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Original poster

Wedding in USA

53 replies

Cinders2221 · 15/02/2018 18:36

I wondered if anyone has any knowledge of a UK citizen marrying a US citizen.

My auntie, aged 74, is holidaying in the US and we have found out she is planning to marry a US citizen next Monday. She thinks that by marrying, this man will be able to move back to the UK with her and live with her - claim disabled allowance etc. She has no income, just her home which she needs to live in.

Her family are wondering if he would be able to move to the UK and even if not, by being married will he have a claim on her money/home if anything happens to her - even though he may never have lived here?

We have all looked on google and don't think he will be allowed to move here so easily (I think she has to have a set income of @£16000, which obviously her pension isn't) but would be greatly reassured by some expert/experienced advice.

Thank you in advance for any help.

OP posts:

Klobuchar · 16/02/2018 00:35

She’s planning on marrying in the States (presumably) on the Visa Waiver Programme, which is also illegal. If they’re planning on settling in the UK then maybe its easier to do it in the UK. Or at least it’s worth considering.

Ivebeenaroundtheblock · 16/02/2018 00:45

Maybe he can see if he has ancestry in the UK. If he’s older he can probably find a grandparent who was.

Klobuchar · 16/02/2018 00:55

You need to have a parent, not a Grandparent, who was born in the UK and had British Citizenship.

HeadDreamer · 16/02/2018 01:05

Klobuchar i mean it is also not allowed in the U.K. to marry on a visitor visa. I don’t know if it’s easier to settle as a spouse in the U.K. or the US. I’m guessing he isn’t a higher earner otherwise it will be the US no doubt. (There are lots of stories of kiwis who can’t settle here with their British wives because only the income of the U.K. spouse counts).

They can also settle here if they have an Irish grandparent.

Klobuchar · 16/02/2018 01:16

The financial obligation here in the US to sponsor a spouse is lower than in the UK, it was something like 125% of the official poverty line when I did mine in 2016/7

I don’t see any point in them getting married in the USA if the intention is to settle in the UK. It’s just a waste of time and money getting a fiancé visa. Also, from what they OP said about their circumstances (him much younger etc) I doubt she would get one anyway.

VimFuego101 · 16/02/2018 01:40

The British Expats forum will have some useful advice. As others have said, this is not going to be as easy as she thinks. If she flies out to the US and mentions she's getting married she will get questioned very heavily. Non-US citizens are allowed to get married in the US but they are not allowed to stay afterwards, and since her partner lives there, they will consider her at risk of overstaying her VWP. Then the visa to bring him the the UK will be a whole new challenge!

Ghostontoast · 16/02/2018 06:45

How did she meet him?

Online or did she just meet him on her holiday?

Biggreygoose · 16/02/2018 10:00

On the plus side, now it's all run by the home office the process is smoother than it was under UKBA.

They were shockingly bad.

Original poster

Cinders2221 · 16/02/2018 17:03

I have spoken to the family and they have a bit more information. She met him online. I am not sure about the fiancee visa, she told a friend that she had to go to London to get her passport quickly so we are now not sure if that was true, or if she visited the embassy to get a visa. As far as the family are aware she is there on the 90 day visitor visa which from the above, is illegal if they are getting married.

He tried to come to the UK but didn't get past border control and was immediately deported. Apparently this is why she is getting married, so that he can come here as her husband. They seem to think he will come here and be entitled to benefits.

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 16/02/2018 17:07

'He tried to come to the UK but didn't get past border control and was immediately deported. Apparently this is why she is getting married, so that he can come here as her husband. They seem to think he will come here and be entitled to benefits.'

Haahaahaaahaaaa!! He's already been removed. She doesn't have enough to support him without recourse to benefits, to which he will not be entitled for years even on the proper visa, which they have an snowball's chance in hell of getting. He will never get passed border control even if they are married because he cannot come here to live without the proper visa and they know he does not intend to come here to visit.

Someone needs to set her straight. She's being stupid.

NotDavidTennant · 16/02/2018 17:13

This could very easily end up in a situation where she has been deported (and unable to re-enter) the US, he deported (and unable to re-enter) the UK. If they are legally married at that point it could be a nightmare to unpick.

blueskyinmarch · 16/02/2018 17:22

I have no advice but it sounds like a nightmare situation.

Klobuchar · 16/02/2018 17:23

You don’t just go to the US embassy and get a visa, her fiancé would have to apply for it in the States and it would take months, with several stages, including a medical examination and on a different day. an interview in person at the Embassy.

It doesn’t sound like they have thought this through at all.

blueskyinmarch · 16/02/2018 17:26

I assume they will have to have the correct paperwork to actually get married so it may not happen next week as they think?

expatinscotland · 16/02/2018 17:26

Oh, yeah, that's another laugh, you just go yourself and get a visa for someone else.

Original poster

Cinders2221 · 16/02/2018 17:31

She is being stupid expatinscotland but she will not be told or take any advice. I really wish we could stop them getting married but I don't think we can. Even if she is found out and deported, she is in her 70s and not in the best of health so the family are worried that that process will make her worse.

In view of klobuchar post, I really don't think she has a fiance visa.

It's a complete mess, she is alienating anyone who disagrees with her.

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 16/02/2018 17:36

Sorry, but I'd report her to both the US and the UK authorities. She's not just being stupid, she thinks she can flout the law. That pisses me off when people think they can do that when so many of us have had to jump through more and more hurdles to do things legally because of so many pisstakers.

QueenAravisOfArchenland · 16/02/2018 18:22

Sorry, but I'd report her to both the US and the UK authorities

I know nothing about the specifics of the law, but I'd be inclined to do the same, on the grounds that the longer this goes on the more complex and worse it will be for your aunt, so best to get US and UK immigration to disabuse this pair of their misconceptions and put an end to the whole sorry tale as soon as possible.

Biggreygoose · 16/02/2018 18:28

Err, this all sounds as dodgy as fuck.

When and why he refused entry to the UK?You really need to know what for. There are a whole myriad of reasons you can be refused entry from the benign (we don't think you have the money to support your trip) to the really fucking serious (your an con with a convictions sheet longer than the immigration queue.)

Your auntie is at best heading towards a nasty few hours in a room at Heathrow and a really hard time with immigration in the future. At worst... Well I'm not sure. But given that the best is not great it's not going to be good.....

Stuff like this really boils my piss. Like expat , Normal, law abiding people who realise that the rules do apply to them have to put up with so much shit because people think they are above the law or just can't be arsed to find out.

expatinscotland · 16/02/2018 19:22

' Normal, law abiding people who realise that the rules do apply to them have to put up with so much shit because people think they are above the law or just can't be arsed to find out.'

And it's your personal responsibility to find out what the rules are. 'Oh, I didn't know I couldn't saunter into another country and expect to live here' is not a defence. Most of us had to marry sooner than we may have desired because well, international relationships involve a lot of compromise.

Lunde · 17/02/2018 23:05

Your auntie seems to be living in a fantasy land.

The fact that this man has already been deported from the UK once is going to raise a lot of red flags when they try to enter the UK

either he will attempt to enter on a tourist visa and will have to show money for stay (a naive relative got deported from the UK and was locked up in a detention centre overnight when they deemed he didn't have sufficient funds even when his gf's family had promised free board and food)
if they try to arrive as a married couple they will need the residence permit agreed in advance. Usually non-EU immigrants have no access to public funds such as benefits for an initial period

Then there is whether your auntie will have trouble with US immigration

expatinscotland · 17/02/2018 23:30

'- either he will attempt to enter on a tourist visa and will have to show money for stay (a naive relative got deported from the UK and was locked up in a detention centre overnight when they deemed he didn't have sufficient funds even when his gf's family had promised free board and food)'

Yep, and also proof of a return ticket and money to fund his stay. My folks came over here a lot when my daughter was ill with cancer. They made sure to bring the title deeds to their house, which they own outright, their bank/pension statements, proof of travel insurance and credit cards.

At one point, they had to come over here off a cruise ship because my daughter was in ICU (she later died), very soon after they had last visited, but my mother had, in addition to all their paperwork, printouts from Google regarding our daughter's very public fight for life. Border patrol rang my husband's mobile, to which he passed to the transplant doctor, who readily gave all her details.

They were escorted quickly through Glasgow with a taxi waiting for them to get them to hospital.

Because these people can sniff out a pisstaker a mile away. They see it every day.

expatinscotland · 17/02/2018 23:39

When my British husband comes to the US with us, he goes in the other queue, is asked why he is there, for proof of his return ticket. He brings along his proof of employment in the UK, a copy of our tenancy agreement, proof of ties to the UK. He's never had a problem, despite all of us being US citizens, because he's just there to visit.

If we wanted to all emigrate to the UK, he would have to go through the visa process, which includes medicals, proof of no criminal record and proof of vaccination and appointment in person at the Embassy in London, among other things, including the financial details of my parents in minuitae, to prove he does not require public assistance, to which he would be issued a visa which would permit him to seek work in the US, given the length of our marriage, and no recourse to public funds.

It is not an easy or inexpensive process, quite rightly, on either side.

As it is he keeps his ETSA current, in case one of my parents falls ill or dies, and we need to travel quickly.

Biggreygoose · 18/03/2018 11:42

@Cinders2221 was there ever a conclusion to this? Did they try to get back into the UK or did you manage to convince her otherwise?

Original poster

Cinders2221 · 18/03/2018 14:07

Hi Biggreygoose They got married unfortunately. They were reported to US border force as we do not think she got a fiance visa (she told her family it was a "last minute" decision to get married but she may be lying) but nothing happened before she returned to the UK. Do you know if, when you get married, they check you have the correct paperwork ie the fiance visa? I am wary to put too much information on here but gather he has made plans to come to the UK in 3 months time, so we are waiting to see what happens next. Nothing has changed regarding her circumstances since my original post, she has no money, he has no money, she has no means to earn any money.

OP posts:

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