Q: I am a US citizen in love with an English citizen, and we want to get married and live in US. How do we marry legally?
We currently reside in Cambodia, and want to move back to the US and get married, but we were told we cannot enter the US with the intent of marriage. We don't want to be apart long, but we need a way to enter the US to live and get married legally.
A: Entering the United States with a B-1/2 visitor visa or as a visitor under the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA) with the preconceived intent of immigrating; yes, that would be improper. Because you are not yet married, your fiance(e) could pursue a K-1 fiance(e) visa, and then marry here and pursue adjustment of status. If you decide to marry before your significant other wishes to come to the United States, then an immigrant visa case would be the way to go. Both types of cases involve first filing with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. For a fiance(e) case, you would file a Petition for Alien Fiance(e). For a case where you are already married, you would file a Petition for Alien Relative. In my experience, a fiance(e) visa case will get your significant other here more quickly.
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