Please may I get some advise with my fiancé visa application.

An example timeline:

- you submit the online visa application on November 1st and on the form you put an Intended Travel Date of December 1st
- the visa takes 2 months to be processed and is approved on January 1st with a start date of January 8th (7 days after the approval) and an expiry date of July 8th.
- she can then travel to the U.K. on or after January 8th (but not before)
- she travels to the U.K. on Jan 8th and lands on Jan 9th
- once she is in the U.K., if you will be marrying in England or Wales, she must be resident for 7 days before you can give notice to marry (for Scotland weddings there’s no 7-day residency requirement)
- so if she arrives on Jan 9th the earliest you can give notice will be Jan 16th (in England or Wales)
- you then have to wait 28 days from the day you give notice before you can marry. However, this may be extended to 70 days if your case is referred to U.K. immigration (because she has a visa)... this shouldn’t happen if she has a fiancé visa as she will already have permission to marry in the U.K... but it could happen
- therefore the earliest possible date you could marry would be 13th February... but if the case is referred you could have to wait until 27th March before you can get married

All of the above are the reasons you should not book any flights or anything for the wedding until the visa has been approved and mailed back to her... because you won’t know in advance what date the visa will actually start from, what date she will arrive in the U.K., what date you will be able to give notice, or what date you will be eligible to marry after giving notice.
- once you are married, you have until her fiancé visa expiry date to submit the online application for the next visa: FLR(M).


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Thank you, that makes a lot of sense looking at it in that way!

Hi Brandon! Some of the experts here will be very helpful but wanted to give you my 2 cents as an American who did the same now 3 years happily married. No, you do not need an immigration lawyer as some apps have been denied using one as not so it can be done without. I did it without one. Others can advise you on fees but I will share some advise. Do not attempt to fill out the application until you are fully ready. The first visa out of four which you are applying for, the main focus is relationship proof and financial. You need to gather it all before applying. One is corispindance for the length of your relationship. ( photos, text, messenger ect) It must equally span the time of you knowing each other. Happy photos of you both together. If you have photos where you have met family and friends together the better. Others can advise on fees but yes the processing is separate from the visa fee. Best of luck!

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Hello Missially

I believe we're going too skip out on the lawyers and go for it ourselves. As you explained, many people have applied without laywers and it has been accepted with no issue. In terms of filling out the application, I wanted to see how far I could get without submitting it so I could resolve any confusion.

We're in the process of drawing up letters and compiling out evidence. All very exciting yet stressful times!

Hello Missially

I believe we're going too skip out on the lawyers and go for it ourselves. As you explained, many people have applied without laywers and it has been accepted with no issue. In terms of filling out the application, I wanted to see how far I could get without submitting it so I could resolve any confusion.

We're in the process of drawing up letters and compiling out evidence. All very exciting yet stressful times!

Just be sure to save the application you filled out and revisit it every 2 weeks or so. This sounds weird but a huge mistake my husband and I made was to do the same. When we went back.we were "locked out" as they keep the applications clear. I freaked out and we had to use another e mail. You do not have to fill anything in, just log into it about every two weeks or you will get locked out! I remember having a panic attack in the Family Dollar store trying to log in! ...Sigh...We ended up using my husband's e mail but what a stresser!!

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In no -Covid times we do NOT recommend marrying in the U.K. 

But there isn’t an option otherwise at the moment.  It’s all a bit pants!

Just be sure to save the application you filled out and revisit it every 2 weeks or so. This sounds weird but a huge mistake my husband and I made was to do the same. When we went back.we were "locked out" as they keep the applications clear. I freaked out and we had to use another e mail. You do not have to fill anything in, just log into it about every two weeks or you will get locked out! I remember having a panic attack in the Family Dollar store trying to log in! ...Sigh...We ended up using my husband's e mail but what a stresser!!

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Oh, thank you so much for the heads up! That would be an absolute stresser! I'll ensure to set a reminder every week!

In no -Covid times we do NOT recommend marrying in the U.K. 

But there isn’t an option otherwise at the moment.  It’s all a bit pants!

Sorry, I'm a tad confused.

Are you saying you would advise getting married in the US and skipping over the fiance visa?

Sorry, I'm a tad confused.

Are you saying you would advise getting married in the US and skipping over the fiance visa?

In normal times, when there is no Covid, yes, we advise marrying in the US, because you don’t need a visa to marry there and you can marry within 24-48 hours of arriving in the US.

However, because of Covid, you are not currently allowed to fly to the US as a visitor, so it’s not possible to marry there at the moment, so unless you wait until Covid is over and all the travel restrictions have been lifted, your only option will be the UK fiancé visa (or a marriage visitor visa) and getting married in the UK.


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In normal times, when there is no Covid, yes, we advise marrying in the US, because you don’t need a visa to marry there and you can marry within 24-48 hours of arriving in the US.

However, because of Covid, you are not currently allowed to fly to the US as a visitor, so it’s not possible to marry there at the moment, so unless you wait until Covid is over and all the travel restrictions have been lifted, your only option will be the UK fiancé visa (or a marriage visitor visa) and getting married in the UK.


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What an easier way of doing things, perhaps once I get my new apartment and have enough payslips to provide them from my new job, things in the US would be a little better to allow travel.

If they lift the us travel ban, absolutely do!

But...  I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon.  Not while Trump is in office at least.

If they lift the us travel ban, absolutely do!

But...  I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon.  Not while Trump is in office at least.

Sorry to be a bother, I was looking at this website https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/all-visa-categories.html for more information on the visa to me to enter the country and marry my partner, but the only relevant visa I can see is the "Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. K-1 "

I believe it is possible to get married on a B-2 visa but I may have to prove that it is not an attempt at visa fraud and I can simply show them my return flight home as well as tenancy agreements etc.

This is all if COVID goes away, but it would avoid the initial $2800(est) charge for the fiancé visa

A large number of people (in fact, probably the majority) on this forum have married in the US as visitors, including people commenting on this thread.

A fiancé visa is only for people actually immigrating to the US on a permanent basis. As long as you do NOT plan to live in the US with your fiancée after the wedding, you do NOT need a fiancé visa.

From the US Embassy in London website, in the fiancé visa section:

Please note: if you do not intend taking up indefinite residence but will continue to live and work outside the United States after the marriage ceremony, you should apply for a B-2 visa, or if eligible, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/

So, you just need to be able to show a return ticket and maybe also evidence of your job in the U.K... same as any time you enter the US as a visitor... and you’ll be fine.

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