Leaving the US for work commitments within 1 month of marriage to US citizen.

N

nickymkirk

New Member
Dear all

Thanks in advance for any advice. I am getting married to a US citizen in June of this year in the US. We both currently live in the UK, however will be moving to live together after the wedding. Unfortunately, I have work commitments which I am obliged to fulfill before moving to the US and therefore will have to return to the UK around July and remain in London until approx October at which point I will return to the US permanently.

Changing the wedding date not really an option, canceling work also not an option. Should I
1) Commence the green card procedure immediately after the wedding and concurrently file for advance parole (which would need to be processed within 4 weeks)
2) Enter on visa waiver program, get married and then return to the UK, then enter again on visa Waiver in October before applying for change of status once I am in the country.

Thanks for any advice folks.

NMK
 
Neither 1 or 2 would work.

1) The AP will not be processed within 4 weeks...
2) You can not use VWP with the intention to adjust your status.
 
Understood, so in that case, would I be better entering on the VWP, getting married then returning to the UK as planned before applying for a K3 visa? I understand that I would have to wait up to 9 months for this and would be unable to work there until it was approved but would still be able to visit for up to 3 months.

There appears to be no way that they will process a K1 by the time that I need it.
 
I think applying for a spousal visa seems the way forward, though I would scrap the idea of a K3...instead I would go for an immigrant visa (CR1/IR1). With a K3, once you have the visa, you still need to go through AOS and apply for an EAD in order to be able to work (EAD takes approx 60-90 days from application). However, with an immigrant visa you become a permanent resident upon entry to the US and are work authorised from the get go.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=i130guide1

And yes, you can visit while it is processing. But as is the case for everyone who has a visa processing during a US visit.....be prepared for extra scrutiny at POE and have plenty of evidence of ties to the UK to prove that you do not intend to emigrate during that visit.
 
Thanks for your advice, having spoken to my better half, we will probably follow the IR/CR route and have an extended honeymoon in Europe. Hopefully won't take more than 12 months for the visa.
 
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