Pros and cons of getting married/having kids in Argentina vs USA?

[River222]

My Argentine girlfriend and I are thinking about getting married and am wondering what things we should be taking into consideration as we choose the location. Tentatively, we're thinking about living in Argentina for a few years to save up as I work remotely and then possibly moving to the states. Will getting married here cause problems with Visas/green card later? What about having kids? I imagine it would be better to have them in the US so that they would be US citizens right? Just trying make some informed decisions here before just jumping in a direction here haha. Thanks!

 

[charlesfradley]

Not sure why you would move to the USA to retire, I am thinking of doing the opposite. Argentina is much cheaper to live on US social security.

Honestly I see little practical benefit to moving to USA, your current situation sounds ideal.

Your children will be US citizens regardless of where they are born. I also understand they will be Argentinian even if born outside Arg.

If so, then it might be better to pick a third country to give birth, e.g. Ireland... that way as Irish citizens they could live anywhere in the EU and also the UK. With three passports could travel visa free to nearly every country in the developed world - some exceptions e.g. Australia requires Visas for everybody.

It makes no difference which country you get married it, it only matters in which country the children are born.

 

[wrangler]

USA does not seem like a good choice to move to now-a-days. It has gone down hill significantly. The key to Argentina, is being able to earn in dollars, That usually means having a job abroad that you can perform online.

 

[charlesfradley]

Yes, I live in Florida and have nothing in common with the people here. I avoid the neighbors, I mostly disagree with the way they think and behave. I mostly keep to myself, counting the days until I can retire and move to Argentina.

 

[sts7049]

if you are living in argentina now, i think it will be easier later to get a US visa for her if you get married in argentina.

if you intend to marry in the US, there are very specific steps you'll need to go through to make sure she gets her visa by marriage. from what i remember, if you just fly there and get married without having the right forms on entry she risks getting deported or banned. but if you are already married i think it makes the process quicker and simpler getting that US visa.

 

[River222]

if you are living in argentina now, i think it will be easier later to get a US visa for her if you get married in argentina.

if you intend to marry in the US, there are very specific steps you'll need to go through to make sure she gets her visa by marriage. from what i remember, if you just fly there and get married without having the right forms on entry she risks getting deported or banned. but if you are already married i think it makes the process quicker and simpler getting that US visa.

What about getting her a US green card later following all the rules?

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Not sure why you would move to the USA to retire, I am thinking of doing the opposite. Argentina is much cheaper to live on US social security.

Honestly I see little practical benefit to moving to USA, your current situation sounds ideal.

Your children will be US citizens regardless of where they are born. I also understand they will be Argentinian even if born outside Arg.

If so, then it might be better to pick a third country to give birth, e.g. Ireland... that way as Irish citizens they could live anywhere in the EU and also the UK. With three passports could travel visa free to nearly every country in the developed world - some exceptions e.g. Australia requires Visas for everybody.

It makes no difference which country you get married it, it only matters in which country the children are born.

Great idea, well worth looking at, but not Ireland. The 27th amendment to the Irish constitution removed the right of citizenship by being born there. According to World Population Review none of the EU countries now offer birthright citizenship (jus soli)

 

[charlesfradley]

if you are living in argentina now, i think it will be easier later to get a US visa for her if you get married in argentina.

if you intend to marry in the US, there are very specific steps you'll need to go through to make sure she gets her visa by marriage. from what i remember, if you just fly there and get married without having the right forms on entry she risks getting deported or banned. but if you are already married i think it makes the process quicker and simpler getting that US visa.

Well, I flew to USA and got married on a tourist visa with no problems, that was back in 1987. I then immediately returned to Germany and applied for immigrant visa at US consulate in Germany where I was living at the time. It was quicker to get married in USA than Germany, it would have taken several weeks to get through the process in Germany, in (Florida) USA it took two days. The entire process went very smoothly with no problems. The Germans were suspicious of my Florida marriage certificate at first, but I soon overcame that problem.

 

[earlyretirement]

Not sure why you would move to the USA to retire, I am thinking of doing the opposite. Argentina is much cheaper to live on US social security.

Honestly I see little practical benefit to moving to USA, your current situation sounds ideal.

Your children will be US citizens regardless of where they are born. I also understand they will be Argentinian even if born outside Arg.

If so, then it might be better to pick a third country to give birth, e.g. Ireland... that way as Irish citizens they could live anywhere in the EU and also the UK. With three passports could travel visa free to nearly every country in the developed world - some exceptions e.g. Australia requires Visas for everybody.

It makes no difference which country you get married it, it only matters in which country the children are born.

BRAVO! This is spot on target. The USA is NOT the country to retire in. Even/especially as a multi-millionare I can't think of a worst country to retire to. I can afford to live in the USA but life is much better in retirement in other countries vs. the USA. High cost of living, high tax base, piss poor food quality compared to other countries. Healthcare is HORRIBLE and expensive and the doctors just don't care. Not sure why anyone would want to retire in the USA. I'm doing the opposte as charlesfradley suggested.

The only benefit to the USA is raising kids here. I find the quality of life for raising kids is much much better than Argentina. I purposely moved back to the USA when my oldest was 3 years old. I find schools for the most part disgusting in Buenos Aires compared to the USA. We had some friends that had their kids molested in Buenos Aires top tier schools. I just find the environment mostly toxic in Argentina compared to the USA for raising kids. Kids see their parents and others with a lazy attitude and stab one another in the back type of culture. Raising them in the USA was the best thing I could have done and don't regret it for a minute. But once they are older we plan to move back to Buenos Aires.

I'm a USA citizen and I got married in Argentina. I had 2 kids that were born in Buenos Aires. My wife easily got USA permanent residency just by marrying me and then got her citizenship after 5 years of being married. Was very easy. My kids automatically got USA citizenship right when they were born and have the best of both worlds having USA passport and Argentina Passport. I applied for their social security numbers at the USA Embassy in Buenos Aires and it arrived within 2 weeks of applying. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Charlesfradley is spot on target and 100% correct. The median Social Security check per month in the USA is $1,730. You can't do jack with that in the USA. But in Argentina if you have a paid off place, you can live like a King/Queen.

 

[charlesfradley]

Great idea, well worth looking at, but not Ireland. The 27th amendment to the Irish constitution removed the right of citizenship by being born there. According to World Population Review none of the EU countries now offer birthright citizenship (jus soli)

Wow I did not know that, that sucks. In that case I might suggest Canada as a birth country.