I have always wanted to move to America ever since I was little and I know how hard it is to get in especially as I do not have a degree or a relative that lives there. I have heard that the best way is to marry an american citizen but that won't work for obvious reasons. I know gay people can get married in a few states but would that be recognised the same as marriage if you want to move to the US??? Obviously because of my age I won't be able to do it for a while anyway for financial reasons etc and I don't intend on finding a random American online to marry me either, maybe If I take a holiday I might meet someone you never know. Thanks
My understanding is that in the states where same-sex marriage is legal, it's equal to different-sex marriage. However, it's probably not advisable to marry someone for the simple purpose of being allowed to stay in the country. I'm not even sure the US is worth getting married to someone you mightn't know very well.
Marriages of convenience for that reason are illegal, I believe. The penalty for that is immediate deportation and prosecution of the complicit citizen. The USCIS lists a five-year prision term and fines of up to $250,000: With that in mind, I would seek other avenues. Being gay should not affect your entry into the US, though...we don't discriminate against who we take in and never have. The only thing I can think of that would interfere is if you are HIV positive, which applies equally to anyone with HIV anyway and has been in effect since the late eighties.
No, it wouldn't. Specific states' laws allowing marriage are not recognized by the US government for immigration purposes.
DOMA prevents same-sex marriages being recognised by immigration. The states that recognise such unions might give you benefits, but you'll have to wait until DOMA is repealed to immigrate on that basis. You might be able to get on some other merit though.
Fuck, that's right. I never want to hear another religious conservative bitch when portions of DOMA are struck down for inequality.
Thanks for the replies everyone but can I just say I do NOT intend on marrying someone just to get into the US, im not that desperate. I just know that is the easiest way to go about it. Hopefully by the time I have the money this DOMA thing wil have been repealed! How likely is it that it will be repealed anyways?? Thanks
Parts of it were just struck down in a circuit court last year. It's only been around for fifteen years and it's beginning to be taken down. Give it five or ten years and some other court cases.
Being gay won't affect you getting into America. I don't even think that they ask about sexual orientation. I'm not too clear on the immigration laws though, I suggest looking on the U.S government's website. You might even be able to contact an immigration authority and ask them your questions.
Just posting that ruined your ability to marry and get into the country through that way. They do search for things on the internet. Any marriage, real or fake you get into with an American will be voided now. America's immigration policy is a bitch.
No, that's not true, he just disregarded the whole marrying an American just to get in if you didn't understand him
I am no expert... but young Scottish guy, even without a university degree is probably better educated than a lot of US immigrants, knows the language and wouldn't have major cultural differences to contend with.
Not quite. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the National Origins Formula of 1924, and the Immigration Acts of 1917, 1924, and 1952 mean anything to you? But there is no reason that being gay would necessarily forbid you from immigrating here legally today.
As others said, you can't stay in the US by marriage unless to a woman due to DOMA, which is bullshit stupid law. If you want to live in North America, I'd move to Canada where you can get married to a dude and my perception is that there are fewer bigots than in the US. You'd be close to the US so you could probably get a passport to visit the if you want. If I were you, I'd move to a European gay friendly country if you want to move, skip the US other than for a visit.
