Fiance Visa

OK, here's a question for all you wordly travelers out there!

Here is a situation... I know of a couple that wants to get married in the USA. One is a US citizen and the other is Russian. Their plan is to get married in the USA, but return immediately to Russia where they both currently reside. Is there a need to apply for a fiance visa in this case? Can the Russian simply apply for a tourist visa, fly over for the nuptials, tie the knot and then return to Russia?

My understanding of the fiance visa is that it is required for couples marrying in the USA and residing there. The fiance visa serves the purpose of allowing the non-US citizen to remain in the country while the green card is being processed. Can anyone enlighten me on this situation or point me in the right direction for answers to this question?

Thanks in advance.

I was just on the phone yesterday with immigration in the US and had to wait 20 minutes before the call was answered. You might want to bypass all of that and phone your (former) local congressperson. I contacted them years ago about the fiancée visa deal and they had answers quickly and returned my calls. It sounds like what you say is correct but do you know the procedure for a foreign citizen to get married in the US? Can they just fly over and tie the knot? If they are not going to live in the US, I can't imagine anyone even knowing or caring that they are married when they fly back to Russia.

Hi Nevado! Thanks for your response. I think in the end the couple is going to get married in Russia (civil ceremony) and have an exchanging of vows over Christmas in the States. Either way, the bureacracy is so exhausting!