Wedding Ceremony and Fiancee Visa

[Lucas 0]

I have just returned from Vietnam (my 6th trip) and my girlfriend and I our now engaged! I'm beginning to tackle all the paperwork for the I-129F (and associated documents.) When I asked her father for permission, the only requirement he had was that we have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam. We're pretty sure the Date will be December 24, about 7 months away.

This is my question: if we have a wedding ceremony before she gets her K1 Visa, will this complicate the interview process? Could this help the process? We won't file any marriage paperwork in Vietnam, so legally, we won't be married. However, is this the way the US Consulate sees it?

Thanks! Lucas

PS: You might enjoy some of my photos from Vietnam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsf/

[David-Hien 11]

I have just returned from Vietnam (my 6th trip) and my girlfriend and I our now engaged! I'm beginning to tackle all the paperwork for the I-129F (and associated documents.) When I asked her father for permission, the only requirement he had was that we have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam. We're pretty sure the Date will be December 24, about 7 months away.

This is my question: if we have a wedding ceremony before she gets her K1 Visa, will this complicate the interview process? Could this help the process? We won't file any marriage paperwork in Vietnam, so legally, we won't be married. However, is this the way the US Consulate sees it?

Thanks! Lucas

PS: You might enjoy some of my photos from Vietnam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsf/

If your case is lucky to be approved early, you may miss the wedding date. But we never know what will happen, so you just continue as you planned. Your wedding will not complicate the interview process, but it may be too near the interview time, that can make your fiance exhausted and stressful as two events come at once.

You should take pics and print it to show at the interview, and YES, this is the way the US Consulate sees it.

In case you miss the wedding date, it's not a big problem, just tell them that your wedding date planned however they process your case quickly so..... you can not give them the pics of wedding and should show them the Restaurant bill for pay in advance and other receipts for wedding preparation to prove your words.

Good luck to you,

Hien

[Lucas 0]

Hien, thank you very much for your fast answer. I will sleep a little easier tonight!

[gp1 0]

Lucas, did you have an engagement ceremony?

My fiancee just got approved and we also had a wedding ceremony for her family prior to the K1 interview.(see my timeline)

During her interview, they only asked her about the engagement ceremony and only asked to see pictures of it also.

Even though we had tons of pics of our wedding and my other trips?

Edited May 17, 2007 by gp1

[Bobbie 1]

I have just returned from Vietnam (my 6th trip) and my girlfriend and I our now engaged! I'm beginning to tackle all the paperwork for the I-129F (and associated documents.) When I asked her father for permission, the only requirement he had was that we have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam. We're pretty sure the Date will be December 24, about 7 months away.

This is my question: if we have a wedding ceremony before she gets her K1 Visa, will this complicate the interview process? Could this help the process? We won't file any marriage paperwork in Vietnam, so legally, we won't be married. However, is this the way the US Consulate sees it?

Thanks! Lucas

PS: You might enjoy some of my photos from Vietnam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsf/

If the marriage isnt registered in Vietnam, are you sure you are not still married?

[Bobbie 1]

I have just returned from Vietnam (my 6th trip) and my girlfriend and I our now engaged! I'm beginning to tackle all the paperwork for the I-129F (and associated documents.) When I asked her father for permission, the only requirement he had was that we have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam. We're pretty sure the Date will be December 24, about 7 months away.

This is my question: if we have a wedding ceremony before she gets her K1 Visa, will this complicate the interview process? Could this help the process? We won't file any marriage paperwork in Vietnam, so legally, we won't be married. However, is this the way the US Consulate sees it?

Thanks! Lucas

PS: You might enjoy some of my photos from Vietnam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsf/

If the marriage isnt registered in Vietnam, are you sure you are not still married?

Great pictures by the way!

[Lucas 0]

I have just returned from Vietnam (my 6th trip) and my girlfriend and I our now engaged! I'm beginning to tackle all the paperwork for the I-129F (and associated documents.) When I asked her father for permission, the only requirement he had was that we have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam. We're pretty sure the Date will be December 24, about 7 months away.

This is my question: if we have a wedding ceremony before she gets her K1 Visa, will this complicate the interview process? Could this help the process? We won't file any marriage paperwork in Vietnam, so legally, we won't be married. However, is this the way the US Consulate sees it?

Thanks! Lucas

PS: You might enjoy some of my photos from Vietnam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsf/

If the marriage isnt registered in Vietnam, are you sure you are not still married?

Great pictures by the way!

If the marriage isn't registered in Vietnam, are we still not married?

That's the key question, and from the sound of it, the answer is yes, we are still not married.

We have not had an engagement party yet. I made a surprise visit to propose to her and we only had a limited time together. On the plus side, my parents did visit and meet with her family in February. And when I return in September, we plan on having an engagement party, minus my parents.

The only other thing I am worried about is her sister's situation. Her older sister also met an American. I attended their wedding in November. Unfortunately, they received bad advice from their lawyer. They started with a K-1 and then after their wedding, they legally married in Vietnam. This was a big mistake because it made the K-1 application invalid. Now they have to start over with a K-3 application. 1) I obviously don't want to repeat the mistake. 2) I hope the fact that her sister is also marrying an American doesn't adversely influence the interview, should it come up.

[Dan J 277]

You can do a ceremony, as long as its not considered a marriage. What consititues a marriage depends on the laws of the country. If you are going to take that path, do your research. As a word of caution, you don't want to mention the wedding or give indication that you had a wedding ceremony in Vietnam. Your fiancee can be turned away at the PoE if they suspect that she is already married or denied a visa at the interview if your ceremony is before the interview.

[chuckandkim 0]

Marriage law in Vietnam requires both parties to register at the Justice Dept in town, with certified document by the local police (Cong An Phuong) that the parties are legally and readly to marry. As an american citizen, Lucas, you will need to apply for a permission from the Vietnamese Government to marry its citizen Sound crazy but yet, human trafficking is huge problem in VN, this is one of the many failed measure they try to put in place to prevent it from happening.

So, from reading your post, I understand you and your vietnamese girlfriend will not legaly marry but have a ceremonial wedding, without signing any marriage license application, nor you will register with the local Justice Office. If the answer is YES, you're good to go! You can have the biggest wedding in town, even evite the US Consular if you want to, and still apply for a K-1 Visa . Remember, as long as you do not register your marriage or legalize it!

HCM Consulate will see it as: non-issue, just a "wedding party", that's what it really is in the eye of the laws. bunch of folks like to eat, drink and lking each other, get together eating, drinking, singing bad Karaoke, warm iced up beer, where some US Citizen tries to show the vietnamese family his respect and obvious cluelessness in what's going on at the ceremony and reception Just relax, this is NOT how they get you. Think, even if they say: well, these pictures seem like a wedding, are you two married? The answer will always be: NO we are not, legally, but will be after we get our visa and move to America! That would be the end of it, in rare cases, most of the time, HCMC is very good of knowing and understanding vietnamese traditions. They wouldn't be there for that long processing K visa all these years for nothing!

About the sister's american husband, for one, he didn't have the support of the whole Visa Journey community as you do right now plus inexperience who does not know HCMC exclusively as one lawyer we have here on the Vietnam side of the board, will get your case in trouble for sure. I do not believe the sister's case will impact yours. Why would it? Unless you and the american guys are introduced to both sisters by a marriage broker in the US, and the sisters have families here in the US as well. That could raise some red flags are marriage frauds and prompt for delay, deny of k visa by the Consulate Officer.

BUT, that's not here nor there, you just take sometime, read up on VJ and post a lot of questions. No one person can know all the answers and no one case is exact the same as others. Keep those questions coming!

love,

chuck and kim

[jezz85 0]

Hi Lucas

These guys are on the money. With VJ you never have to worry, theres always someone with the answer.

I specifically wanted to post though because I couldn't help but check out your photos (I love photos). They are beautiful! You must be a professional photographer

Good luck with your Visa Journey!

Edited May 17, 2007 by jezz85

[Lucas 0]

About the sister's american husband, for one, he didn't have the support of the whole Visa Journey community as you do right now plus inexperience who does not know HCMC exclusively as one lawyer we have here on the Vietnam side of the board, will get your case in trouble for sure. I do not believe the sister's case will impact yours. Why would it? Unless you and the american guys are introduced to both sisters by a marriage broker in the US, and the sisters have families here in the US as well. That could raise some red flags are marriage frauds and prompt for delay, deny of k visa by the Consulate Officer.

BUT, that's not here nor there, you just take sometime, read up on VJ and post a lot of questions. No one person can know all the answers and no one case is exact the same as others. Keep those questions coming!

love,

chuck and kim

Thanks for the solid advise! I've been looking everywhere for a resource like this and I'm very glad I found it.

I'm also curious as to what qualifies as having Family in the US. I know she has a nephew on the east coast and some distant relatives in Texas, but other than that, she has no immediate family. They are not particularly close, and I haven't met any of them. Has anyone here had a similar situation?

[Tom99 0]

Sorry to hi-jack your thread a bit, I heard that if you have a wedding in the countryside (que^) without marriage certificate before the wedding ...... police (Cong an phuong) will fine, $500 US dollars or something, is that true?

[Lucas 0]

Sorry to hi-jack your thread a bit, I heard that if you have a wedding in the countryside (que^) without marriage certificate before the wedding ...... police (Cong an phuong) will fine, $500 US dollars or something, is that true?

No worries Thanh, I am curious about this as well. I think I heard this before. Does anyone have a definitive answer?

[David-Hien 11]

Sorry to hi-jack your thread a bit, I heard that if you have a wedding in the countryside (que^) without marriage certificate before the wedding ...... police (Cong an phuong) will fine, $500 US dollars or something, is that true?

No worries Thanh, I am curious about this as well. I think I heard this before. Does anyone have a definitive answer?

If your fiance is living in the countryside. You should tell to the organizer to post the word "Engagement Ceremony" only. Sometimes, the local police officer will come to look for some bribes if that's a unregistered wedding.

If your fiance is living in a city, never mind, no one pays attention to ask if you have the permit to organize an "Engagement Ceremony".

You should call it "Engagement Ceremony" as you are not legally married yet. It will follow correctly according to Vietnam Law and no problem with US Consulate as well.

Hien

[chuckandkim 0]

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