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I'm a non-American Software Engineer, living outside the US. Me and my girlfriend (who's an American citizen) are seriously considering marrying and moving toge

I'm a non-American Software Engineer, living outside the US. Me and my girlfriend (who's an American citizen) are seriously considering marrying and moving together next year. Any advice or anything you recommend reading? Also, how long it typically would take until I was able to legally have a job in the US, once I move? I have a tourist visa and traveled to the States countless times. If I go there with the intent of getting married, do I need a special visa or not, considering I can already enter legally? Thank you for your time.

proberts 2y ago
This is complicated so it's important to speak with an immigration attorney before you take any steps. The better option is to apply from within the U.S. but doing this while in the U.S. as a tourist is problematic. The other path, through a U.S. Consulate abroad, raises no legal concerns but can take a very long time (compared to a U.S. based application).
- proberts 2y ago
  A work around would be to get some type of work visa (a challenge itself) and then once in the U.S. on this visa, apply for a green card based on marriage.
  - shuckles 2y ago
    Is this workaround applicable even if the work visa is of non-immigrant intent, like the H1B1?
    - mbbbb 2y ago
      Yes, for example I married my partner who was on an F1 visa, which is a non-immigrant visa, and we were able to easily adjust his status to the GC (this is faster than the K1 process)
      - shuckles 2y ago
        That’s useful to know. One difference for my situation is I’d like the H1B1 holder to be able to continue working during the application, but I have heard mixed information on how feasible that is. The H1B1 needs to be renewed quite frequently but may not be renewable while you have an adjustment pending.
        proberts 2y ago
        There are potential issues with being in H-1B1 status and applying for a green card but they revolve more around timing - so, for example, if you entered the U.S. on an H-1B1 visa (as opposed to H-1B), which is not a dual-intent visa, then you would need to wait some unspecified period of time before applying for a green card to avoid being "charged" with immigration fraud at the time of your entry in H-1B1 status. Also, after filing your green card application, while you could continue working on your H-1B1 visa, you wouldn't be able to travel internationally on it and you wouldn't be able to travel in general for an extended period of time unless you had a family emergency abroad.
KK7NIL 2y ago
> I go there with the intent of getting married, do I need a special visa or not, considering I can already enter legally? Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud! I've been through this process myself and I can tell you that it's quite the lengthy process and there's financial requirements and many checks along the way. For me it was about 18 months from start of K1 application to issuance (delayed due to COVID) and then about 6 month wait on employment authorization (and greencard about 6 months later). These times could be much longer if you're not from a western country or mess up the paperwork along the way (easy to do, there's quite a lot of stuff both partners need to file). Just letting you know so you can start the process early. There's several forums online for people going through such a process with a lot of resources, I'd suggest looking there for other's experiences.
- returningfory2 2y ago
  > Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud! While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully. And it's hardly surprising, especially under a pro-immigrant administration like Biden's. I doubt strictly enforcing previous non-immigrant intent in family-based green card applications is anyone's priority. I'm not advocating people do it. I just think there's a strange dynamic in immigration conversations online where a lot of people talk as if theory and reality are exactly the same. They're not. The reality is that people are constantly engaging in various immigration violations that are overlooked/undeclared/ignored/etc.
  - KK7NIL 2y ago
    > While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully. You are correct, but if you do it on a tourist visa, you can expect to wait well over a year for employment authorization, which is very difficult on a relationship. Not to mention you always risk getting rejected (particularly if you posted your intention online) and then being essentially banned from entering the US. For two grown adults with careers, it makes no sense to risk it, just take one of many legal routes (K-1, work visa, getting married outside of the US and then applying for a greencard, etc).
zie 2y ago
We went through the Fiance Visa program and it wasn't a big deal, but the foreign one of us was Canadian, which is on the we like that country list, which probably helped a lot. You have to follow special rules for the fiance visa program, and most all the paperwork happens before you get married. The big thing I remember(it's been decades now), there was a fee we had to pay at one of the consulates somewhere, and they gave us 2 receipts, a big fancy full page one and the tiny cash register receipt. Way afterwards they made us prove we paid the fee. They wanted the tiny cash register receipt, not the fancy full page one. Make sure you keep literally everything , you have no idea what might be important later on. I'm not saying the fiance visa is right for you in your situation, just mentioning it in case you are not aware.

proberts 2y ago

This is complicated so it's important to speak with an immigration attorney before you take any steps. The better option is to apply from within the U.S. but doing this while in the U.S. as a tourist is problematic. The other path, through a U.S. Consulate abroad, raises no legal concerns but can take a very long time (compared to a U.S. based application).

proberts 2y ago
A work around would be to get some type of work visa (a challenge itself) and then once in the U.S. on this visa, apply for a green card based on marriage.
- shuckles 2y ago
  Is this workaround applicable even if the work visa is of non-immigrant intent, like the H1B1?
  - mbbbb 2y ago
    Yes, for example I married my partner who was on an F1 visa, which is a non-immigrant visa, and we were able to easily adjust his status to the GC (this is faster than the K1 process)
    - shuckles 2y ago
      That’s useful to know. One difference for my situation is I’d like the H1B1 holder to be able to continue working during the application, but I have heard mixed information on how feasible that is. The H1B1 needs to be renewed quite frequently but may not be renewable while you have an adjustment pending.
      - proberts 2y ago
        There are potential issues with being in H-1B1 status and applying for a green card but they revolve more around timing - so, for example, if you entered the U.S. on an H-1B1 visa (as opposed to H-1B), which is not a dual-intent visa, then you would need to wait some unspecified period of time before applying for a green card to avoid being "charged" with immigration fraud at the time of your entry in H-1B1 status. Also, after filing your green card application, while you could continue working on your H-1B1 visa, you wouldn't be able to travel internationally on it and you wouldn't be able to travel in general for an extended period of time unless you had a family emergency abroad.

KK7NIL 2y ago

> I go there with the intent of getting married, do I need a special visa or not, considering I can already enter legally? Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud! I've been through this process myself and I can tell you that it's quite the lengthy process and there's financial requirements and many checks along the way. For me it was about 18 months from start of K1 application to issuance (delayed due to COVID) and then about 6 month wait on employment authorization (and greencard about 6 months later). These times could be much longer if you're not from a western country or mess up the paperwork along the way (easy to do, there's quite a lot of stuff both partners need to file). Just letting you know so you can start the process early. There's several forums online for people going through such a process with a lot of resources, I'd suggest looking there for other's experiences.

returningfory2 2y ago
> Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud! While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully. And it's hardly surprising, especially under a pro-immigrant administration like Biden's. I doubt strictly enforcing previous non-immigrant intent in family-based green card applications is anyone's priority. I'm not advocating people do it. I just think there's a strange dynamic in immigration conversations online where a lot of people talk as if theory and reality are exactly the same. They're not. The reality is that people are constantly engaging in various immigration violations that are overlooked/undeclared/ignored/etc.
- KK7NIL 2y ago
  > While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully. You are correct, but if you do it on a tourist visa, you can expect to wait well over a year for employment authorization, which is very difficult on a relationship. Not to mention you always risk getting rejected (particularly if you posted your intention online) and then being essentially banned from entering the US. For two grown adults with careers, it makes no sense to risk it, just take one of many legal routes (K-1, work visa, getting married outside of the US and then applying for a greencard, etc).

zie 2y ago

We went through the Fiance Visa program and it wasn't a big deal, but the foreign one of us was Canadian, which is on the we like that country list, which probably helped a lot. You have to follow special rules for the fiance visa program, and most all the paperwork happens before you get married. The big thing I remember(it's been decades now), there was a fee we had to pay at one of the consulates somewhere, and they gave us 2 receipts, a big fancy full page one and the tiny cash register receipt. Way afterwards they made us prove we paid the fee. They wanted the tiny cash register receipt, not the fancy full page one. Make sure you keep literally everything , you have no idea what might be important later on. I'm not saying the fiance visa is right for you in your situation, just mentioning it in case you are not aware.