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marriage and a US citizen

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daithi
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marriage and a US citizen

Post by daithi » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:56 pm

Hi

I was living in the USA for the past 6 years. I met a girl there and we lived together in the USA for about 12 mts. I've now returned to the UK and I brought her with me. She entered on the standard 6mth visitors visa. Are we able to get married so she can stay here with me, work/study and get a UK passport?

Thanks in advance for any info.

D

yankeegirl
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Location: Northern Ireland

Post by yankeegirl » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:05 pm

You could possibly get married here, but she would still have to return to the US to apply for a spousal visa; she could not make the switch in the UK.

daithi
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Post by daithi » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:14 pm

thanks yankeegirl. Is this a complicated process? She's going home for xmas and will be there a couple weeks. Could it be done in that time frame do you think?

yankeegirl
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Post by yankeegirl » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:06 pm

Possibly, but I'm not sure you could arrange to get married in the UK in that time frame. She would first have to apply for a Certificate of Approval which basically allows her to marry in the UK. I think the cost is £295 and I'm not sure what the turnaround time for it is; at the minimum it would be a few weeks. Then serve notice to marry at the Registry office and set a date. You can marry in the CoE without the Certificate of Approval, but I seem to remember that some churches are also requiring that the non-UK partner have the Certificate.

If it seems that time wise it may be cutting it close you could always accompany her to the US and marry there.

On to visa stuff. She will have to make her application at one of the 3 visa-issuing consualtes (LA, Chicago or NY). Which one depends on what state she lives in. The cost is $1050 and it is valid for 2 years. She will be able to work straight away. Have a look at the form and guidance notes.
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 8721067257

If she makes an in-person appointment at the consulate, she should get the visa that day (providing it's a straightforward application.) Postal applications are usually handled in a week or two, but it depends on the volume of applications they have and so on.

VictoriaS
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Post by VictoriaS » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:57 pm

The easiest/quickest/cheapest way may be a US wedding then a spousal visa. You don't have to give notice in some States, so you may want to start checking this out.

Victoria
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yankeegirl
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Location: Northern Ireland

Post by yankeegirl » Tue Oct 09, 2007 6:12 pm

In what state does your partner reside?

daithi
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Post by daithi » Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:46 pm

this is all very helpful...thanks everyone. She is from Ohio.

yankeegirl
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Post by yankeegirl » Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:56 pm

She is from Ohio.
Once married, she would need to make the application to the Chicago consulate. If you decide to marry in the US, here's a link about marrying in Ohio.
http://marriage.about.com/cs/marriageli ... p/ohio.htm
It states there is no waiting period to marry in Ohio. I'm not sure how current it is, but you could always contact the County Clerk's Office to get the up-to-date procedure; they periodically change.

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