Legal Question in Immigration Law in Georgia

Re: Get married while holding a Visa Waiver permit

You can enter under the Visa Waiver Program ("VWP") for the purpose of marrying so long as you don't intend to stay beyond 90 days (and so long as you accept the risk that, if your wedding plans are disclosed to the U.S. immigration inspector, you could be denied entry on the grounds that you haven't overcome the legal presumption of immigrant intent). But then you wouldn't be able to return (except possibly under VWP for 90 days at a time) until you had an immigrant visa ("IV"), which would take at least eight months (unless your fiancee lives either (a) in the eastern part of the U.S., in which case an IV could be almost as fast as a fiance visa, or (b) with you in Denmark, in which case she could file her petition for you with the U.S. consulate there, which would process the case pretty quickly so long as it deemed the case "clearly approvable"). (You're right that a VWP entrant cannot change nonimmigrant status.) If your preference is to settle in the U.S immediately (or shortly) after your wedding, then you would be better served by a K-1 visa, for which you could get the ball rolling now, but which would take about four months.

Representation of couples in marriage-related immigration cases is the focus of my practice, so contact me if you'd like to discuss our services (or go to www.SatherLaw.com).

Best wishes,

Brian Sather