moving after marriage

Hello friends, does anybody know if you marry an american and your citizenship is in hong kong if you can move to america right away? can you get a tourist visa and marry in the u.s. and then just stay without coming back? thanks very much for your help!

Hi,


Technically you can't just "move" to America and be granted citizenship right away just because you're marrying an American. Here's what I did last year:


I flew over to the U.S. on a tourist visa and a few months later married my now-husband. Right after we got married I began my green card application which required a LOT of paperwork and a full-on medical examination. When you file your application you may want to consider applying for a work permit too (this is optional), so that you can work legally while you're waiting for your citizenship to come through. Usually you'll get your work permit 3 months after you file your green card application.


The work permit can actually come in quite handy for you even if you decide not to work in the end. With the work permit you can apply for a social security number, get a driver's license, open up bank accounts and generally function as a normal citizen.


How long it takes to get a green card varies from case to case. I've met people who've been waiting for years to get theirs and have no clue whether it will ever happen for them. I was very lucky because I got my green card 2 weeks after my interview with USCIS, and this was about a month after I got my work permit in the mail.


I think (and this is only from my personal experience) that the reason I was able to get my green card in less than one year was because when me and my husband went in for our interview, it was fairly obvious that we were legit and - he and I met back in HK (he was working there) and we went on a vacation together when we were dating (all can be verified by looking at our passports). I have a feeling that what the USCIS doesn't like is when they have people flying over to the U.S. and marrying citizens they've never met before, which can easily give them an impression that you're just another dodgy mail order bride. The second they suspect you're "one of those women" they become very cautious and may not want to make things easy for you.


Also keep in mind that (and this is very important) your future husband has been gainfully employed for the past 3 years and has copies of his tax returns to show for it - this is part of the green card application and if he fails to show that, he's not going to be eligible to be your sponsor, and that's when you'll need to get someone else to help sponsor you.


Seeing that you're getting your citizenship based on marriage (like me), the first green card you will be getting will be a conditional one. This means that if you and your husband get divorce before you hit your 2nd wedding anniversary, your green card will not be valid.


Last but not least, unless you've applied for a travel permit beforehand, do not leave the U.S. for any amount of time until you get your green card. It's likely that they won't let you enter the country again. You can travel freely once you have your green card, but make sure you don't leave the country for more than a year, otherwise your citizenship will no longer be valid. I don't know why they do that but that's just the way it works.


PS. Even though the application process can be complex, don't worry about not getting all the paperwork right when you first file your application - nobody gets it right the first time anyway. USCIS won't deny your application just because you're missing one of the 60 forms. They'll always send you a notice to let you know and you can just send them the required form.


Good luck and congrats :)

thanks for your reply, very helpful.

If you marry in HK the green card application process might actually be easier, it seems, from what Chrissy said...


After you get married here, it takes about 3 months to get your conditional green card. Once you have that, you can move to the US and work there freely as long as your marriage is intact and you live with your spouse.


After 2 years, you can change the "conditional" status to "unconditional", which is permanent and irrevocable unless you commit a crime. Even if you got divorced at that point, you're free to stay.