Getting married before or after naturalization?

[Lauren]

Hi,

My boyfriend has the Green card and gets his citizenship this year.
We're both German and I have an ESTA Visa.

1. If we get married now would I get citizenship or a Green Card at the same time?
2. Does it make a difference if we get married in the US or Germany?

Thanks,
Lauren

[cafeconleche]

You might as well wait to marry until he becomes a citizen. It doesn't really matter where you get married, but the US is MUCH easier. With an ESTA, you can enter the US with the INTENTION of getting married, but you must not intend to remain there and adjust status to become a permanent residence. What this means is that, BEFORE you enter the US, if your INTENTION is to enter, get married, and never leave, you will be denied entry. If you enter the US with the INTENTION of only getting married, and then you leave for Germany and get processed for your GC there, that would be allowed. So, if you want to get married in the US and stay, it'd only be allowed if you decide to do this AFTER you enter the US. Do you understand?

Otherwise, once he becomes a US citizen, you can apply for a fiance visa to get married in the US (K1), enter with that, and then stay there and take care of everything inside the US, OR you can apply fully from Germany. But, you probably won't be allowed to visit the US while this is in process (could take up to a year).

[Lauren]

Thank you a lot for your answer! I was hoping he can just add me to his N400 application and make me a citizen at the same time.

[cafeconleche]

Hah, no way. You need to wait at least 3 years after you get your GC before you can think about applying for citizenship yourself.

Also, I forgot to mention that even if you decide to enter the US just to get married and then leave, it's best not to mention this at the border. It'd be better to say you're going for a visit, and then you can decide to get married once you're in the country.