Need your Experties Pls

[London bride08 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

You cannot apply for a fiance visa because you do not have a fiance. It sounds like your petition was not "denied" but they need evidence that "someone else" (?) was supposed to provide. NEVER rely on anyone else to provide anything for your petition. Go directly to this person, face to face, take the document you need in your hand and do it yourself.

This is a process where you need to keep your hands on the levers.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

You cannot apply for a fiance visa, you are married. If you try, not only will you be denied; but accused of misrepresentation and be deemed inadmissible. That is something you do not want.

As far as how to get re-married in the UK; google is your friend.

[Jauque 1]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

So are you legally married? I don't know what "religious wedding" means. Was it a party or did you sign a marriage certificate?

I think you best bet at this point is to figure out why you don't have a marriage certificate, get a marriage certificate and then reapply. Were you actually denied or sent an RFE requesting your marriage certificate?

[London bride08 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

So are you legally married? I don't know what "religious wedding" means. Was it a party or did you sign a marriage certificate?

I think you best bet at this point is to figure out why you don't have a marriage certificate, get a marriage certificate and then reapply. Were you actually denied or sent an RFE requesting your marriage certificate?

First, thank you for your comments.

To answer your question, per USA, I am not legally married. There are no proof that my marriage was Registered or Recorded in UK court. My marriage certificate was from a Mosque's pastor hand written certificate.

The message said, "The petitioner responded by submitting: Certificate of Marriage issued by Minister of Religion. However, the petitioner has not submitted a marriage certificate that shows the marriage was registered and / or recorded after the marriage ceremony, as requested by the USCIS. Therefore, a decision has been made based upon the evidence of record (which is denied).

[London bride08 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

You cannot apply for a fiance visa, you are married. If you try, not only will you be denied; but accused of misrepresentation and be deemed inadmissible. That is something you do not want.

As far as how to get re-married in the UK; google is your friend.

Thank you for your reply.

After I visited my local USCIS office with all my evidence showing that a wedding did held in London but my marriage was not Registered or Recorded with the court, the officer gave me the idea to apply for fiance visa. Per USCIS, I am not legally married, since it was not registered or recorded by civil authorities. And now I don't really know what to do. The USCIS officer said I could apply for fiance visa, I don't know I should or not?

This is what USCIS sent me,

The message said, "The petitioner responded by submitting: Certificate of Marriage issued by Minister of Religion. However, the petitioner has not submitted a marriage certificate that shows the marriage was registered and / or recorded after the marriage ceremony, as requested by the USCIS. Therefore, a decision has been made based upon the evidence of record (which is denied).

Thank you

[London bride08 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

So are you legally married? I don't know what "religious wedding" means. Was it a party or did you sign a marriage certificate?

I think you best bet at this point is to figure out why you don't have a marriage certificate, get a marriage certificate and then reapply. Were you actually denied or sent an RFE requesting your marriage certificate?

Thank you for your reply. To answer you question, I am married under Islamic Law, but per USCIS, I am not legally married. The minister was suppose to record the certificate and for some reason we believed him and didn't follow up with the court in UK. In UK you need to get permission before you can marry anyone and that takes a long time. Since I was there for only 4 days I just took the certificate from the minister and assumed that it was recorded.

After having a meeting with USCIS officer at my local office, he suggested that I should apply for fiance visa. I do meet all the criteria for I-129, so friend I don't know what to do at this point.

Thank you

[London bride08 0]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

You cannot apply for a fiance visa because you do not have a fiance. It sounds like your petition was not "denied" but they need evidence that "someone else" (?) was supposed to provide. NEVER rely on anyone else to provide anything for your petition. Go directly to this person, face to face, take the document you need in your hand and do it yourself.

This is a process where you need to keep your hands on the levers.

You are absolutely right, I don't have a fiance, I have a husband. However, per USCIS, I am not legally married. My marriage certificate was by a minister of religion which was not registered or recorded by any civil authorities. So, I don't have a valid marriage.

You are also right about that as well, "NEVER rely on anyone else" but I was there for the Thanks giving break from my university and with the knowledge of the minister will go to the court after the ceremony and record the marriage. (If life was that simple)

After visiting my local USCIS office, the officer suggested me to apply for fiance visa, I do meet all the criteria. And now it's not possible to go to London and do this all over again.

My question to you is, If USCIS doesn't see my wedding just as a ceremony and not being recorded or registered then, why can't I apply for a Finance Visa?

Thank you

[Badgerella 5]

I'll explain this by using the knowledge about marriages in Croatia, religious or civil. Here, if a religious ceremony is performed (I am, however, unsure if it can be only Catholic church, since we're mostly a Catholic country, or any other, as well) and the couple HAS intention of getting married legally (as in, registered with the system), you need to supply an additional document and, once the ceremony is over, and the couple is married under the religious law, the said document needs to be brought to a civil wedding clerk. Only then the marriage becomes legal and registered with the country and its laws.

Religious ceremonies are often performed regardless of the civil ones - sometimes, couples have already been married for a while, sometimes, because of their whatever wishes and plans, the religious one happens first. The most common route, however, is to get it all done at once. If the additional document is forgotten, the said marriage, regardless of any and all religious laws, is not valid in the eyes of the law of the Republic of Croatia. Legally, it's nonexistent and the couple has never married.

So, as I see it, if you managed to forget, for whatever reason, to register your religious marriage with the UK authorities, you're not legally married and it makes sense your petition was denied. USCIS doesn't and won't recognize a marriage that's not already been recognized by the country in which the wedding took place. At the same time, to make the whole process a bit more complicated, a religious marriage can be a problem, too, if it's used as evidence of an ongoing relationship during a K1 process.

I'm sorry I don't have advice for the actual problem, though. I think you should register your marriage in the UK and then re-file the same petition. Applying for a K1, having already tried to apply for a spouse visa, sounds a lot more complicated and smells of misrepresented evidence or the like. Had you not filed already, a fiance application could have been the right way to go (since you're not legally registered as a married couple). Under these circumstances, I, personally, wouldn't want to deal with having to explain that my-used-to-consider-him-a-husband is, all of a sudden, just a fiance.

Good luck!

[Brit Abroad 166]

The General Register Office website (they control Births, Deaths and Marriage records for England and Wales) specifies the following:-

Residency requirements

You can get married in England and Wales as long as you have both lived in a registration district for at least seven days immediately before giving notice of marriage.

When do the seven days begin and end?

Here is an example - A person arriving in a registration district at any time on a Tuesday does not start the seven day period until the Wednesday because he or she has only been resident for part of Tuesday. Wednesday would be day 1 and the following Tuesday would be day 7, so notice could only be given on or after the second Wednesday.

This applies to all couples, including those travelling from overseas to marry in England and Wales.

If you or the person you wish to marry are subject to immigration control, you can only give notice of marriage at designated register offices (pdf, 26k) which you must attend together. There are 76 designated register offices in England and Wales.

To find out if you are subject to immigration control please see the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website or telephone 0870 606 7766.

Alternatively you can email indpublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Have a read through their site at http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/marriages/ for full details as I've ony summarised what I think applies to your situation.

As your religious ceremony would appear to be outside the legal requirements and therefore will not be registered under British Law, the USCIS Officer would appear to have given you accurate information regarding the fiance petition. However, knowing that the record of a religious ceremony of marriage is bound to have been filed in your case notes under the Rejection, you may want to clarify with USCIS (and get it in writing or the relevant section of applicable law) that it won't prejudice the I-129.

Better safe than sorry, eh? Good luck with your process!

Edited May 10, 2009 by Brit Abroad

[lucyrich 20]

Hi everyone,

I am a USC, got married in London in Oct of 08. Filled for I-130, was denied because failed to provide them with a Recorded or Register Marriage Certificate (due to Religious wedding, the Minister was suppose to do it but he did not).

Should I apply for Fiance Visa? Since I have already applied for I-130 visa and it was denied, will they reject this as well?

Some background: My husband is under Student Visa in UK for last 6 years. We met through our parents. Started our relationship by talking over the phone and by emails. Flew over in London to meet him for the first time face to face, and decided to get married (mine and his family also flew from USA to UK for the wedding). Came back and filled for I-130 but was not successful because the wedding was not registered in UK.

Can anyone tell me if there is any way I can get my marriage register there in London, even if I have to remarried. I am going back to London next month, I think I have to stay there for about 1 and 1/2 to get permission to get married in UK with a non-British.................

So many questions??? Don't know what to do??? And don't have any FREE $ to give away to USCIS as well.

Please HELP.

You cannot apply for a fiance visa, you are married. If you try, not only will you be denied; but accused of misrepresentation and be deemed inadmissible. That is something you do not want.

As far as how to get re-married in the UK; google is your friend.

Thank you for your reply.

After I visited my local USCIS office with all my evidence showing that a wedding did held in London but my marriage was not Registered or Recorded with the court, the officer gave me the idea to apply for fiance visa. Per USCIS, I am not legally married, since it was not registered or recorded by civil authorities. And now I don't really know what to do. The USCIS officer said I could apply for fiance visa, I don't know I should or not?

This is what USCIS sent me,

The message said, "The petitioner responded by submitting: Certificate of Marriage issued by Minister of Religion. However, the petitioner has not submitted a marriage certificate that shows the marriage was registered and / or recorded after the marriage ceremony, as requested by the USCIS. Therefore, a decision has been made based upon the evidence of record (which is denied).

Thank you

You seem to be interpreting that as meaning you're not legally married per US law. That is NOT what they said.

They said you didn't provide sufficient PROOF that you were legally married. So as far as they're concerned, your marital status is in doubt.

If they conclusively said you were NOT married, then they would have issued you a lifetime bar for misrepresentation, because you signed the I-130 claiming you were married. The fact that they didn't issue a lifetime bar means that they think there's some chance you were telling the truth, but you just didn't have enough evidence to prove it.

Remember that, in immigration matters, you always have the burden of proving your eligibility. If you now want to apply for a K-1, you will have to PROVE you are single. Ordinarily, for most couples, they don't insist on much proof, since with most couples, there's no evidence on the record that they might have been married. But you have the I-130 application on the record, and you have your signed statement saying that everything on it was true and correct to the best of your knowledge. So there is some evidence on the record that you're married. It wasn't enough to approve the I-130, but I believe it will be more than enough to deny you a K-1.

Couples have tried applying for a K-1, been approved, and then at the port of entry, an inspector found photos of a non-binding religious wedding ceremony. Those photos were enough to raise some doubt as to whether the couple was married or not. If it appears that they might have been married, they're not eligible to enter on a K-1. They get turned back and told to file K-3.

You've got a lot more evidence of marriage than just a few photos. You also have a signed I-130. If you now sign an I-129F that says you're not married, you'll be in a real problem. They'll have to conclude that one of the following three things is true: a) you were lying when you said you were married on the I-130, or b) you were lying when you said you were single on the K-1 I-129F c) you've gotten divorced in the meantime. The only one of those three that won't result in a lifetime bar for you is divorce, but you'll have to come up with the divorce certificate to prove you got divorced after filing the I-130 and before filing the K-1 I-129F.

I'd suggest getting the right paperwork to prove you are really married, and then submitting a new I-130 with convincing evidence.