Australian/US Citizens living in Aus, moving to the US, looking to marry. HELP! :)

[lbjones820]

Hi All!

Hoping that I can get some advice/guidance on this forum as I've spent many hours on the phone with government officials to no avail, and have found much of the information on the internet to be contradictory. Long story short: my partner is an Australian citizen, and I am an American citizen. I have been living in Australia for close to a year on a Working/Holiday Visa (Subclass 462), and once it expires in June 2015, will transfer to simply a Tourist Visa with the intention of going overseas every 3 months. We are looking to move back to America at some point between Sept. 2015 and Nov. 2015, and have a few questions:

1) Does it make the process easier (financially, paperwork wise, employment wise, time wise, etc.) to marry in Australia or the United States?
2) Would my partner (Australian citizen) be able to enter the U.S. on a visitor visa and then transfer to a K1 Fiance Visa? (From what I've read I believe the answer to this is no, but want to get a second opinion.)
3) Will my partner being on a K1 Visa be able to seek employment in the United States?
4) If we know we ultimately want to be married, should we simply file the paperwork here in Australia prior to returning to America, or get married relatively immediately upon arriving, and simply bypass the K1 entirely?

Thank you SO much in advance to anyone who can help with this or for advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. It is so appreciated

[rayb]

Please see my responses in CAPS below:

Hi All!

Hoping that I can get some advice/guidance on this forum as I've spent many hours on the phone with government officials to no avail, and have found much of the information on the internet to be contradictory. Long story short: my partner is an Australian citizen, and I am an American citizen. I have been living in Australia for close to a year on a Working/Holiday Visa (Subclass 462), and once it expires in June 2015, will transfer to simply a Tourist Visa with the intention of going overseas every 3 months. We are looking to move back to America at some point between Sept. 2015 and Nov. 2015, and have a few questions:

1) Does it make the process easier (financially, paperwork wise, employment wise, time wise, etc.) to marry in Australia or the United States?

ENTERING ON A SPOUSAL VISA ALLOWS ONE TO WORK SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER AFTER ARRIVAL IN THE STATES.

2) Would my partner (Australian citizen) be able to enter the U.S. on a visitor visa and then transfer to a K1 Fiance Visa? (From what I've read I believe the answer to this is no, but want to get a second opinion.)

IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENTER ON A VISITOR OR VISA WAIVER STATUS, THEN MARRY AND CONVERT STATUS TO PERMANENT RESIDENT, BUT TAKES ABOUT 6 MONTHS.

3) Will my partner being on a K1 Visa be able to seek employment in the United States?

THE K1 VISA ONLY ALLOWS TEMPORARY WORK OPTION AFTER AN SSN HAS BEEN OBTAINED, THEN ONLY UNTIL THE 90-DAY VISA PERIOD IS ENDED, AFTER WHICH A WORK AUTHORIZATION CAN BE OBTAINED ABOUT 3 MONTHS AFTER SUBMITTAL OF ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS PAPERWORK.

4) If we know we ultimately want to be married, should we simply file the paperwork here in Australia prior to returning to America, or get married relatively immediately upon arriving, and simply bypass the K1 entirely?

YOU HAVE THREE OPTIONS FOR ENTERING THE U.S.: AS A VISITOR, ON A K1 VISA OR ON A SPOUSAL VISA. THE END RESULT IS THE SAME.

Thank you SO much in advance to anyone who can help with this or for advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. It is so appreciated

[lbjones820]

Thank you, rayb!

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond--you've been so helpful! Enjoy your weekend wherever in the world you are