Regardless, where you decide to legally marry (not necessarily a religious ceremony or even a wedding, perhaps just a justice of the peace), could significantly change your options and processing times and what path you choose. It is always best to discuss your wedding plans with a qualified immigration attorney to decide what path is best for your situation and the consequences and benefits of marriage outside and inside the U.S.

The Immigrant Visa Process

Once a U.S. citizen marries an immigrant spouse whether inside or outside of the U.S., the U.S. citizen will have to apply for an immigrant visa and provide all supporting documentation for that application with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services in the U.S. Once CIS approves the petition, the case is (www.travel.state.gov) for continued processing.

Once a visa number is assigned to the case and final documentation received, the case is transferred to the consulate nearest the noncitizen spouse's foreign address, which will arrange for the spouse to be interviewed (much like a green card interview in the U.S.) by a consulate nearest the immigrant spouse's foreign residence. Assuming all goes well, the spouse will be issued a green card in his or her passport upon entry into the U.S. The processing time for this entire process can take 9 months - 2 years, depending on which state the U.S. citizen spouse resides in.

There are a few exceptions to this process, that allow a couple to save months of processing time so as not to be separated for long periods. If time is a concern and before a couple tries to cut corners in the immigration process, a couple should consult an attorney right away, so as not to make any decisions that could ruin the immigrant spouse's chances for a green card.

K-3 temporary visa

The K-3 visa (http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/life081401.htm) was created in response to the long processing time it can take for a foreign spouse to be issued a green card for entry into the U.S. A person may receive a K-3 visa if that person is already married to a U.S. citizen, has a pending Immigrant Visa filed by their U.S. citizen spouse with U.S. CIS (www.uscis.gov), and seeks to enter the United States to await the approval of the petition and subsequent lawful permanent resident status. This visa must still be applied for with CIS and once approved, must be sent to the consulate nearest the foreign noncitizen's spouse for issuance.

The One-Step Option