Last summer I met the man I’m going to marry. I was visiting friends in London and I met Gavin, the “new guy” in the group. We hit it off, and within a few months, we were discussing a future together.
Since I’m American and Gav is English, we started researching visa options as soon as we began talking about marriage. We knew that we would have quite a bit of paperwork to navigate, but we did not anticipate how long the fiance visa process would take.
As our case has finally started to make some progress in the last few weeks, I’ve received a few messages asking how the fiance visa process works and why we chose to live in the US instead of England. I’m finally ready to organize my thoughts and share about our experience.
I’m starting this series of posts with a little FAQ and in the weeks to come, I’ll write about the K-1 fiance visa paperwork requirements, application, process, and timeline.
Why did we choose the US over England?
Gav and I (mostly Gav though — I have to give him credit) spent hours researching various visas offered by both countries. In the end, based on everything we read, we thought that the paperwork would be easier if we started in the states and later went to England than if we chose the reverse. Plus, I had recently returned from living in Australia for a year and wanted to be near my family for a while. We hope to spend at least a few years living in England at some stage.
Which visa are we applying for?
We’re applying for the K-1 fiance visa. This visa allows the foreign fiance to enter the USA for the purposes of getting married to a US citizen (the one who filed the petition — not just anyone :-)). The intention is for the couple to reside in the US.
If we were married in England first and then wanted to move to the USA and have our marriage recognized, we would have to file for a different visa.
When are we getting married?
We’re getting married twice.
The K-1 fiance visa requires that you get married within 90 days of the foreign fiance’s arrival. Gav and I learned that visa approvals have been taking longer than usual lately, and we didn’t want to plan a fall 2012 wedding only to have him still stuck in England. We want his family and our friends in England to be able to attend and have ample notice for requesting vacation time and booking flights and accommodation. And we didn’t want to plan a wedding and lose money on deposits if the visa hadn’t come through.
SO, because we want to have an outdoor wedding, we decided to plan a spring 2013 wedding (May 4) for family and friends. I’ll wear the white dress, and we’ll have the ceremony and reception one would expect.
To abide by visa requirements, we’ll be married within 90 days of Gav’s arrival and we’re still talking about how that will look — so we’ll be husband and wife well before our May 4 ceremony!
We hope to have a date set for the first wedding in the next few weeks once the US embassy in London arranges an interview with Gav.
After you two get married will you be dual citizens?
I wish it was that easy!
Once Gav and I get married (within the first 90 days of his arrival), we will file for an “Adjustment of Status” to his visa. When this round of paperwork is approved, he will receive his green card. After three years of being a green card holder and permanent resident, Gav can pursue citizenship if he wishes.
If we would like to pursue a similar course of action for me, we’ll need to move to England for a while. We will file for a visa for me that recognizes we are already married. I haven’t looked into the details yet, but we will probably need to live there for a few years to secure more than a temporary status for me.
These are some of the biggest questions folks have had for us. In an upcoming series of posts, I’ll address why we chose to work with a lawyer instead of going it alone, our favorite online community for couples like us, the paperwork required to prove you’re in a genuine relationship with someone overseas, and what we’ve experienced with the visa timeline.
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Man, do I wish getting married was the “dual citizenship” key!
good luck! I’m so sorry this process is so frustrating, but you’re on the home stretch now!
Most things worth having come with some effort 🙂 It’s frustrating but so worth it! I know you fully understand!
Great post babe.
With our paperwork now in London and delivered to the US Embassy this Tuesday, we’re getting a lot closer.
Looking forward to spending forever with you, my wonderful beautiful loving fiancee 🙂
So. Close.
We’re only a week or so away from knowing your interview date. A month ago it felt so far away!
I’m glad to hear that you both are managing to make it through the process(s)!! There are so many restrictions its unbelievable. My English partner and I have been going through something similar trying to get married in London. Its not going to be able to work out, mainly because of the lack of money….If we had more money the government would approve of our love. Its amazing that the government can regulate love now…..
Charles, it’s surprising to learn how much it costs to file the paperwork, mail documents from A to B, and do various required things that contribute to the cost. I think if you can survive this process, you know you have a great foundation O:-)
It’s such a complicated process! I’m glad that you seem pretty unstressed about it (well I’m sure you’re stressed, but not overly so, you know what I mean) so far. Hopefully the paperwork process continues to go as smoothly as possible!
Kyle, there have definitely been nail biting times! Gathering the files needed to file the petition initially was challenging as we were just learning. Since then, the most difficult piece has been missing one another. Skype, emails, and phone calls are great, but they only go so far.
I love researching things, but Gav has truly taken the lead on researching this entire process and guiding us through.
Very interesting and helpful – it definitely seems like a minefield and intimidates me! But the worst part must be having to stay in different countries full-time while the paperwork gets sorted out 🙁
Julia, being apart is without a doubt the most difficult thing. Gav supports me so well, but I know he wishes he could do more when I’m upset and missing him. We have loads of paperwork ahead of us, but at least we’ll be married and living together.
This is so interesting… seems like so much work though, but of course it will all pay off. Hope everything goes smooth. So happy to see you happy!!! Been a while since we chatted… hope all is well.
We’re only an interview away now from having the visa. It gets harder every day to be apart but every day means we’re one day closer to being together too.
This is really helpful and interesting as well.. It will give me an idea as to what I will encounter thru the process.. I’m from the US and my love Peter is from United Kingdom, London…
Wish you and Gavin all the very best and thank you for sharing your story…
Vivi — best wishes to you and Peter! Please let us know if we can help you two 🙂
Greetings I just wanted to say thank you I am having the same issues with my fiance. He is in the UK and I am in the USA, and it’s been hard. I am not sure what we should do or how to go about doing it. We were supposed to get married in 2011 and that didn’t happen because of the visa issue.