Wedding in the US, moving to Britain

Fob · Post by **Fob** » Tue May 13, 2008 7:20 pm

I wondered if anybody would be able to give me an advice about my situation.

I am a British citizen, living in Britain. My partner is a US citizen, in the US. We want to marry and to live in the UK, by my wife applying for a spouse visa. But we might want to actually have the wedding in the US.

How would we go about this? I assume I would need some kind of temporary visitor visa to do it, but do we need to show that I'm not intending to settle there?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

yankeegirl · Post by **yankeegirl** » Tue May 13, 2008 8:05 pm

If you have proof of not intending to settle (mortgage, letter from employer etc) and you won't plan on staying over 90 days, you can just enter on a visa waiver to get married.

Fob · Post by **Fob** » Tue May 13, 2008 9:23 pm

yankeegirl wrote:If you have proof of not intending to settle (mortgage, letter from employer etc) and you won't plan on staying over 90 days, you can just enter on a visa waiver to get married.

OK, thanks for your help! I won't have a mortgage, but a letter from an employer would be no problem. Would a tenancy agreement for rented accommodation help, and would I need one valid for more than the 90 days? How about a letter from the landlord, saying that my wife will be able to live with me in the UK when she gets the spouse visa? And would things like a return flight ticket, and an annual leave sheet from my employer showing when I will return to work, also suffice?

yankeegirl · Post by **yankeegirl** » Tue May 13, 2008 10:28 pm

Items like what you have listed should suffice. Are you two planning on applying for the UK spouse visa shortly after getting married? The reason I'm asking is because you will need to provide a lot of paperwork for the spouse visa and it might be a good idea to bring it with you. Not only will you have everyting ready for the application, those same items also would provide proof that you don't intend to settle in the US.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/ ... 03073/vaf4

Page 16 of this link will give you an idea of the documentation you will need once you apply for the spouse visa.

Fob · Post by **Fob** » Wed May 14, 2008 9:40 am

Yes, if we choose to get married in the US, our plan is to apply for a spouse visa almost straight away, so we'll have all the paperwork ready by then.

How long would I really need to be in the US for us to get married, and make all the preparations? I know we'll want to do it at a registry office, and I believe they need prior notification from both partners, so I would need to be in the US for that. And of course, I'd only realisitically be allowed a two-week holiday from my job. Would it be worth having a long weekend in the US a month or so before, to sign any documents, then come over later for the actual wedding?

yankeegirl · Post by **yankeegirl** » Wed May 14, 2008 10:21 am

It depends entirely on where you are getting married. The marriage requirements vary from state to state and sometimes even from county to county. For example, my husband and I got married in City Hall in Manhattan, and there is only a 24 hour waiting period there. So, we applied for the marriage license in person, and went back and got married the next day. Some places have no waiting period, others have a 3-5 day waiting period.

Where are you looking to marry?

Fob · Post by **Fob** » Wed May 14, 2008 10:58 am

yankeegirl wrote:It depends entirely on where you are getting married. The marriage requirements vary from state to state and sometimes even from county to county. For example, my husband and I got married in City Hall in Manhattan, and there is only a 24 hour waiting period there. So, we applied for the marriage license in person, and went back and got married the next day. Some places have no waiting period, others have a 3-5 day waiting period.

Where are you looking to marry?

It would likely be California or Florida.

yankeegirl · Post by **yankeegirl** » Wed May 14, 2008 11:49 am

Here's a link with numbers to the various County Clerk Offices in California. You can call and get specific info for that area. It appears that there isn't a waiting period in California, but you can call the County Clerk Office to verify.

http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/married_ca.asp

And for Florida

http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/married_fl.asp

It doesn't say when these sites were last updated, so either you or your partner can call the Clerk's office and verify all the info is still accurate.

Fob · Post by **Fob** » Wed May 14, 2008 12:36 pm

Brilliant - thanks for all your help!

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Wedding in the US, moving to Britain

Wedding in the US, moving to Britain