File I-130 before wedding ceremony?

[gr1ever 0]

Hello, this is my first post

Apologies if this question has already been asked before; I browsed this forum but couldn't find an appropriate response.

I am a US citizen trying to marry my foreign girlfriend of 3.5+ years, and of course I would like to bring her to the States. We're planning to have a wedding ceremony in her country in November of this year, and we were thinking of getting legally married (in the foreign country) first. After doing some more research, though, it seems like it may not be a good idea to start the immigration process until after the wedding ceremony, even if we get legally married months in advance. Is this correct? Or does it not really matter?

I guess, ultimately, I'm not sure whether I should go the fiancee visa route, or if I can get legally married first (in the foreign country) and start the I-130 + spousal visa route before the wedding ceremony in November (to expedite the immigration process). Any advice would be much appreciated.

Just for the sake of it:

- we're both over 21

- neither of us have been married before

- neither of us have children

- we met 3.5 years ago and have spent plenty of time together... this is not a sham marriage

Thanks for listening.

PS: Also, generally, I am interested to hear whether people usually use a lawyer or if all this is manageable without one. This site seems like a great resource, but if the general concensus is to use a lawyer, then I would strongly consider that option. Thanks.

[B & G 200]

Once you are legally married you can file the I-130 as soon as you have the marriage certificate in your hands. You don't have to wait for your marriage ceremony to happen for you to start the process. I'm assuming by marriage ceremony you mean a wedding reception.

I did just that. Got married in the US in April, at our local court house and we are having our wedding reception in Greece in July. We are sending our I-130 package today.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Where is the wedding ceremony?

USCIS is only interested in the first, legal, marriage. If you're having a second ceremony, it's of little interest to them. You can file as soon as you're legally married.

You'll find most folks on here do not use a lawyer (it's a DIY site, really) and those that have (me included) have not had great experiences with them. The only reason a couple might use a lawyer is if they have some extenuating, difficult circumstances that might have red flags, but you sound like a normal couple.

The guide for filing is very straightforward for the I-130/CR-1: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[B & G 200]

You don't need a lawyer for this process. Almost everyone here is doing it themselves, as are we. You just need alil attention to detail and lots of patience.

I would only hire a lawyer of your case isn't straight forward and from what you described from above, it seems it is.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Should be fine, but depends on what country. Complete advice can't be given until you say the country.

[gr1ever 0]

Wow, thanks for all the responses! (And so quickly!!)

My girlfriend is from South Korea. We are thinking about getting married on paper soonish/nowish... and then having a wedding (yes, essentially it's just a reception; there's no legal implication (as far as I know) tied to it) later in November.

The things that made me wonder about whether it was a good idea to file for I-130 + spousal before the wedding ceremony were:

- Various sources saying that wedding ceremony pictures and honeymoon itineraries serve as good evidence for a "bona fide marriage"

- The I-130 instructions sound like they kind of expect the ceremony to have taken place (e.g. it says spouses may not file I-130 if they were not both physically present at the ceremony and the marriage was not "consummated").

- At least one site where I read that it would not be a good idea to start the I-130 after just getting married "on paper" and before the actual ceremony. (I guess, for the purposes of proving that a marriage is bona fide.)

In general, I'm a little wary of the spouse-visa route, because I would like to start the process ASAP after we get married on paper, and I feel like that doesn't look very good when:

- Trying to prove that this marriage is not fraudulent

- We don't really have any of the recommended evidence of a committed relationship like joint bank accounts, joint leases, babies, mortgage stuff... I mean, it seems like a catch-22. We can't have that stuff because we can't live together and start a life in the same country... and we can't start a life in the same country because she needs a visa, which requires that stuff. So I'm kind of wondering if we should just go the fiancee-route.

Further advice would be appreciated. In general, I'm heartened to hear that our case is relatively straightforward and that lawyers are not strictly necessary

Thanks so much for all your help so far.

Edited June 20, 2013 by gr1ever

[domwardbound 73]

When the I-130 references presence at the ceremony and consummation, this can include a civil ceremony - the only proof they'll require is a legal marriage certificate. You can also get photos taken at a civil ceremony, and you can have any friends/family there as well, and then have another reception down the road. A civil ceremony is still a ceremony.

I don't think that a fiancee visa would be ready by November.- average right now from submittal to interview is 8 months. However, the CR-1 likely won't be either. Also, I'm pretty sure that on a fiancee visa, you need to get married in the US.

Don't worry - the vast majority (of course) don't live together and don't have joint leases and bank accounts. What other proof do you have? How many times have you seen each other? Have you met each others families? Are there photos and passport/visa stamps showing evidence of those visits? Do you have email/phone/written correspondence records?

Edited June 20, 2013 by domwardbound

[Darnell 8,478]

if chasing a CR-1 visa,

the legal status and the clock starts

as of the date on the marriage certificate.

So, whatever your plans are to be, bear that in mind.

[lucybelle 453]

My husband and I had a very small civil ceremony. I wore a nice dress and he wore a nice little outfit. A few friends and family came (in total there were 10). We went to dinner later. Lots of pictures. That's all we wanted

We made sure to put in plenty of pictures from vacations together, us with each other's family, etc. Having a small ceremony is fine.