Such an incredibly helpful site! No one else dares to give this information so clearly.

My betrothed is British, and is moving to the US to be with me, and we're doing the green card route. About how long is it going to take for the paperwork to go through? (And I mean all of it.)

Welcome to the site, glad you like it.

How long the process takes depends a lot on you guys. First, and most importantly, will you be filing for the green card in the U.S. or in England? Where would you like to get married?

The best way to go would be to file together in England at the American Consulate after getting married in England. (I'm guessing this is in London.) This is called Direct Consular Filing (DCF) and will cut down the waiting time A LOT, because you will not have to mail paperwork and wait for approval but will be able to go to embassy in person and be approved on the spot.
You will BOTH need to be there to apply, so keep that in mind.Your wife will not be able to travel to the USA even for a short visit until she gets the green card.
You can also go the american way if she has the right to work in the Usa already. It will be longer but you will be together while waiting. (However it is a lengthy process and she will probably not be allowed to leave the Usa during the process. It could be tough on her..)

If you check out our About Us page you can see exactly how long the process took for us with Direct Consular Filing. Otherwise, take a look at the Visa Options page.

If you're going to be applying in the U.S., things are more difficult - it can take 2 years or more (probably having to live apart).
In either case, you'll need to make sure your paperwork is complete and accurate. If it isn't, you'll be wasting precious time.

Let us know if you'll be petitioning for the green card in England or the U.S. and then we can probably give you some more specific info.

Cheers!

http://www.greencard-advice.com

Post edited by: admin, at: 2006/12/31 21:36

RurouniQ wrote:
My betrothed is British

Ah, and the betrothed would be me ^_^

Originally we had thought of getting married in the USA but from your advice, and having read over the process you went through, it would seem to be a better option to get married here in the UK.

You are right, the American Consulate is in London, and this is their website:

http://london.usembassy.gov/ukembabt.html

We really would appreciate any further advice that you may be able to give us.

Thank you xxx

Well, here is the advice I can think of right now.
The first thing would be to make sure of the opening hours and DCF process in the London embassy.In Paris we had to come on fridays morning only!

Make sure that you start gathering all documents needed right now, and even more.. I would insist you start applying at your local police station for the equivalent of a police record (which as you will read on the Practical Advice section does not exist in the UK and makes things pretty difficult..)
Also start checking into the health requirements (like shots needed,etc.. and gather medical records of those)

You want to be able to start the petition process as soon as possible once you are married. What we did is that we got all the paperwork needed for the wedding as well as for the entire green card application process before our wedding. Then once my husband came to France, we got married, and the week after we headed to the embassy. We had every single paper you can think of, and the petition was approved on the spot saving us precious time.
Check into any details that could bring difficulties to the application process: mine as an example were the fact we needed a co-sponsor since my husband was a recent graduate and couldn't prove required income for the last 3 years, the fact that I needed a police record from the Uk (you need one for any country you lived in for more than 12 months) and the fact that I obtained previously a J1 "work and travel" visa.
I would say that it is time to become an organization freak and really make a checklist, that would be my best advice.If you have real tough/tricky questions that cannot be solved through research you can always try to find a immigration lawyer. Some give a first free consultation.

It all seems overwhelming so, just try to take it step by step and if you have any questions, just ask!

I am not sure this is going to be good news for you.. But it seems that the london embassy accept filing from us citizen residing in the Uk only, not temporary visitors.
And they require proof of that via the stamp in the us citizen passport...
http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

If your fiance lives in the US at the moment, you guys are going to have to apply it in the Usa.

Did you consider the K1 "fiance" visa that will allow you to go get married in the Usa? or the K3 which basically will enable you to get married in the uk and then wait a few month to get the visa in order to wait for your greencard with your husband , in the Usa.

One thing I would not advise would be to get there as a tourist and get married. It is pretty much immigration fraud.

Keep us posted if you need more help!
Marion

Thanks, yes that is the answer I got when I phoned them *sighs* So we will be going for the K1 visa and getting married in the USA and then applying there.

We're planning on a late autumn or winter wedding, and some of the documentation has to be less than three months old, so I will start the process just after Easter.

I gather that I need to get Hepatitis B vaccinations (a total of three, the third being six months after the first - so this I need to arrange soon), and also an influenza jab for the coming winter. I've already had all the other vaccinations as part of the standard vaccination programme here in the UK, so that is a relief.

Anyway, we'll keep you posted of any developments as what we learn may help other people too!