how do we start the ball rollling?!!!

ok heres the story basically to keep things simple...
im english and my fiance is american...weve been together 2 years.and hes travelled to uk 3 times and is here now on his 4th visit..i have also just returned from usa for a visit..
hes here on a 6 month visiting visa...and we hoped to get married while hes here..then go back to live in the usa...we wanted to get married here cos my familys here n flying them out to usa isnt possible ( cost etc)....
We thought we could just go ahead and that the marriage would be legal in the usa then and then over there we could just get a blessing of some kind so his family could share the event with us..BUTTTTTTTTTT we have come up agaisnt so many hurdles and have had 10000 different answers to 10 diff questions!!!
were hoping some1 out there has been threw the same and can please please help us in anyway..bcos any offical weve talked to seems to contradict the one before...this as any of you know whove been threw it is very stressful and emotionally draining.
we have got the i-129f and the i-130 and to be honnest dont know which we need!!we rang the local registry office and they said all they need is the fiance visa ..is that the i-129f? does he have to file it there or can he fill it in here n post it back to usa??
bcos hes only just got here n seems crazy hes got to go right back to just file a form 
what we need is just some advice on to get the balling rolling please...weve spent thousands of hours on the net...tons of ink printing form after form...and days and nights of pure stress tryint to work out how we can just be married n together!!
thankyew in advance for any help 

LiLy & Jerry

You can't get married in the UK as a regular visitor....he's going to have to fly home at some point and get a visa. 

1) He could get a UK fiance visa and then convert it to a UK settlement visa once you're married...that would let you guys stay together while you file the visa paperwork for the US.

2) The other option is for your fiance to fly home and get a UK marriage-visit visa (a temporary visa allowing non-UK/EU citizens to get married in the UK) and then return home after the wedding and file the US visa paperwork.  That route would mean you'd be separated until your US visa comes through. 

If your fiance is willing to live in the UK for a while, I would suggest the first option.

The I-129F and I-130 are for immigration to the US.

Is it your intention to live in the US or the UK once married?

 thankyou for your help..we want to live in the us..hes here right now..and can stay for 6 months and is willing too...i on the other hand cant wait to get out of here asap!..so the best thing to do and the quickest would be for him to fly home get a finacee visa then come back is it ?? cos he can change his flight ticket and go home earlier then come back n stay with me...
we have talked about living in both uk and US but have decied for US for many reasons...we did clal his local courthouse today in Georgia to ask what i would need to be married there if i flew back with him...they said all i need is a passport..and we can get married...is this true? can i fly back with him and get married in the US? would it be legal marriage in uk?
if i did this and we got married which is seems( according to the courthouse lady we can )....do i then just apply for a visa to stay in US? if we took this route..what visa would i need to apply for?
we dont want to be apart..so the best route for staying together either in Uk or usa we want to take...but we definately intend to live in the US..
Oh 1 more question ( sorry!!)..my partners disabled..and on state benefits..will this affect the visa in the way about him supporting me etc? i myself do intend to work wen i get there of course...which visa do i need for that?
thankyou for all your help..!!

LiLy & jerry

...we did clal his local courthouse today in Georgia to ask what i would need to be married there if i flew back with him...they said all i need is a passport..and we can get married...is this true? can i fly back with him and get married in the US? would it be legal marriage in uk?

If that's all his county requires then, yes, that's all you need - proof of identity, (was all I needed in MD too).
Yes, you can fly to the US and marry there and it would be recognised in the UK as well - no need to do anything else.

if i did this and we got married which is seems( according to the courthouse lady we can )....do i then just apply for a visa to stay in US?

Visas are used for entry into a country. If you wish to move to another country then you must obey it's immigration laws.
Your husband would have to file a petition to get the ball rolling - the I-130 - in the US.
All details can be found on uscis.gov.
Once all has been done on the US side you would then have to have a visa interview at the US Embassy in London.

Oh 1 more question ( sorry!!)..my partners disabled..and on state benefits..will this affect the visa in the way about him supporting me etc?

He will be your sponsor. The I-864, (found on uscis.gov) is the affadavit of support which he must complete to show that he is capable of supporting you and any other dependents. Regardless of whether or not he fulfills those requirements he must complete that form. If need be he can also use a co-sponsor.

i myself do intend to work wen i get there of course...which visa do i need for that?

If you follow through on the I-130 alone, (which leads to the CR/IR-1, AKA permanent residency) then you will be able to work and travel straightaway without the need to file any further forms.
If you choose the K3 route, (I-130 and I-129F) then you will have to apply for an EAD, (using form I-751) once you have entered the States. This will allow you to work once you have the card, (EAD) in your possession.

You will also need to get an SSN but that is seperate and applied for from the SSA not the USCIS.

Hope that's cleared things up a bit for you!

If you don't want to be separated after your marriage, you'll need to get your fiance a UK settlement visa (either fiance or spouse, depending on which country you get married in) and live together in the UK while your I-130 is being processed.  The US has a pretty lengthy immigration process and it will take several months to a year to get your visa (while on the other hand a UK settlement visa for your fiance would only take 1-2 weeks or less to be approved.)  It's illegal to enter the US with the intention of settling there if you don't have the proper visa- getting married in the US is only an option if you intend to fly right back to the UK afterwards.

I feel for you. You are up against some major hurdles. My UK hubby had intended to immigrate to the US as well. We filed the paperwork and all, but eventually the whole thing got mucked up...so I am in the UK now. It is a much easier process. You should both carefully consider what is most important to you. For us the long distance marriage thing just became too much to endure. It was more important for us to be together than where we were.

In the US to get married if you do not intend to remain all you need is a passport or other form of ID. You can then get your husband a UK spousal visa at NY, Chicago or Los Angeles in a single day. And fly back to the UK and live happily ever after. The catch is that he won't be eligible for disability once he leaves the US...and his spousal visa will prohibit him from receiving public funds here. You will have to provide full support for both of you. But he will receive full coverage through NHS.

If you choose to come to the US...it will be a long and painful process with many delays. He will need a co-sponsor for your application because no public funds (disability) can be used to meet their income requirements. And right now, the K3 visa process is totally screwed up by a new law called IMBRA (International Marriage Broker Regulation Act) that will require a background check on him as well as you. So the I-130 (CR1) process which takes about a year or so to complete is your best option.

As an alternative, you could plan something like we are doing. After two years when your husband applies for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) on his spousal visa, once that is granted the American Embassy will process your I-130 (which by then will be an IR1...meaning no need to go back in two years and prove your marriage is real cause you've already been married more than 2 years) in what is called Direct Consular Filing (DCF). That process take about 2 months...maybe 3. It will give you the right to work immediately (well after you get your Social Security Number...about two weeks to a month).

That's what our plan is...we're going to be saving towards that goal. Of course, don't tell my hubby but I'm going to deal the whole thing as long as I can...cause I love England. PM if you have any questions.

Your fiance's disability income won't necessarily preclude him from sponsoring you in the US.  It depends on what the benefit is and whether or not it's considered to be 'means tested'.  Even if a co-sponsor is required, there's no shame in that.  And it needn't be a family member - just someone who is willing and meets the income requirements.

The form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) which accompanies Adjustment of Status in the US has recently been re-evaluated by USCIS and some of the financial requirements have just been relaxed.

If you have assets of your own that you are bringing to the US, they can be counted in your favor as well.  I've known of more than one UK citizen with cash in the bank who 'self sponsored' when they had their fiance interview at the London Embassy.

The IMBRA law mentioned earlier is sorting itself out, and USCIS appears to be conducting no additional background check on the USC.  For most petitioners, the only thing new that IMBRA creates for their application is that they answer a few questions on the NEW I-129F form in regards to possible previous crimes of domestic abuse, etc.

Depending on where your fiance resides in the US, a fiance visa can possibly be processed very quickly.  We experienced a processing time last year of only 106 days.

Immigration to the US is NOT as quick as immigration to the UK.  But if your ultimate goal is to live in the US, then it seems more cost effective to me to simply immigrate to one country, not back and forth between the two.

Oh....your fiance could indeed file an I-129F Fiance petition for you while he is in the UK.  There's absolutely no restrictions against that.

www.visajourney.com

ok firstly thankyou so much for all your help we are FINALLYYYYY understanding the process more..thankyew!!!!!
we had come to this plan after reading all the help but are still a little confused..this is what we intended..
fly back together to US for a couple of weeks just to take care of stuff ..get married...and him file the i-130..(which is for me to enter back in the US after were married rite?) this form starts of the process for me to EVENTUALLY live there rite? that form is then passed to london and i have my interview etc etc??
but now were thinkin...maybe he should just fly back alone..fill in the forms..to come marry me here...(which form is that)then change it to a settlement visa...and stay here with me while my form is processing in us..
is it 2 diff forms he will fillin back in US? one for coming here to marry me..and another for me to go eventually settle there???..thats our main confusion..
we dont really care where we marry ..as long as its legal...and most important..that we can stay together...
my fiance is epelitic ( sp) sorry...on full disability...his father would prob most def be a co-sponser so we should be ok there....
im so sorry if im repeating things over n over...and sound like a dunce...so can some1 please just tell us simply.....which forms to file...

fiance flys back to us.....file for me to settle there?
fiance flys back to us......file to come marry me here?

i cant thankyew all enuf for all your help we both so do appreciate it and may finally now get 1 nites sleep!!
good luck to all of you goin threw the same process and well done to those who made it!! x

LiLy & jerry

ok 1 more question....or2 lol
can we file the i-130 whilst hes here in uk too?
it seems the i130f is the best way to go rather than the i-129f rite?
we want to basically get married in either country then finally live in the US but are willing to live in uk till the us stuff get sorted to eventually go live there foreverrrrrrrr

Let's start with defining your US visa options: K-1 or K-3.  Both take at least five months to file for if your case is straightforward with no criminal history, medical problems, messy divorces, overstayed visas and the like.  A more complicated case, mistakes in your paperwork, or new US immigration laws being passed while your petition is in process will add more time.

K-1 is the fiance visa.  It is used if you want to come to the US, marry, and stay.
K-3 is the spousal visa.  It is used if you are married and want to come to settle with your spouse in in the US. 

Both visas have several stages:
The petition to apply-this is where the US citizen petitions the USCIS to allow their fiance/spouse to apply for the visa.  This is done with form I-129F in a fiance visa and by form I-130 (and I-129F too) for a spousal visa.  At this stage, there are several things which must be proven to the satisfaction of the USCIS service center: that the relationship is genuine, mostly. 

The NVC: If your petition is approved, then it is sent to the national visa service center, who ships it to the US consulate in London.  They mail out the actual visa application to the foreign spouse.  There is more gathering of information and a medical exam; when the fiance/spouse has all the relevant information collected and forms filled out they return the application to the Consulate.  The Consulate then schedules...

The Interview: this is the last and probably most nerve-wracking stage.  The foreign fiance/spouse is called for a face to face interview.  At this interview, the consular officer will question the potential immigrant.  They will ask for proof that the US Citizen can support them, ask questions to determine if the relationship is genuine, and in general issue or deny the visa. 

These are the same for both US visas.  Now, onto your case.  You have several options, all with different benefits and drawbacks.

1.  Marry in the UK and wait out the process together.  This option is expensive, and can only be used if he has an address in the US (this is called maintaining domicile), as the USCIS will not process a visa application for someone who does not have US domicile (for US citizens who live abroad there is something called Direct Consular Filing, but as your fiance doesn't live abroad and cannot establish residence, it doesn't apply to you).  He would have to fly back to the US, apply for and receive a fiance visa, fly back to the UK, marry you, and switch to Further leave to remain.  All of that costs a pretty penny, but this is the option with the least time apart.  Once you have his further leave to remain, you can file for the K-3 spousal visa, which takes at least five months and more if there are complications or if the USCIS is busy.

2.  Marry in the US on the Visa Waiver Program.  This option is if you want to get married NOW in the US.  You cannot remain in the US after getting married on the VWP-you must return to the UK within 90 days of entering the US or risk complications (like a ban).  After you marry, your husband can then begin the process of applying for your K-3 visa.  The advantage to this method is that you can have a US wedding NOW, and you are only filing for one visa so costwise this is less expensive than option one.  The drawback is that you have to go home and wait for the visa to be processed (you can visit, but as you have a US spouse at that point you are "flagged" as a possible candidate for overstaying your welcome!) so you have time apart.

3.  Apply for the K-1 fiance visa and move to the US.  Basically, this would entail much the same as the K-3.  The difference is he would have to file for the K-1 before you could come to the US permanently.  It is less expensive than the first option, as you don't need him to get UK visas issued, and takes about the same length of time as the K-3 to be issued.  The drawback is that there would be time apart unless he can stay in the UK with you for the length of time it would take to be processed AND he stil has a  US address (and someone trustworthy to get and forward his mail to you!).  This option would give you less time apart than marrying in the US and filing for the K-3 provided he can afford to stay in the UK with you.

I hope that clears things up.

sorry on option 2 ....if we go us get married...and he starts off the i-130 visa...can he come back with me while i wait it out?
cos this option seems best rite now...cos we can leave asap get married ..i have to be back here anyways for sept...for bdays etc so that would be ok..but can he come back with me or does he have to wait there while the i-130 is in progress?
sorry for all these questions )


LiLy

what form is it he fills in to come marry me in the uk please?.....

Yes, he can be in the UK with you while the K-3 is being processed.  He just needs to have a US address; but remember, in order for the K-3 visa to be approved he has to prove that he earns 125% of the current poverty guidelines for your household size (on the I-134 affadavit of support form, which is submitted at the interview in conjunction with last year's tax return).  If his parents live at that address, they must be included in the household size, too.  Since he is staying in the Uk (and presumably not working), you are going to have to have a US co-sponsor who does meet the guidelines to hand.

Ye Olde Fiance Visa Form:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11406/Form_COA.13_June_06.pdf

Or you can marry in the US and he cna come over as a spouse...save a few quid on two applications...

Vicky