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I am a US citizen engaged to a UK citizen. My partner is currently residing in the UK, but plans to move to the US within a year. We would like to get married at a courthouse in the US as soon as feasible.
I have been researching how a US citizen and UK citizen can get married in the US and am just really confused. Is applying for a fiance visa our best bet? Or is it possible for us to get married in the US when he visits in July without the fiance visa (fiance visas seem to take 6 to 13 months to be processed)? If so, is there a resource you can point me to which has info on what kind of paperwork he will need to show at the courthouse, what next steps we need to take, etc?
You can get married in the US on ESTA. Double check with the location to plan to get married at about specific requirements such as documents, blood tests, ... Get several copies of the marriage certificate with a Golden Appostille.
Go to travel.state.gov and read up on CR1 spousal visa. It is an official US site and walks you through from soup to nuts; forms to fees. Check the flow chart for CR1. Start collecting your documentation. 12 month from marriage to activating Green Card at point of entry may not be realistic.
A foreign citizen travelling to the US on ESTA can get married if they intend to return to their home country afterward. The border control agent may demand proof of this such as a letter from the person's employer stating when they are expected back at work. If they intend to get married and stay they must have a visa or they will likely be denied entry to the US and sent back home on the next flight.
Either way you will be separated for a while so I don't think it makes much difference. We did the fiancee visa. It took about two years but he could still come over for visits on three month travelers' visas. It's a lot of work but you probably won't need a lawyer unless it gets too confusing.
The UK person needs a complete medical check in London and a complete background check (aka police check) which the UK applicant pays for on their own.
There's a website called Visa Journey that was very helpful to us when we had questions. Also, toward the end, it got scary because the person in the UK was supposed to get something in the mail and it got lost. There are no phone numbers to call! But on Visa Journey, people kept finding the secret phone number and giving it out. It was only good for that one day but that was enough for my finance to call up and get an answer! (We did get a lawyer toward the end because it was so confusing and drawn out and even the lawyer didn't know what to do at that point. Visa Journey knew!)
my cousin must've gotten really lucky in her fiancee journey to the US. she got in on fiancee visa within three months of her application, got her GC in less than 6 months of within their marriage
my cousin must've gotten really lucky in her fiancee journey to the US. she got in on fiancee visa within three months of her application, got her GC in less than 6 months of within their marriage
i was just referring to her luck at the length of time it took her from fiancee visa to GC, when it seems like most of others have had it longer. and to that end, they didn't use a lawyer too. they just did it all by themselves
I would go to England and marry there.
Come back and file papers to bring the spouse.
I did that, married in the Philippines,
brought her here after she filed papers and visited the US consulate in Manilla.
No lawyers needed.
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