Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Marriage and Fiancé Visas and the question being posed is "do we marry or do we not marry?" This is a major question that arises when we deal with new clients who are looking to get a loved one into the United States. It is not the easiest question to ask oneself quite honestly because of the state of affairs of the Immigration System. A lot of things that might seem initially counterintuitive end up becoming pretty much the right move. So what are we talking about here? 

Well for example, one would think that applying for a Marriage Visa would be faster than applying for a Fiancé Visa; not the case. In most sets of circumstances, Fiancé Visas process more quickly, generally speaking because they have to deal with less bureaucracy at the National Visa Center. Meanwhile, Marriage Visas, at least here in Thailand might be more time consuming because the process of actually getting married in Thailand has become more cumbersome. There was a time when this could be accomplished in a matter of days, now it is a matter of weeks and in some cases it can be even a matter of months. There is just a lot of bureaucracy now that goes into it; whether it is necessary or not I don't know but that's just how it is. 

So for one thing you have got to bear in mind that there is timing issues, timing requirements associated with the marriage. Another issue that will pop up when you are talking about Marriage versus Fiancé Visas is the issue of a prenup and dealing with the proper drafting and execution of a prenup is something that one needs to bear in mind and can have ramifications in the Immigration context. Meanwhile timing is an issue; cost is also an issue. There can be a very big difference between costs associated with Marriage Visas as opposed to Fiancé Visas. So at the end of the day what we are talking about here is if you are watching this video and you are looking at your options, you probably want to go ahead and contact a legal professional and gain some insight and guidance before making any moves at all because getting married will change one's options with regard to visas. For example by getting married it essentially forestalls one's ability to get a Fiancé Visa and they may find out later a Fiancé Visa may have been more advantageous in the circumstances of their case. Vice versa may be true, if somebody starts seeking a Fiancé Visa when in reality for their purposes it might have been better to get a Marriage Visa. For example Immigrant Spouse Visas you are done with the Green Card process at the moment of entry. So for certain couples that is going to be more advantageous and again their future plans beyond residence in the United States will also factor into this analysis as well. 

So for all of these reasons, making what seems like a pretty simple decision is in fact something that a couple should really actually sit down, think out and discuss before making any final decisions regarding such matters.