I am a U.S. female citizen and my Italian fiance lives in Italy. Has anyone been in this situation before? I'm confused as to what I should do. Should he apply for a visa? citizenship? What should I do in the U.S. before I go to Italy for the wedding? Any help?
Answer on How can I marry my Italian fiance in Italy and bring him to the U.S. after our wedding in Italy?
You can get married wherever, just have a copy of your marriage liecence and be prepared to jump through a lot of hoops and cut through a lot of red tape if he is getting a spouse visa/green card (pretty much standard because it would allow him to work, but not citizenship). If you are planning to stay in Italy for awhile, he can apply for his spouse visa/green card at the American counsalate or embassy there. If you are planning to return to the states immediately, you can apply at the immigration office. Be warned though, getting a spouse visa/green card is expensive, very invasive of your privacy and is a mega pain in the butt!
Check the INS website for all the forms. If I remember correctly, my husband (Japanese) needed a medical check from a qualified physician, his fingerprints from the police department, photos, bank account information from you or your parents for the past 2 years, your income has to be at least 30,000 dollars (to prove that you can support him) or if you don't make that amount, you can have your parents (or sponsor) sign an affidavid of liability and prove they make over 30,000 dollars a year and can support him in economic hardship or until he gets on his feet. You also need a professional translator to translate his birth certificate and the marriage liecence. Plus each form costs 20-125 dollars each just to turn in. Then you get to wait in line with hundreds of other people trying to apply for a green card (bring a loooong book to read while you wait!) Once you do all of that, a few weeks later, you will also have to have an interview where pretty much anything can happen.
.My advice is get it all done in Italy, because the immigration offices are jammed in the states with illegal immigrants making last ditch efforts to stay in the country!
