Visa/Marriage/Immigration Questions

[OrKing]

Hey. So, me and my S.O are now engaged. I proposed on my last visit to the country, she said yes, we now have plans of marrying in October and applying for the marriage visa so I can stay there on my next trip over and think about or actually go through the process of getting a green card/becoming a citizen. Now for the issues and questions. I've been on two trips to the U.S, both on the Visa Waiver Program. I had planned on using it to go back over, get married, start the process for the marriage visa and come back after my ninety days are up whilst we wait for all that stuff to go through/happen, whatever. Now though whilst reading I've read that getting married whilst in the country on the VWP isn't advisable, maybe even illegal (fraud). My question is given our circumstances is that true. Can I not go over on the VWP, get married and start the marriage visa process even if I do intend to leave the country (abide the VWP 90 day law) whilst the process is carried out?

If I can't do that, what are our options?

Thank you for any advice or knowledge you can give.

[emsimes]

Technically, you can legally get married while you're in the US on the VWP. However, it's pretty risky business. If the immigration officers ask you why you are entering the country and you tell them the truth, there's a good chance they won't let you enter the country, as they're afraid you will stay there illegally. On the other hand, if you lie to them about your true intentions and they find out later..that's even worse :/ They could ban you from entering the country for a long time. However, if you still decide to go with this option, bring as MUCH paperwork/evidence/documents as you can to prove that your relationship is valid and real.

Have you looked into the K1 Visa? (Aka 90 day fiancé visa). With this visa, your partner petitions to apply for the visa, then she has to send in all the paperwork/legal documents/etc. Once/If you're approved for the visa, you are allowed to enter the US, and you have 90 days to get married. If you don't marry within those 90 days, though, you'll have to leave the US.

Also, what about applying for a spousal visa? You and your SO could marry in England, then she would have to return home and apply for the spousal visa. This usually takes longer to get approved than the K1 visa, but you'll be granted US citizenship if you're approved.

If you want more detailed info, you should check out VisaJourney.com. That forum will give you much more info than what I've given you. Good luck with everything! And congrats on your engagement

[CanadianGirl]

Small correction on emsimes post, on a spousal visa you're given a green card upon entering the states (not citizenship). Handy if you need to start working in the US right away. My SO and I did the K-1 and it took a little under 5 months from applying to receiving my visa in the mail. For the K-1 there's a few forms to fill out after you get married to be able to work/travel outside the US/gain permanent residency. Visajourney was a huge help for me.

[Ella85]

My SO lives in the US, we just recently got engaged and filed for the K-1 last month (so the waiting continues). You CAN get married on VWP and it's not illegal. However, as others have said if asked and you lie you can get in trouble, if you tell them they might not let you in. In England you need a visa to get married here, it's a tourist marriage visa and I have no idea about anything else to do with it. I would highly suggest heading over to Visa Journey as there are a lot more people going though the same process on there. If you do decide to get married on VWP yes you can apply for a spousal visa and you get a greencard so can work as soon as you get there. However it does take longer with processing then the K-1. There is a huge dip in K-1 processing times right now and some people are getting visa in hand as soon as 4 months after applying. But it might not stay that way. Read though the different types and their requirements and then discuss with your SO what is going to work best for your situation.

Side note: You won't get US citizenship straight away. If you've been married under 2 years they give you a 2 year greencard you then have to remove conditions. If you have been married 2 years or more they give you a 10 year greencard. After you have been living in the US for 5 years you are eligible to file for neutralization thus upon passing requirements becoming a citizen.

[emsimes]

Small correction on emsimes post, on a spousal visa you're given a green card upon entering the states (not citizenship). Handy if you need to start working in the US right away. My SO and I did the K-1 and it took a little under 5 months from applying to receiving my visa in the mail. For the K-1 there's a few forms to fill out after you get married to be able to work/travel outside the US/gain permanent residency. Visajourney was a huge help for me.

Oops, my mistake. Thanks for correcting me!

[snow]

In your specific case, I would definitely look up the visajourney.com forum and see if there is a similar case. I vaguely remember someone getting married on a VWP, but they had to prove that it wasn't planned and happened out of the blue, which is pretty impossible if you're not eloping...

On the other hand, I don't see why you can't get married in the US and then file for the Spousal visa (obviously the K-1 Fiancé Visa would be off the table), because you're not trying to stay in the country while you're waiting for it to be approved, that's why I would really recommend either making a new post on their forums or looking up some of the older ones!

Good luck and congrats

[Mims27]

Not sure if it's relevant but I went to the US to get married to my SO and I told Customs Agent I was going to do that. They let me in just fine. But I'm from Canada, not sure if that makes a difference or not.

[lucybelle]

It's only fraud if you come into the USA on a non-immigrant visa (VWP) and then get married and stay. Meaning you came in saying "yeah I'll leave before my 90 days are up" and then you were like "psych! I decided to get married I'm just going to stay."

People get married in the USA all the time. Just think of destination weddings- Hawaii, Vegas, etc. It's perfectly legal to marry in the USA then go back to your country while applying for the immigrant visa.

[Ella85]

It's only fraud if you come into the USA on a non-immigrant visa (VWP) and then get married and stay. Meaning you came in saying "yeah I'll leave before my 90 days are up" and then you were like "psych! I decided to get married I'm just going to stay."

People get married in the USA all the time. Just think of destination weddings- Hawaii, Vegas, etc. It's perfectly legal to marry in the USA then go back to your country while applying for the immigrant visa.

Exactly this. You can't just stay after getting married. This is exactly why we are applying for a K-1. We don't want to start our married life together on opposite sides of the world.