Thai wedding on a K1

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Ning, let it go. You are deliberately misinterpreting the warning I included in with my post advising that you need to be clear about what is and isn't a legal marriage. Some foreign posted US Consulate staff are not as educated on local customs as they should be. The case to which I referred caused interesting problems because the US Consulate denied them saying they appeared to be married - but the local government did not recognize them as married. At that stage they were not eligible to apply for a spousal visa and had been denied for a K-1 visa. Instead of fighting the denial, they chose the faster route of getting legally married and pursuing a spousal visa. There is no ambiguity in the statement that if it is not a legal marriage in the country in which the ceremony takes place, then it is not a legal marriage for immigration purposes no matter how much it might look like a wedding.

I think Scandal's post makes it imminently clear that in Thailand the religious ceremony is not considered a legal marriage if it is not registered, and 'does not count' for immigration purposes. They are not misrepresenting themselves nor lying when they say they are not legally married.

So, let it go.

Edited September 11, 2009 by Kathryn41