Best Way to Get Married

[blackcat]

Our situation is as follows. My girlfriend is from Switzerland and I am a US citizen living in LA. We have already spent a few weeks together here and there, but want more time together here to get to know each other better. After extensive reading and research, it seems that our best option would be to get married. However, we are both professionals, she has a good job in Switzerland, and she would be bored here without a work permit. The question is which is the quickest route to a work permit. We have considered just getting married while she was here on a tourist visa, but we would have to prove the marriage was "spontaneous." If she gave up her apartment and job in Switzerland, it certainly might not seem too spontaneous. In addition, would she be able to return to Switzerland while we wait for the work permit? We could also marry here, then apply for status adjustment, and she could return to Switzerland and continue working until she were granted her residency (I think that's what happens). We could also marry in Switzerland, and then apply for the K3 visa; or apply for the K1 and she could come on that. What we are unsure of is which is the quickest route for her to be granted a work permit. We both feel that for our relationship to have the best chance, we both should be well-employed.
Thanks for any advice.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you mean the minimum time between her entering the U.S. and getting work authorization, I would suggest a spouse visa. But that carries its own set of problems if you and she are living and working in different continents - why would the USCIS see that as a bona fide marriage?

Unless you're living together before you seek the visa, a fiancée visa is probably the best approach, although that would likely result in a longer delay between entry and obtaining work authorization.

[blackcat]

Thank you for your response.

Actually, she's already here on a visa waiver, but still has everything in Switzerland. Wouldn't it be quicker for us just to marry and then request an AOS and temp work permit than to wait for visa approval?

[Mr. Knowitall]

As you've already noted, that opens her up to the risk of being accused of misrepresenting her intentions when she entered the country. But I suppose it's her life, and her risk to take.