Setting a Wedding Date

[herold n shirley 0]

Hello forum

We are preparing to submit our I-129 paperwork. What an exhausting journey so far - sifting through all of the tiny details and going over it all again and again to be sure we've done eveything perfectly.

Anyway, we have two questions that we have not been able to find an answer to:

Are we required to have our wedding date set before we submit the I-129? If not, then when are we required to have our wedding date set?

Are we required to have proof that we have set up wedding arrangements, ie, securing a minister or JP, booking a hall or church, ordering wedding anouncements, etc, etc?

[pushbrk 12,651]

Hello forum

We are preparing to submit our I-129 paperwork. What an exhausting journey so far - sifting through all of the tiny details and going over it all again and again to be sure we've done eveything perfectly.

Anyway, we have two questions that we have not been able to find an answer to:

Are we required to have our wedding date set before we submit the I-129? If not, then when are we required to have our wedding date set?

Are we required to have proof that we have set up wedding arrangements, ie, securing a minister or JP, booking a hall or church, ordering wedding anouncements, etc, etc?

No and no. How could you possibly be required to set a wedding date when you don't know when you'll have a visa and the marriage must take place in the 90 days after entry?

[motu 5]

Most people get married in a court to facilitate the paper work and then have time to do a planned wedding later on - some of us are OK with just the court wedding. So, you can choose to do either or both and do not need to have a set plan; instead you can tell them (if asked) that we plan to get married in xxx days after arriving in USA. Good Luck

[bora bora 1]

Hello forum

We are preparing to submit our I-129 paperwork. What an exhausting journey so far - sifting through all of the tiny details and going over it all again and again to be sure we've done eveything perfectly.

Anyway, we have two questions that we have not been able to find an answer to:

Are we required to have our wedding date set before we submit the I-129? If not, then when are we required to have our wedding date set?

Are we required to have proof that we have set up wedding arrangements, ie, securing a minister or JP, booking a hall or church, ordering wedding anouncements, etc, etc?

No and no.

We didn't even decide on a wedding date until after my husband arrived here. We prepared an intimate (yet beautiful) wedding in 6 weeks.

Good luck (my mom's name is Shirley )

[Brian and Nate 0]

I've optimistically scheduled our courthouse wedding for a week after my fiancee and her daughter arrive in the US. Assuming the visa interview is going to be OK next month. My goal is to get them on my health insurance plan ASAP.

I called our county's circuit clerk office and asked the judges' secretary write a letter on official stationary saying we have a wedding scheduled - with our names, judge's name, date, time, and location. She thought it was a strange request but wrote it up for me anyway.

Of course, couples frequently don't show up for their wedding appointment & there's nothing legal about the letter. But it's further evidence of our relationship and plans. Others on this site said the embassy interviewer asked "when do you plan to get married?"

Just another item to bring to the interview, along with photos, phone logs, travel receipts, etc.

Good luck with everything,

Brian

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Our K-1 visa was approved back on 21 May. We have not made any plans for a wedding date and will not until she crosses the POE. There are just too many variables in this process. We both agree that until she has officially walked over that line and told "Welcome to the US" a productive discussion about our wedding is premature. We have only stated in all paperwork that we fully understand and accept the condition that we must marry prior to 90 days from her officially entry.

[jle930sl 0]

Everyone who posted so far is right - you don't have to set a date for your wedding or send in that proof. If you do have a certain date in mind you'd like to tentatively set up, then it can't hurt you in my opinion - but it is definitely not needed.

I think it's more of a personal decision. Some people prefer to set it all up when things are definite. Some people prefer to have a tentative date set, that can be changed if needed. My fiance and I are happy that we set a tentative date for our wedding. The key word here is tentative, however. We have our church and pastor who will officiate "booked" but with an agreement that we can change the wedding date at ANY time with no penalties. Those are the only definite plans made. Everything else will wait until he's got his visa in hand and is in the US.

With our I-129 paperwork we did include a copy of our save-the-date cards, and a letter from the church saying that we have booked them for the ceremony. Again, I want to stress this is all not needed..I just figured that it wouldn't hurt us either. As we just sent in our paperwork, I can't tell you how this will affect anything.

Whatever you decide to do - good luck!!

[Steve'sGirl 0]

Like the other posters before said, no need to provide any details about a set wedding date, etc. At the same time it's pretty much impossible to set a wedding date when you're going through the K1 process. The visa can take anywhere from 3 months (that's extremely fast but does happen occasionally) to a couple of year (again, rare, but it does happen).

From personal experience I can only say that we did talk quite a bit about the wedding and everything that comes with it during the K1 process. We finalized everything that could be done without having a date, i.e. picked out invitations, bought the dress and tux, selected the music, etc. Now that we're almost there, I feel that this was a good thing to do, especially since we're planning a bit more of an elaborate wedding and there's just so much to consider. As well, we made a shortlist of wedding venues.

Don't stress too much. It'll all fall into place. It is possible to plan/have either a simple wedding or a more elaborate one during that 90-day window.

All the best for your journey!!!

[brnidokiegurl 0]

they know how things are and know u cant set specific dates, never never set a date not knowing what is ahead in this process

[jundp 191]

We set a date knowing that we had a few months for P to enter on his visa. We did actually give our deposit on the venue before his interview and maybe it was a little too presumptuous but we really felt things would be fine.

As the rest of the people said, we just wrote out intentions to get married within 90 days of P's entry in the US.

[PetersBride 0]

Hi,

I read this strand with great interest because my fiance and I are just about to begin filing. After getting engaged, our conversation turned to which country are we going to live in? Then, it turned to how are we going to figure out all of this immigration paperwork? (This is when we discovered VJ, which is a true blessing!) Talking about a wedding seemed like a guilty pleasure a short time ago with everything we were trying to understand with the visa process.

Now, wedding chat has become a topic that brings us joy. And, in the process, we have learned even more about each other, such as how similar our tastes are even with regard to weddings! I discovered how surprisingly uninformed I am about wedding planning, despite having been in two weddings! (I think I always thought that if I learned too much, it was the surest route to never finding my true love ) I am planning all of the aspects of a wedding that I have control over, such as wedding gown (I bought it already!), discussed my groom's kilt (rent vs. buy?), and picked out my maid of honor's outfit (I asked her to stand for me, too).

I have assembled a binder with ideas for flowers, cake, decor/color scheme. I have been in contact with a priest whom my fiance and I will meet when my fiance comes to visit next month. Although we cannot pick a date, we will have established our intent with someone whom I hope will provide us with a letter verifying our intent to marry at his church. My fiance and I will visit/dine at the two venues I have in mind for our reception.

I hope this is useful. Thanks to everyone who posted their responses. I am learning so much from all of you!

[greeneyedgirlfl 0]

We're having the courthouse wedding first (about 3-5 days after he arrives) and then the ceremonial wedding in December. It gives us some time to plan. Mostly, it's to secure the venue that I've always wanted which is in high demand in Orlando...

[herold n shirley 0]

Thank you everyone!!! The information answered our questions. We will keep you posted.

Herold & Shirley

[kipper45 0]

I have a question. Would this letter be alright to add to my I-129F petition for proof of being married with in the 90 days of my fiancees arrival?

"This letter is to certify my commintment to HIS NAME that i will gladly help in trying to secure a visa for his fiancee MY NAME to come to the United States so that they may be married. They are hoping to be married in Spring 2009 at Evanger Lutheran Church of rural Grand Forks \. I have gladly consented to preside at their wedding ceremony. I understand that MY NAME is a resident of Russia and would need to be granted a K-1 visa for her come to the United States and be married. I respectfully request that such visa be granted, so that this couple may be married"

His signature

bla bla bla

Would this letter be good to use or not?