US citizen marrying British citizen in UK

[jss117]

Hi,
I would like to ask about the procedure of getting clearance as a US citizen to go to UK and marry a British citizen.
My relative who actually already applied for a marriage clearance visa and was denied because of following reasons:

here are some notes written by immigration officer:
1.You have submitted evidence to show that you are free to a contract marriage. You state on your visa application form that it is your intention to marry in the UK.

2. I note that the purpose of your visit is to have your ceremony at Sikh temple, however no information regarding your fiance or evidence of wedding arrangements have been provided. I am therefore not satisfied that you can show that you intend to give notice of marriage or civil partnership, or marry or form a civil partnership, in the United Kingdom within the period for which entry is sought and can produce satisfactory evidence, id required to do so, of the arrangements of giving notice of marriage or civil partnership, or for your wedding or civil partnership to take place, in the UK during the period for which entry is sought.

Please guide what would I have to do.

please help me and could and advice me about what to write in cover letter.

Regards

[ouflak1]

Ok first a few very basic questions:

1. Is there a specific person in the UK that you want to marry, and that likewise wants to marry you, when you come to the Uk?

2. Can the UK contact that person right now and verify all of the details of the intended marraige?

3. Have you physically face-to-face actually met this person before?

4. Did you want to have a purely religious marriage or a UK legally recognized marriage? (You can do both/either in a Sikh temple.)

[jss117]

Ok first a few very basic questions:

1. Is there a specific person in the UK that you want to marry, and that likewise wants to marry you, when you come to the Uk?

2. Can the UK contact that person right now and verify all of the details of the intended marraige?

3. Have you physically face-to-face actually met this person before?

4. Did you want to have a purely religious marriage or a UK legally recognized marriage? (You can do both/either in a Sikh temple.)

1. yes, a specific person and she wants to marry me as well.
2. yes
3.yes
4. to perform religious marriage in sikh temple, the temple also requires the legal marriage or notice of marriage. This could be done at same time at the temple but I will be doing a legal marriage first and then later the religios ceremony at temple.

Thanks for your reply.

[ouflak1]

Good. Are you planning on immigrating to the UK to stay with your wife here, or do you plan on bringing her back to U.S.? If the latter, when? Also, how long (and how well) can you prove you have been in a relationship?

[jss117]

Good. Are you planning on immigrating to the UK to stay with your wife here, or do you plan on bringing her back to U.S.? If the latter, when? Also, how long (and how well) can you prove you have been in a relationship?

Not planning to immigrate to UK but fience will be coming to US. i would like her to come to US as soon as possible. I have been in touch with her since 10 years. We were friends in India and then we kept in touch on internet. I have some recent photographs with her with also some pics with our parents in them. This was when i went to UK last time we and our families met and finalized everything about wedding.

[Wanderer]

Its much much easier to marry in USA...

[ouflak1]

Good. Are you planning on immigrating to the UK to stay with your wife here, or do you plan on bringing her back to U.S.? If the latter, when? Also, how long (and how well) can you prove you have been in a relationship?

Not planning to immigrate to UK but fience will be coming to US. i would like her to come to US as soon as possible. I have been in touch with her since 10 years. We were friends in India and then we kept in touch on internet. I have some recent photographs with her with also some pics with our parents in them. This was when i went to UK last time we and our families met and finalized everything about wedding.

It sounds like you have a very strong foundation for demonstrating a genuine relationship. I really think all of the evidence requested by the guide, as well as a covering letter including all of the information you stated here in this thread, along with the supporting printouts of emails and photos, should be more than enough.

Now to details. I suppose you want to marry in the UK because of her family being in the UK. And then you want to return back to the U.S. either with her, or with her coming back shortly after. You would then want a Marriage Visitor visa. It is important that you make your intentions clear that you expect her to come back with you, or join you shortly after you go back (once the appropriate visas are sorted out). You will need to present significant enough evidence that you intend to return to U.S. (long term job, solid lease, close family, etc...), and it would be good to show that you can support her and afford the U.S. visas (the UK does actually have a pretty good idea how much that is, to my surprise).

About Wanderer's comment. The advantage of bringing her over on a fiance visa is that she can stay after marriage. She would apply for a conditional green card, which would become unconditional after 2 or 3 years (I think 2). Also the fiance visa is a bit more intuitive and easier to get. Unlike the awkward UK equivalent(s), nobody is required to go back to there home country and apply for another visa. The U.S. fully expects and assumes that this is permanent immigration.

Anyway, if you have any more specific questions, please ask.

[physicskate]

On another forum that I frequent, they say that US spousal visas take between 6-10 months to process... easier to get a fiancé visa to the US and marry on that. Additionally, there are residency requirements in the US before the marriage. This is something like 6 weeks in total. The US has no such requirements...