Q: Can my UK fiancé and myself (US citizen) get married in Canada and then apply for immigrant spouse visa to US?
In order to avoid having to apply for a K1 fiancé visa for the USA and not commuting visa fraud by getting married in the states on visa waiver program we were thinking of just crossing over to Canada to get married while she’s here in Vermont for a weeks visit . Can we do this and after She is back she in U.K. start the process ? Will the US recognize my marriage in Canada and not see this as visa fraud while she was here since the marriage was in Canada ?
A: To be clear, so long as your fiancé intends on returning to the U.K. to conclude a family-based immigration case at the U.S. Embassy, there is nothing fraudulent or illegal about marrying in the United States while here in visitor status under the Visa Waiver Program. The U.S. Department of State's own Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) contemplates the propriety of this. Discussing B-2 visitor status, which is akin to visitor status under the Visa Waiver Program, 9 FAM 402.2-4(B)(1) provides in relevant part: "The fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) may, however, be classified as a B-2 visitor if you are satisfied that the fiancé(e) intends to return to a residence abroad soon after the marriage." If the two of you wanted to marry in Canada anyway, so long as the marriage is a valid, legal marriage, it would work just as well as marrying in the U.S. (or anywhere else where it was considered a valid, legal marriage under the laws of the jurisdiction where you wed). A consultation with a competent immigration attorney may not be a bad idea before you take any substantive actions.
A: Retain counsel so that you process your case by the book. More facts are needed to know before advice can be rendered.
A:
As long as the marriage is considered valid in the country where it took place, the US will consider it valid.
We don’t see how it could be considered visa fraud.
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