Italy Forum

LecceEm
Joined 2017
Posts: 2

6 years ago

Awaiting Marriage Paperwork With Visa Set To Expire

6 years ago

Hello,

I am an American writer who fell in love with Italy & a certain Italian gent this past summer.

I have spent hours on the internet researching and am beyond tears; at this point I just want to speak to a human who is familiar with this stuff.

I am a US citizen, independently employed, who is engaged to an Italian. We met this summer, I left to go back to the states, then arrived in Italy February3, 2017 on a tourist visa (the standard 90 days). We believed all of our paperwork would be processed well before I had to leave; not so, as essentially the Italian bureaucratic system is frankly nightmare. I briefly left for the UK on April 13 to buy some time for us, and returned on May 10.

Our lawyer mistakenly believed my 90 days reset when I came back on May 10 and took her time organizing everything, and it was only after we pressed her for a meeting yesterday that she realized her mistake. So here I am with only a week left on my Schengan visa, and faced with the real possibility of having to leave again for 3 months, which will ruin my fiance and me emotionally and financially.

We already have our official Nulla Osta from the consulate, and the next step is to declare our intent to marry before the judge, then submit our paperwork to the council, THEN wait 12 days before marrying. My question is, would there be consequences to my overstaying on my visa while we finish the marital proceedings? Could we play dumb on account of our (lawyer who assumed my new stamp upon entry to Italy on the 10th meant I was good for 90 days? Is there anyone we could ask for assistance? I contacted the US consulate but have yet to hear back.

Literally not a single officer or courthouse will give us a straight answer, and at this point I'm tempted to say screw it--but I also don't want to be refused marriage AND fined AND barred from the country for five years.

I have reached out to the US consulate and am awaiting a response.

Many Thanks...

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