Hi. I'm back with more questions.

I'm American and live in the US, my fiancé is English and lives in the UK. We would like to get married next September (2009) in the US and then fly to the UK the following week and live there permanently.

My fiancé travels for his job at least once a month. This involves him going to different countries for a week or two at a time, at least. He can't part with his passport for too long at a time.

1. I'm worried that if we have the wedding next September and then send all of our paperwork in (especially HIS passport) will they get it back to us in a decent amount of time? Is there anyway to bring our paperwork in person and get it back the same day?

2. He will be spending about three weeks in the US this summer. One week for work and two weeks with me on holiday. Would it make sense for us to get married at the local courthouse while he's here, send all of our paperwork in for a spouse visa and hopefully get it back before he has to go home? This way we could still have an actual wedding ceremony next year and I could join him in the UK after that.

If I get issued a visa THAT way, will it still be valid next September? How long are visas valid for?

I've been going crazy trying to figure this all out. I've called Worldbridge and they're not all that helpful (although they did answer some basic questions for me).

I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through this same situation.

 

Thank you Seraphina. Actually, since posting this I have found the answers to some of my questions and came up with a solution. We've decided to marry a few months before the wedding ceremony (we just won't tell our families). This way, I can send in all of the paperwork as his spouse and still get it back in plenty of time.

And for anyone else who may be reading this, looking for help. I called the city hall and asked what paperwork we would need to marry there. All he needs is a photo id that shows his current address. And of course we need the fee for the JOP and paperwork.

Thank you so much for your reply though! It's amazing how stressful this can be at times.

 

Thanks again...I guess I'll start picking up pennies when I see them on the ground!

The fun part will be paying taxes to both countries (I'm still not 100% sure how that works yet but I'm sure they'll both want my money) after I take up residence in the UK. Boy, it's a good thing my fiancé and I are rich! .....Oh wait...no we're not. Hahaha.