What happens if we decide to get married overseas after we apply for the fiance visa?

What if we get married overseas before I get my fiance visa?Imagine if you and your significant other have started the fiance visa process and are planning your wedding in the United States. You have already submitted your fiance visa petition and received the receipt notice. You are now looking forward to getting the approval notice so that you can move forward with the fiance visa interview. But then things change…and you decide to go ahead and get married overseas.

What happens now? Can you still move forward with your fiance visa? Or do you need to get some other type of visa instead?

You Still Have Immigration Options, But Probably Not A Fiance Visa

If you get married before your fiance visa interview or before you enter the United States using your fiance visa, you should consult with an immigration lawyer about the best way to move forward.

A fiance visa should only be used if you are not married. If you get married before your fiance visa interview, you shouldn’t move forward with the interview. If you go to the interview and continue with the fiance visa application, you may be found to have misrepresented your marital status during the interview. Why is this important? If you are found to have made a material misrepresentation during the visa application process, the penalty is a lifetime bar on being able to get a visa or adjust status to permanent resident so you can get a green card. You’ll be subject to this bar even if you are the spouse of a United States citizen. Although there is an immigration waiver for misrepresentations, it is very difficult to qualify for one.

Likewise, if you get married after you get your fiance visa but before you enter the United States, you shouldn’t use the fiance visa. The fiance visa is only for traveling to the United States so that you can get married. If you’ve already gotten married, then the fiance visa is not the right visa for you. If you go ahead and use it, you will likely face future immigration problems, including possible allegations of visa fraud or misrepresentation and may find yourself in deportation proceedings.

Although these situations likely mean that you won’t be able to use a fiance visa to immigrate to the United States, your immigration lawyer will be able to assist you with moving forward with the right type of visa for your situation. For many people in this type of situation, you’ll be able to apply for an immigrant visa instead of the fiance visa. By changing to the immigrant visa process as the spouse of a United States citizen, you’ll avoid the potential negative consequences of moving forward with the fiance visa process and will be able to start your life in America with your new spouse with the right immigration status.

 

About Kimberley Schaefer

Kimberley Schaefer is an immigration lawyer with offices in Boise, ID and Rexburg, Idaho. She helps future Americans become citizens by assisting them with immigrant visas, fiance visas, adjustment of status and green card applications, applying for immigration waivers, fighting deportation and applying for asylum. To contact her, you can call (208) 918-0852 or send Kimberley an email now.

Comments

  1. Hi kimberly!
    We have a problem with our petitions.My wife a US citizen filed I130 nd I129f(k3).Two months later she got a notice requesting for evidence of termination of the 1st of three previous marriages or provide a document of diligent search or non-existance.She got nd sent a document of diligent search.A month later she was again asked to go look for the divorce decree Her ex filed back in 1989 which the district court says it has no record.What can you advice we do.thank you.

    • Kimberley Schaefer says

      Rufus,

      Please feel free to give me a call to discuss your options. Since you mentioned that the district court said it had no record, it sounds like the divorce was in the United States. If that is the case, if there is a divorce decree it should be possible to find a record of it. The best approach for locating that record and what to do if there is no record of the divorce will depend on the specifics of your situation.

      Kimberley

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