Fiance getting nervous about IO in America

I'm an American, my fiance is a UK citizen.  I've read 80 million times on here that it's legal for us to get married in the visa waiver program as long as we're NOT settling in the US (which we're not....those of you that know me know that I'll be applying for a spousal visa for the UK).

Now, my question to you all is, those of you that have married here in America on the visa waiver program, what exactly did you SO do/say/bring when he/she was coming over.  My fiance got in contact with a couple that we know that got married here.  The outcome wasn't exactly 100% positive (we want to be 100% truthful with everything, turns out they weren't, etc.).  People are saying he'll be bounced straight away if my fiance is honest.

What are we to do?  Any little bit of advice will help.  And sorry, mods, if this topic has been posted a trillion times.

When I was married in California my now DH & I came to the US together but went through immigration seperately. He was asked the purpose of his visit and he replied to visit with fiancee and her family. He was asked how long he inteded to stay to which he said 1 week. His passport was stamped his fingerprint & photo taken and told 'welcome to the US have a nice time'.  We got married 6 days later.

Just the facts...Don't lie...and try not to stress. Him having a return ticket to show helps as well. Those who aren't honest will get bounced.

My husband had a letter from his employer saying that he was expected back to work in the UK on a certain date, and he had his return ticket.  He told the IO that he was in the US to get married and that he wasn't settling there.  No problems, they didn't even ask to see any proof that he would be leaving the US, didn't give him trouble about going there to get married.  As WebyJ says, just be honest.  You're not doing anything illegal, you've got nothing to hide. 

You're not doing anything illegal, you've got nothing to hide. 

Exactly! It is legal to get married on the visa waiver program. My husband came over to the US and we got married and he returned to the UK (I followed a couple of months later). We weren't planning on getting married prior to his trip so when he came through immigration he said that he was over to visit his girlfriend. I don't think they grill you over here like they do in the UK.

Again, it is perfectly legal to get married while on a trip to the US.

Best wishes!

Thanks, everyone.  You're my little angels!

My fiance DOES have a letter from his employer stating that they know he's coming over to get married on March 30th, and that he's due back to work at 8am on April 20th. 

We're just getting a bit paranoid.  If anyone else has any other advice, it would be MUCH appreciated.

I know of British people who flew to Vegas to get married. It's completely legal to get married in the US without a visa. I'll have my DF bring a letter from his employer about his job and we have proof of an address here, so he could show that too.

Does anyone know if it says anything on any of the US government run websites that say it's o.k. to marry on the VWP???

My fiance isn't sleeping because he's TOO nervous now...poor guy.

Does anyone know if it says anything on any of the US government run websites that say it's o.k. to marry on the VWP???

My fiance isn't sleeping because he's TOO nervous now...poor guy.

It's got to say it *somewhere* on an official US website.  Maybe when you find it your fiance can print that page out and carry it with him on the flight.  That way he'll have the peace of mind that if he is questioned about it (which he most likely won't be), he'll have that piece of paper to show to the IO.

Wherever it says it, though, it's hard to find!  I found it on the US Embassy's Website for Russia!!!  It states there the things that one is allowed to do while on the VWP, including getting married but NOT being able to change status within the US. 

I've tried to find it on the US Embassy, London's web-site and even the UK Embassy's DC website, but no luck! 

I've also been able to find the information on about.com and other forums, but those aren't official sources.

Anyone else having any luck?

Right...we're figuring it says something SOMEWHERE.

I wrote to Garry to see if maybe he can help (like, he knows where it's at all ready).

I looked on all the government websites I could find last night and it just discussed what countries are in the VWP.  *sighs*

Here's a link: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/us/marriage-us.html

If you will travel to the United States to marry and return to your permanent residence abroad, you will require a tourist (B-2) visa, or if eligible may travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

OMG, thank you for that!

How do I know my fiance is eligible to travel under the VWP?  Because he's from England?

Because he has British Citizenship.

*phew*

I feel like an idiot though.....I KNEW it was somewhere....and I knew we weren't doing anything wrong, but with him being all paranoid and angry and every other emotion under the sun, his "flipping out"ness started to rub off on me.

Sometimes I swear he's worse than a woman.

But thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much, ladies.  Seriously.  You have NO idea how grateful I am for your help.

Maybe I should make you all cookies or something?

Expect to get a secondary inspection at immigration - I did when I went over to marry my American wife on VWP. I made sure I had a letter from my employer, utility bills, mortgage statement, bank statements and recent payslips. And a printout of the section of the London US Embassy website where it said it was fine to fly over to the USA to marry. Basically I got as much evidence as I could, on the basis that more is better, and organized it into a folder!

The secondary inspection was a long wait - 2 hours at ATL, but when I did get called to the immigration officer, it took a matter of minutes. That was probably one of the most nerve wracking 2 hours of my life, and you can't use your cellphone or anything in there until you've cleared Customs, so there's nothing you can do to contact your loved ones.

We applied for the marriage licence on the previous trip and that was hassle free - the lady at the courthouse just lapped up my accent.