returning to the US for another 90 day stay) he should be fine.  Short visits during the process are fairly common with couples in your situation.

 

Good Luck!

Visa Received : 2014-04-04 (K1 - see timeline for details)

US Entry : 2014-09-12

POE: Detroit

Marriage : 2014-09-27

I-765 Approved: 2015-01-09

I-485 Interview: 2015-03-11

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Green Card Received: 2015-03-24 Yeah!!!

I-751 ROC Submitted: 2016-12-20

I-751 NOA Received:  2016-12-29

I-751 Biometrics Appt.:  2017-01-26

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
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3 hours ago, Amyy said:

Or if that could cause any problems if he ever wants to come here in a more permanent fashion and we apply for a spouse visa?

As long as you follow the rules for consular processing and have no abuse of the ESTA with reasonable visits, you shouldn't have any issues.  

 

Good luck!

Montreal IR-1/CR-1 FAQ

 

Montreal IR-1/CR-1 Visa spreadsheet: follow directions at top of page for data to be added

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I did this way back when. I didn't run into any issues :)

ROC from CR-1 visa (Green Card expiration date was Nov 24th 2016)

 

Link to the evidence I submitted. Be sure to send evidence spanning your entire marriage (especially for K-1) or as far back as you can. Just one or two bank statements will not cut it. I primarily focused on the two years of living here since I came in on a CR-1. If you don't have the fundamentals (i.e. joint accounts/policies), you can explain why in the covering letter. E.g. "While we do not have joint utilities, we both contribute to them from our joint bank account".

 

September 26th 2016: I-751 package sent to CSC

September 28th 2016: Package delivered
September 30th 2016: Check cashed
October 3rd 2016: NOA1 received with receipt date of 09/28/16
November 3rd 2016: Biometrics received with appointment date of 11/14/16.
November 14th 2016: Attended biometrics appointment
October 30th 2017: Infopass appointment to get I-551 stamp
February 26th 2018: I-751 case number (aka the NOA1 receipt number) becomes trackable
March 14th 2018: Submitted service request due to being outside of processing time.

March 15th 2018: ROC approved. 535 days (1 year, 5 months and 17 days)

March 29th 2018: Card being produced

April 4th 2018: Card mailed out

April 6th 2018: Card in hand. Has incorrect "resident since" date. Submitted service request on I-751 case (typographical error on permanent resident card) and an I-90 online.

April 2018 - August 7th 2018: Tons of service requests, emails and now senator involvement to get my corrected green card back because what the heck, USCIS. Also some time in May I sent a letter to Potomac telling them I want to withdraw my I-90 since CSC were handling it.

August 8th 2018: Card in production thanks to the direct involvement of Senator Sherrod Brown's team

August 13th 2018: Card mailed

August 15th 2018: Card in hand with correct date. :joy:

October 31st 2018: Potomac sends out a notice stating they have closed out my I-90 per my request. Yay for no duplicate card drama.

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