1. What would my fiancé need to do before we would depart? Could he get married on a travel visa?
2. Since I am a US citizen, would he then be eligible to apply for a Green Card?
- If you will be marrying in the US, but returning to the UK to live, then he can get married in the US as a tourist on the Visa Waiver Program and he doesn't need a visa. However, he will not be able to get a green card to live in the US if he is just visitor (and if he is not planning to move to the US with you, then he won't be eligible for a green card anyway).
- If you will be marrying in the US and intend to live in the US after the wedding, then you will need to apply for a US fiance visa for him and then apply for a green card in the US after the wedding. However, as you are only in the UK on a student visa, you would need to move back to the US in order to file a visa petition for him and the fiance visa process takes about 8-9 months in total, during which time you would have to be in the US and he would have to stay in the UK until the visa is granted before he can move to the US
3. Would I then be able to go back to the UK and get across the border on my student visa, or would I need to apply for a spouse visa while still in the US?
As long as your student visa is still valid and you are still studying in the UK, then you can re-enter as a student after you are married and then file for a 2-year FLR(M) spousal visa to change your status (current cost £550 by post, £850 in person). Technically you could apply for a spousal visa before you return to the UK, but it costs more (currently £810) and probably isn't worth it.
4. If I could get across the border on my student visa, could I then apply for a marriage visa as soon as I returned to the UK? Would we have to register our marriage with the council first?
Yes, you can apply as soon as you get back. I don't think you have to register your marriage with anyone.
If we got married in the UK and then went to the US on honeymoon...
1. Could my fiancé apply for a Green Card while in the US? Or would we have to get our marriage recognised by the US first? If so, how?
You can't get him a green card unless you will both be moving to the US after you are married.
If you want to get a green card for him you will have to apply for a US spousal visa for him first... to do this, you would have to move back to the US first without him to file the visa petition and, like the US fiance visa, it will take around 8-9 months or so before he can move to the US.
2. Could I exit and re-enter the UK for our honeymoon on my student visa? Or would I need to apply for and get a marriage visa first? Could I do this while in the US or would it need to be done in the UK?
No, as long as your student visa is still valid, you can leave the UK and re-enter as a student before you apply for the FLR(M) visa.
