marriage in US without Fiance visa?

Hi all,
Cause everyday we seem to come up with new and exciting ways to complicate paperwork,  my DF is now going to come here (US), instead of us rushing away to move there (UK).  It may be just an extended visit but we don't know yet.  My question is has anyone had any experience with a UK citizen coming to US and getting married just on their passport?  I have looked, but can't find what im looking for.  What we're wondering is if he comes, we get married, can he apply for spousal visa while he's here?

thanks for any advice.
sandy

Heya,

If he's intending to settle in the US with you after the marriage, I would not advise getting married without a proper K-1 fiance visa.  It's illegal to come to the US with the intention of getting married and then staying without a proper visa.  Now, if he comes for a visit and you do happen to get married, it is possible to apply for permanent residence from within the US, but you have to prove to US immigration that he did not enter the country with the intent on getting married, which as you might imagine can be tough. The only quasi-exception: You could also get married here but have him then go back to the UK and file for a K-3 spouse visa- that's legal.

If you want him to move to the US, any visa he applies for whether as a fiance or a spouse will take several months to be granted- it's a very complicated and trying process, especially when compared to the UK spouse/fiance visa.  But if you're willing to wait and be patient, it should come through all right.

My Welsh boy came here in September and married me, then went back to the UK.  They did ask him when he came through customs why he was here and he said he was here to marry me and bring me back to the UK!  Would have been a different story if he didnt have return flight im sure!

If you're not planning to live in the US following the wedding, he won't need a fiance visa.  If you are planning on living there directly following the marriage, he will need a fiance visa.

thanks all!  We have been talking, he gets here friday and we're going to start sorting our options, with plans completely switching continents its sort of like starting over.  At this point, we're going to see bout arranging some way for him to stay here, but will be ready to go in 90 days back to UK if nothing else.  Is there anyway to get a temporary work permit while awaiting spousal visa application?

You CAN get married while he's there on a visa-waiver BUT the onus is on you to prove to INS that it was SPONTANEOUS rather than planned, and believe me, they'll inquire.......it's a grey area, but possible.

                                                                  Hypothetical Situation:

                 Marrying a US Citizen who lives in the USA in the USA in the "spur of the moment" (Visa Waiver/Adjusting Status after Marriage)


You wake up one day during your Visa Waiver vacation to the USA and find that you should marry the man/woman next to you. You have never planned to do so, you have evidence if you would be asked at the port of entry that you don't intend to enter the US to marry. (Appropriate evidence is: Flight ticket back, Evidence that you got a job in Germany, Evidence that you got a house/apartment/property in Germany, Evidence that you have a bank account in Germany, ALL kinds of Evidence that underline the spontaneous idea. If you do not have sufficient evidence it could happen that the future applicant is barred from travelling and residing in the US for 3-10 years and get deported immediately as well as of course not being issued a Visa!



You marry your US fiance(e).



You file form I-130 and I-485 at your local USCIS Office. Always make sure you read the instruction pages thoroughly! In the instruction pages you find which Service Center and local USCIS Office works on your case. I.e. for Atlanta, GA the USCIS Office is in Atlanta.



For work permission file form I-765. Read the instruction pages on where to file.



As initially said, the quickest possible solution for a couple or a family to be united in the USA is the DCF (Direct Consular Filing). There is no other option comparably as smooth and easy. Whether you decide to go for a K1- or K3-Visa might rather be a personal question with personal consideration of plans under given circumstances. None of them is usually that much quicker than the other. Most of the times it depends on the Service Centers and their processing times. The one thing I highly appreciate is that with a K3-Visa you will be able to travel back and forth from/to the US without having to apply for yet another document, the Advance Parole. Last not least there cannot be an advice on the spontaneous marriage, for how could it be spontaneous if considered before...?!

wow, really nervous now, as he has quit his job, but the other things he will have to prove he didn't come here to stay, we are going to keep our options open as far as us being able to go back there at the end of 90 days if need be, but am now worried bout him being barred from traveling here for years or being deported. oh my, looks like more debate between us and more research, paperwork...thanks for the advice, i really appreciate it!

If you're on here asking about what will/should happen if you marry in the US, then the marriage can't be spontaneous.  If your fiance has quit his job and has no real ties to the UK, I would imagine you'll have a pretty hard time proving that you got married on the spur of the moment.

My impression of the in-country switch from visitor to spouse is that it's quite difficult in the US.  They really want people to follow the rules and some couples (not saying you are) attempt to circumvent the rules by "deciding" to get married "spontaneously".  US immigration is onto that and they will, as Celtic said, inquire. 

My best friend did exactly this...her boyfriend came over from the UK to visit for two months, they got married after a month and then (on their own, no help from a lawyer) filled out the paperwork for his visa.  It was a change of visa status.  This was three years ago, so maybe the rules have changed?  Of course, you do have to wait up to six months for a work permit, etc..
My best advice would be to research it before you do anything! 

Good luck!

If you're on here asking about what will/should happen if you marry in the US, then the marriage can't be spontaneous.  If your fiance has quit his job and has no real ties to the UK, I would imagine you'll have a pretty hard time proving that you got married on the spur of the moment.

Since when do they ask any of those questions on the forms you fill out? The only time they EVER talk to you is two to three years after you apply (when you are about to get your permanant residency).  Tritessa, look at the applications and see what kind of questions they ask you.   I'll try to find them and post the urls.
I helped my friend put the paperwork together (I'm more anal when it comes to details than she) and as long as you have a VERY detail-orientated brain, you will be okay (in regards to filling out the paperwork by yourself).

Since when do they ask any of those questions on the forms you fill out? The only time they EVER talk to you is two to three years after you apply (when you are about to get your permanant residency).

Sorry, I meant to say your conditional permanent residency.  Its my understanding that it takes five years to get permanent residency.

Sorry, I meant to say your conditional permanent residency.  Its my understanding that it takes five years to get permanent residency.

That's not accurate.  From filing of AOS to granting of status can take several months to over a year (and if they're being slow more than that)- conditional permanent residency is granted on the basis of being married less than 2 years.  If the AOS application took a super-long time and was approved after the couple had been married more than 2 years, the non-US citizen would get a regular 10 year green card and skip conditional residence altogether.  A conditional green card is valid for two years- at the end of that the alien files to remove the conditions (that application usually takes a few months) and then recieves their regular green card. 

Maybe, but in Chicago it takes longer.  That's how long it took my friend's husband to get his permanent residency green card (five years).

Maybe, but in Chicago it takes longer.  That's how long it took my friend's husband to get his permanent residency green card (five years).

I don't doubt you- some cases slip through the cracks.  I applied to renew my 10 year green card in July 2002 and to this day have never received a renewed card (when it should have taken only a few months!) I applied for naturalization in the interim though so I don't have to worry about it anymore   USCIS sucks

hi all!

sorry it took so long for a reply, have been super busy, we are still trying to decide which route we are going to take. My mum just adores him now that he's here and she's setting us up with her family lawyer to get some advice on what we should do.  We just found out as well that i'm pregnant, yay!! we are both so excited and cant' believe this happened.  We wanted to wait, but sometimes accidents happen, happy ones!!  We talked to a friend of ours who was in a similar situation and he told us that we can get married if we want and apply for another tourist visa to extend the time he's allowed to stay if nothing else until we can sort out which visa he'll end up with.  He also said that with a child involved, sometimes that makes them move a little faster .

Has anyone ever sponsored a person to stay in the US?  How much does income and other things factor into whether they'll let you sponsor someone?

thanks again everyone for the help.