Is it ok to marry out of state of residency?

[nartane]

Hi everyone! I haven't been able to find anything on this topic after an admittedly brief search, so I hope I'm not being redundant with my question. My boyfriend (USC) and I have recently started talking about getting married. I'm currently in NY on a visitor's visa and we would like to get married during my stay here. So the question is, does it matter which state we marry in?
My boyfriend's a resident of NY but has family in WI. Is it possible to go through the marriage/green card process in WI even if he's not a resident? Are there any pros and cons to doing this in NY as opposed to WI (what i'm assuming is a less immigration-heavy area)?

 

[BigJoe5]

Hi everyone! I haven't been able to find anything on this topic after an admittedly brief search, so I hope I'm not being redundant with my question. My boyfriend (USC) and I have recently started talking about getting married. I'm currently in NY on a visitor's visa and we would like to get married during my stay here. So the question is, does it matter which state we marry in?
My boyfriend's a resident of NY but has family in WI. Is it possible to go through the marriage/green card process in WI even if he's not a resident? Are there any pros and cons to doing this in NY as opposed to WI (what i'm assuming is a less immigration-heavy area)?

http://www.1800bride2b.com/articles/marriagelaws_chart.htm Here is an easy to read chart on simple basics.

For USCIS processing by office check the processing times for the particular offices where you might apply on www.uscis.gov The office where you apply is a central processing facility. The application will be sent to a USCIS Office for interview based on where you live. People are free to move about within the U.S. and live where they like.

The following Local Office(s) service Wisconsin:

Milwaukee Field Office.
This office is located at: 310 East Knapp Street Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Saint Paul Field Office.
This office is located at: 2901 Metro Drive, Suite 100 Bloomington, MN 55425.

The following Local Office(s) service New York:

Albany Field Office.
This office is located at: 1086 Troy-Schenectady Road Latham, NY 12110.

Buffalo Field Office.
This office is located at: Federal Center 130 Delaware Avenue, First Floor Buffalo, NY 14202.

Garden City Field Office.
This office is located at: 711 Stewart Avenue Garden City, NY 11530

New York City Field Office.
This office is located at: Jacob K. Javits Federal Building 26 Federal Plaza, 3rd Floor, Room 3-120 New York, NY 10278.

Rochester Field Office.
This office is located at: 100 State Street, Room 418 Rochester, NY 14614. This office provides limited information services.

Syracuse Field Office.
This office is located at: 412 South Warren Street Syracuse, NY 13202. This office provides limited information services.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

My boyfriend's a resident of NY but has family in WI. Is it possible to go through the marriage/green card process in WI even if he's not a resident? Are there any pros and cons to doing this in NY as opposed to WI (what i'm assuming is a less immigration-heavy area)?

If Wisconsin doesn't care about residency (most states don't) then it's perfectly fine to get married there. However, that won't change where your GC is processed - it is based on where you LIVE, not where you were married.

 

[nartane]

Thank you BigJoe5, for the useful links. Going by processing dates, both states seem to be the same. What we're really concerned with is whether we are going to have to go through the interviews and file in the state where we got the marriage certificate. We have no intention of moving to WI but might want to get married there since my boyfriend's family is there. From your response, I'm understanding that it doesn't matter where we get married, we'll have to file in NY. Am I right?

Edit: Thanks RealCanadian, that answers my question