Can one get married in U.S. on a tourist visa?

[Guest pushbrk]

From the consulate in GZ : "The American partner to a marriage in China will generally be asked to submit the following:

 

a current passport

a Chinese residence permit"

among other things...

Guessing he's not gonna get that resident permit on a tourist visa, now is he...

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I got married in Beijing and all I brought was:

 

1) translated, notarized and authenticated

Single status certificate

 

2) my passport

 

3) a photo of my wife and I

 

4) 9 RMB

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I married my Chinese wife December 1, 2005 while visiting China on a tourist visa. A residence permit is not required. There is a lot of out of date and just plain wrong information floating around on websites.

[canrun]

From the consulate in GZ : "The American partner to a marriage in China will generally be asked to submit the following:

 

a current passport

a Chinese residence permit"

among other things...

Guessing he's not gonna get that resident permit on a tourist visa, now is he...

194956[/snapback]

Man, this was from the GZ Consulate website, too! A Mea Culpa to all!

[shyaushu]

Practically everyone here knows far more about the intracacies of US visas than I do so I have little to add, technically.

 

But if someone's intent is to marry a foreign national and live here together, what, exactly, are the reasons for not doing it the "right" way? Admittedly, it does take a little bit of time, but it isn't like it takes five or ten years. With careful filing and a few visits (which are such fun and permit the two people to actually "play house" for a while), it should only take a year or so.

 

Filing for a tourist visa; coming here; getting married; struggling with obtaining permanent status -- that could easily take five or six months, or more.

 

Balance that with a lifetime together . . .