Thailand traditional wedding and K1

[gbagbo 0]

Hi everyone,

Read a lot about about K1 and doing traditional wedding ceremonies. Seems to me like it's ok to do as long as the country where the wedding takes place does not recognize that ceremony as a legally binding agreement/marriage.

My question is for Thailand specifically. Has anyone here applied for a K1 visa for a Thai fiancé(e) and done a traditional ceremony while waiting? Did that cause any problems with the visa request or interview? My fiancée and her family say the ceremony is not legal but I wanted to hear others' experiences with this.

Thank you very much.

[rsn 135]

Hi everyone,

Read a lot about about K1 and doing traditional wedding ceremonies. Seems to me like it's ok to do as long as the country where the wedding takes place does not recognize that ceremony as a legally binding agreement/marriage.

My question is for Thailand specifically. Has anyone here applied for a K1 visa for a Thai fiancé(e) and done a traditional ceremony while waiting? Did that cause any problems with the visa request or interview? My fiancée and her family say the ceremony is not legal but I wanted to hear others' experiences with this.

Thank you very much.

The marriage is only legal after you register it at the local amphur (district) office. A ceremony itself does not make it a legal marriage in Thailand as far as I know. If you go this route, I would not include any photos of the ceremony for the interview or with any evidence you mail to USCIS or DOS. Also, I would instruct your fiancee to not mention it at all unless specifically asked during the interview.

[Bernie C 24]

We had the same questions about Vietnam and I am happy to share our information and experience.

We were engaged in Jan 09 and had a full blown TRADITIONAL Vietnamese wedding ceremony in April of 09 (over 350 guests). We also had a traditional picture day with my fiancee in multiple wedding gowns (we went to 8 different places around the countryside for photos.

The picture day and wedding ceremony were wonderful and fantastic events and I am very happy that we chose to do it all. We did it so her family, relatives and friends could share in this special event and because I felt it was very important to show my respect and honor for them. We did not register the marriage in Vietnam

After the April traditional wedding visit I returned to the US and filed the I129F. I DID include all the photos from the picture day and ceremony (certainly good proof of ongoing relationship). I also included a letter that stated that we had the traditional ceremony in respect and honor for her family, that we did not register the marriage and that we fully intended to get married in the USA. We also included our letters of intent that stated that we were both willing, able and free to marry in the USA.

We had not one, none, zero, nada problem with the petition or the consulte. The Vietnamese consulate is a very difficult one and this posed no problems for us.

But as I mentioned, I divulged all the information up front with a full explanation. I can only believe that because I was completly honest and explained everything that it was not a problem. If I had tried to hide something I'm sure it could have been different.

This is only our particular case and I am sharing it so others know that it is possible to do it provided you go about it in the right way.

When it came to the interview the CO did ask my fiancee a few "trick" questions by refering to me as her husband. Each time she looked at the CO and said - He is my Fianace, not my husband, after which he smiled and continued. We were approved for the K-1 with no problems.

Whatever you chose to do I wish you the very best and hope you have a successful journey

[AaronLV 12]

Hi everyone,

Read a lot about about K1 and doing traditional wedding ceremonies. Seems to me like it's ok to do as long as the country where the wedding takes place does not recognize that ceremony as a legally binding agreement/marriage.

My question is for Thailand specifically. Has anyone here applied for a K1 visa for a Thai fiancé(e) and done a traditional ceremony while waiting? Did that cause any problems with the visa request or interview? My fiancée and her family say the ceremony is not legal but I wanted to hear others' experiences with this.

Thank you very much.

We had a ceremony prior to the visa, since it is not legal, there is no problem. Just remember do not register it with the local Amphur and you will be fine. Also as was mentioned, do not include photos of the ceremony in P3, and do not mention it during the interview. I am not positive this would be a problem if it was mentioned, but no need to add any extra red flags or excuses to hold up the Visa. Your fiancee will probably be asked how long do you plan to wait to before marrying once you arrive in the US? My fiancee's answer was a few weeks after we arrived.

[HI-UG 4]

This is all kind of food for thought for us, because in the beneficiary's culture, one has a traditional tribal "giving away" ceremony (which isn't legally recognized by the government), followed by a "church wedding" (which is, or at least can be) - and the expectation is to have them both in that country. (Practically speaking, it's a lot easier than trying to get 200 friends and family visas and airfare to attend a wedding in the US!)

Will have to investigate whether we have the option of not registering a church wedding there.

[TheBears 9]

I wouldn't do it. There are plenty of Thai/Thai couples who have wedding ceremonies but never register their marriage at the Amphur office. They're still considered to be married by other Thais. There may be limited to no legal protections to these couples, but they are still culturally considered to be married. It's a cultural norm, and if the CO wants to be harsh about it and deny you, then they can.

If you're set on doing it now then you sure as heck don't want to include pictures.

A better idea might be to go through the K-1 process first. Once she has her K-1 (or at least her interview day) then you can fly back to Thailand and have the ceremony. Then the two of you fly to the US and register your marriage at your county clerk's office. From most accounts, Thailand is not considered high fraud. To my thinking, though, it's not worth the risk.

[ThaiSweed102 0]

Hi everyone,

Read a lot about about K1 and doing traditional wedding ceremonies. Seems to me like it's ok to do as long as the country where the wedding takes place does not recognize that ceremony as a legally binding agreement/marriage.

My question is for Thailand specifically. Has anyone here applied for a K1 visa for a Thai fiancé(e) and done a traditional ceremony while waiting? Did that cause any problems with the visa request or interview? My fiancée and her family say the ceremony is not legal but I wanted to hear others' experiences with this.

Thank you very much.

[/quote

I am a US citizen and my fiance is from Sweden, but my parents was originally from Thailand so I went to Thailand had the ceremonies. I use some of the pictures as proof of our engagement party. We got our K1 with in 54 days.

Edited March 24, 2010 by ThaiSweed102

[Busaiteen 0]

Why not skip the wedding and have an engagement ceremony instead? We did that and it's practically the same thing!

[TheBears 9]

Why not skip the wedding and have an engagement ceremony instead? We did that and it's practically the same thing!

No....

But if the OP wanted to have the engagement ceremony before the interview, that'd be alright. Sin sot. Exchange of rings. Food. But stop short of crowns and holy water and it's fine. Plenty of Thai couples have an engagement ceremony and then wait for the wedding. Again with the cultural norms. Just be sure to be able to explain to the CO that it was an engagement ceremony (pithi man) and not a wedding. Please realize, though, that there is a difference. They are not "practically the same thing." The same way a western engagement party and wedding are not the same thing.

[AaronLV 12]

I wouldn't do it. There are plenty of Thai/Thai couples who have wedding ceremonies but never register their marriage at the Amphur office. They're still considered to be married by other Thais. There may be limited to no legal protections to these couples, but they are still culturally considered to be married. It's a cultural norm, and if the CO wants to be harsh about it and deny you, then they can.

If you're set on doing it now then you sure as heck don't want to include pictures.

A better idea might be to go through the K-1 process first. Once she has her K-1 (or at least her interview day) then you can fly back to Thailand and have the ceremony. Then the two of you fly to the US and register your marriage at your county clerk's office. From most accounts, Thailand is not considered high fraud. To my thinking, though, it's not worth the risk.

There is no problem doing a wedding ceremony before getting the visa. What matters is if it is legally binding and recognized by the government, the fact is a marriage ceremony in its self is not recognized by either the Thai government or the US government. IT IS NOT A LEGAL MARRIAGE, therefore you are not married.

Don't worry about it, do the ceremony, don't include pictures or bring it up at the interview. If asked don't lie about it. I have yet to see anyone one on this site that has gone through the embassy in Bangkok, asked if they had a marriage ceremony. Just like all of your evidence go through it, and make sure there is nothing in it that is ambiguous and could be interpreted wrong.

On a side note, speaking with the attorney we used for our Visa (hired prior to finding the site), they said the majority of their K1 filers do a marriage ceremony prior to getting the visa.

[gbagbo 0]

There is no problem doing a wedding ceremony before getting the visa. What matters is if it is legally binding and recognized by the government, the fact is a marriage ceremony in its self is not recognized by either the Thai government or the US government. IT IS NOT A LEGAL MARRIAGE, therefore you are not married.

Don't worry about it, do the ceremony, don't include pictures or bring it up at the interview. If asked don't lie about it. I have yet to see anyone one on this site that has gone through the embassy in Bangkok, asked if they had a marriage ceremony. Just like all of your evidence go through it, and make sure there is nothing in it that is ambiguous and could be interpreted wrong.

On a side note, speaking with the attorney we used for our Visa (hired prior to finding the site), they said the majority of their K1 filers do a marriage ceremony prior to getting the visa.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm thinking the same thing that it's ok to do the ceremony but maybe no need to mention anything unless asked specifically. All this Visa stuff is both a headache and exciting. I'm really looking forward to my next visit to Thailand. Good luck to all of you who are in the process as well.