The best time to get married is when you are mentally and financially capable of supporting a family. I know it sounds like old school. However, lots of marriages fall apart because of the lack of time available because people spend a lot of time working on their careers when they marry young and don't have time to spend on each other; there are exceptions to this. However the point is, get married when you have everything sorted out. It is best for you, your partner and everyone concerned.

In America it's usually at 18. Most states, however, allow marriage at a younger age with parental and/or judicial consent. Some states allow marriage at a still younger age if the female is pregnant. There are a few states (Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21) that have a higher age.

For example, the age of consensual sex in Alabama is 16 for Male/Female. However there are many laws that have to be explored on this as well, in many states this law is only applicable if each party is within a few months to no more than two years of each others age.

If you are considering marriage before the age of 18 then you will have to have a parent's consent (or legal guardian with proof that person is "legal" guardian)

Legal Guardian is defined as...

A person who has the legal responsibility for providing the care and management of a person who is incapable, either due to age (very young or even very old, or to some other physical, mental or emotional impairment, of administering his or her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate. A legal guardian will be under the supervision of the court and will be required to appear in court to give periodic reports about the status of the child and its estate.

Other situations - Pregnant Teens: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland and Oklahoma allow pregnant teens or teens who have already had a child to get married without parental consent. In Florida, Kentucky, and Oklahoma, the young couple must have authorization from a court. Maryland requires that the minor be at least 16. Even with parental approval, many states will require court approval when a person is 16 years of age or less.

If you want to be a permanent resident, there's a point system where you have to score high enough. Having a college education is a lot of points; grad school is more. There are points for speaking English and French. There are also points for having job skills, and a chart tells you what skills are worth how many points.

There's also a skilled worker program where you can get into Canada to work indefinitely. You have to have $9,500 for one person (that's Canadian dollars) and $12,000 for two people - there's a chart. This is to prove you can support yourself for six months, and I think you don't have to have the money if you have a job offer. You'd also have to qualify in terms of job skills.

• My granddaughter has lived in Whistler BC for several years now. She has worked as a waitress, etc. but was not allowed to work long because she had no work visa. She finally married a Canadian citizen and got a visa.

• You can "visit" Canada for six months without working. I would use the time to look for employment. Once you have a job offer, you can apply for immigrant status as a "skilled worker." See the official Canadian immigration site, www.cic.gc.ca

• I strongly suggest that you contact a Canadian Immigration office for official and ACCURATE information regarding emigrating to Canada. I am an American who lived in Canada for 11 years. Because I am married to a Canadian, my immigration situation was a bit different, but I can say without a doubt that "landed immigrant" does NOT denote someone who owns land...it is simply a formal designation of immigrant status, much like our "alien" status here in the U.S. You are not required to own land to be granted permanent residence status in Canada. However, what with NAFTA and probable subsequent rulings on immigration, I am sure that the requirements change frequently. Therefore, do not rely on possible internet misinformation, contact either the Canadian Embassy here or an Immigration office in any major Canadian city for accurate current information and requirements.

• Bottom line, it's not hard for a US Citizen to relocate to Canada if a) They have a job there. b) They are highly qualified in a desirable field. c) They have family members or friends in Canada willing to sponsor them. or d) They have spent at least 2 years attending a secondary or post-secondary school in CA, or working there. Canada welcomes hardworking immigrants especially if they are skilled and speak one (or both) of the official languages - English and French. Permanent resident status can lead to citizenship after 3 years. There are basically four ways to become a permanent resident: The Business-class Immigrant owns or plans to own a business in Canada. They have capital of at least $800,000CAD and will invest at least $400,000 CAD in a business once they arrive. There is also a self-employed individual program, which applies primarily to professional athletes and artists with works of cultural significance. The Skilled Worker program is probably your best bet. It extends permanent residence to people who have a job in CA. It also extends PR status to some people in highly skilled occupations that are in demand, to look for work. Skilled occupations include farming, high tech, and hospitality industry positions, among others. You must have at least $10,000 CAD per person to support yourself while you relocate. See the official Canadian Immigration website below for details, and an online quiz to qualify. The Family-class Immigrant has family members willing to sponsor them in Canada. Before you spend money on an expensive immigration lawyer, check out the official Canadian Govt. immigration website at www.cic.gc.ca, and spend a few weeks -- or months-- in the Province of your choice as a visitor. Who knows, you may even find a job while you're visiting.

• Congratulations for a most accurate and concise answer about Americans coming to Canada to live and work. I can't think of anything to add to your post, except that I wish more Americans would FOLLOW your advice, instead of simply assuming that they can "drop in and get a job " in Canada without any kind of Canadian Government paperwork or investigation of their background or education, as if they were moving from Ohio to Michigan.

Love If it's that important there isn't much spontaneity to it.And that expression one always hears"I fell in love with him" or "I settled down". Listen to those words. It's as if admitting you fell flat on your face for this person before you even knew them well enough and then you "settled". Don't ever settle for someone who thinks they are in love with you or you with them. Find out what love really is. That takes 2 or 3 divorces. No, just joking. It just takes time.But don't put so much importance to it and it will happen all by itself. Some people are just in love with the fact of being in love; so I suppose the answer to your question would have to be just to love each other and remember there are only a few soulmates for you in this entire world. Never use the word love loosely. I hate people who say "Well, I've been in love about 7 or 8 times now.I don't know. I guess I just quit counting."No, they just quit caring about what the word really means.

Here are opinions from WikiAnswers Contributors:

• I think it is important to have both. If a man says he loves you but isn't in love with you that would almost be like him being a family member (father, brother, uncle). If a man says he loves you and is in love with you then you have a great guy.

• I'm married and have told my husband that I love him but am not in love with him. Yes, I'm guilty, but it means I love him really to a point. But when I look into his eyes, I don't get watery eyed or feel up with emotion. He is the father of my children, he is good to me and my family loves him as do I. But in love means passion, just really heart felt love. Think of him and smile. I don't get that. I'm working on indirectly showing or telling him what to do to get me to that point. To be honest, someone in the past has that torch.

• To be in love describes the excitement, passion, and sense of worth that a person experiences when they are involved with someone. It is a personal experience. To love someone means that you give them care, concern, friendship and affection willingly. You respect them, understand that they are as human as you and do make mistakes, but that they are a good, capable, responsible person whom you enjoy spending time with. Your affection does not wane with distance, and you do not grow bored of them with time. Neither do you idealize them.

• To love: is to care about someone in ways that you devote yourself to that person. To be in love: is to feel your hart beating because you are attracted (phiscally or spiritually) to that person. I think the question is: Is loving someone enough to be in a relationship or people need to have both? I don't think there is a yes-no answer to this. The true test of love is when your partner is willing to do anything for your happiness (and viceversa).. even staying with that person for the rest of your life even if you want something else (this however, is against love towards yourself -selfesteem-).

• In order to be in love, you have to first love the person. Being in love is a heightened unexplainable level of love. I don't see how a marriage could be worthwhile, and be something of worth if your not in love. So to answer the question you would have to have both. Because love gets you through the hard times, and being in love makes the easy or happy times that much greater.

• You need to be in love for yourself and for your partner's sake. You can love someone deeply, but how will you explain yourself how you feel about someone else if everytime you see them your heart jumps, your cheeks burn, your lips smile. If this someone is not your partner then, what's the point? Darling, give yourself, and your partner, the chance to feel this for someone else, and know this someone else feels the same, and live life to the full, for God wants us to love deeply and not fool ourselves: fall in love, be in love.

• The way you put it, it seems that 'to be in love with' someone is infatuation. Infatuation is always temporary. It's when you feel like you need to be with someone, like they're the only person you could ever be with, and you can't stop thinking about them. When you love someone, that means you care about them more than you care about yourself. Love is more important.

• Here is the deal. The real deal. You will NEVER meet someone that you will be IN LOVE with all of the time. People just don't do that. In relationships that people have been married for 50 years they will tell you, they were in and out of love. They NEVER stopped loving each other, but they were not always IN LOVE. That isn't reality. We just aren't built that way. You get in a relationship were you are in love with someone all of the time. Could you imagine that? It would be soo unhealty. We just fall in and out of love with someone, and that is OK. It's not bad. It doesn't mean we cheat, it just means we are human.

Love is an action. It requires daily upkeep that cannot fail. In a marriage relationship, love is what binds two together; it brings out the best and the worst. Love cannot fail. Feelings of love are like wind that are here today and wrap you in a whirlwhind of passion but tomorrow is gone. Love must be steadier than that. It must be an anchor in a wild and stormy sea that will hold tight and never let go. Which love would you prefer? To share a love that is here today or gone tomorrow? Or would you prefer a love that lasts the ages. To be "in love" with someone can change. The one you are "in love" with can have good and bad feelings about life every day. One minute happy-the next minute sad or angry. When someone is sad or angry, is it hard to "be in love with them" at that moment? probably. But "To love one another" never fails. It loves regardless of the situation, time, or moment. It loves constantly. That love is patient, kind, it does not envy or boast. It is not proud or rude or self seeking. It is not easily angered and that love keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres. That love never fails. Which would you prefer? To have changing feelings? Or a love that never fails...

I think that they're both equal. To be 'in love' and 'to love' are slightly different, but both are important just the same. You love your family and friends, but you could be in love someone. That doesn't make the people you love inferior or less important, or vise versa.

Both are Importent However It is better to love each other because very simply you could Be Infatuated with that person. now if married both are Importent. But the partner should love you for who you are and view you as a Man a mortal man or woman . But you should love each other More because outside Influence should not play a role in relationships also known as monday mourning quarterbacks.

Answer

I think you have to "fall in love" with the person first. It DOES take, sometimes, a long time to find a true love...not just a romantic love where it can change with the wind but a true love that does involve passion, romance, makes your heart flip, your world brighter, you think of them always and would do anything for them. A true love is unselfish, caring, respectful, and trusting and when you have that foundation to start with you have a much stronger bond. You end up being "in love with" and "loving" that person for everything that they are, faults and all. I "settled" before and thought I was "in love" but it didn't last. I loved that person as a person but the "in love" was not present and the relationship did not last. Once you have met your true love, your soulmate, both kinds of love are present and it is absolutely wonderful. You will look back and realize that you didn't know what love was at all! At least not the kind of love that is real, true, and long lasting. The kind of love that gets you through anything together. So, my opinion is, you have to be "in love" and "love" the person in order to experience real happiness and long-lasting marriage or relationship.

well it takes balence!! not one more than the other.... too much of anything isn't good!! :]

If she entered the US with a visa and then overstayed that visa, she can adjust status to that of permanent resident without leaving the United States.

* several days to weeks to fill and file all the forms and send them to the USCIS

* 4-8 weeks to get the invitation for an interview (in the mean time she will have to go to give biometric )

* 4-8 weeks from getting the invitation to the interview

* 2-6 weeks to get the green card in the mail.

All in all 4-6 months.

Note that all of the above concern changing her visa from a temporary one to a permanent resident (green card) visa. In order to become a citizen, one must first obtain a green card, then must undergo the naturalization process.

In the case of someone married to a US citizen, the spouse must be a permanent resident for 5 years, then follow a series of classes (and some paperwork) to become a fully naturalized US citizen.

If he wants to KEEP a green card, he must live in the U.S. 6 months out of every year, although extensions are possible (such extensions are granted at the discretion of USCIS, you do NOT have a right to an extension)

On the USCIS website, under "International Travel as a Permanent Resident," it says essentially:

1. The rule of thumb is that if you are out of the country for over than a year, they may question whether you intended to make the US your permanent residence.
2. Shorter trips may still be a problem, if they don't think you were intending to make the US your permanent country of residence. Under those circumstances, they may consider evidence such as family and community ties in the US, maintaining US employment, filing US income taxes, keeping a US mailing address and bank accounts, owning property or running a business in the US, maintaining a valid US driver's license, etc.
3. Trips of six months or more may disrupt continuous residency for naturalization purposes, but there are ways around that.

That page also mentions requirements of foreign countries (visas, etc.), requirements for reentry into the US, longer trips, etc.

If you are talking about getting married in Canada, then no paperwork is needed. In the US a fiancee's visa, which takes four months to get, is required.

It depends on the religion of each of you.

Irrelevant to the nationality, the rule, per Islam religion, is that:

• A Muslim man can marry only a Muslim, Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, or other denominations), or Jewish woman.
• A Muslim woman (virgin, divorced, or widow) can marry only a Muslim (or convert to Muslim) man.

You may say that love is over religion limitations. If you think so, then it is your choice. If you want to deny your religion obligations and requirements to legalize your marriage, then it is your choice. No compulsion in religion. However, choice is responsibility. If you chose to violate your religion obligations and requirements, you hold responsible of your choice and you hold responsible for the consequences of your choice on the Day of Judgment in front of God, the Creator.

United States

No. Marriage is a legal arrangement under civil law. That means marriage in the United States is restricted and governed by state laws. Therefore, in order to be considered legally married the parties must meet all the requirements for a valid marriage in the state where they will be married.

A legal marriage bestows a host of legal rights under state and federal law, benefits and obligations. The most important of those legal rights are related to inheritance, health insurance, government entitlements and child custody. The children born of the marriage will be considered legitimate and both parents share all the rights and responsibilities of parenthood. In the case of a couple who is not legally married, the mother is considered the custodial parent unless the father establishes his paternity in court.

Religious clergy, along with many other civil officials and civilians with permits, are permitted by the government to perform marriage ceremonies but only when the parties have obtained a civil marriage license. A couple who has only a religious ceremony is not legally married.

Several states still recognize common law marriages. However, common law marriage generally does not always bestow all the legal rights as formal marriage.

See related links.