Visitor visa holder and US citizen plan to get married at church in US. Please help...

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Can anyone help us..

I just arrived in US a month ago using visitor visa, and we haven't process K1 visa yet. Me and my fiance who is a US citizen plan to get married at church here in US on the next two months. We will start processing K1 soon, while we wait for the K1 process we will still go with our plan to get married at church and not by law yet. After my K1 process is done, then we will get married by law. My question is, when we get married at church is it automatically recognized by the government as a legal marriage? Thanks for sharing and help.

[jle930sl 0]

Here's the information I have for you:

- Yes, if you marry at a church in the US it is a legal and binding marriage. Applying for a k1 visa and then getting married before it's finished is no good - maybe even illegal (someone else back me up on this?). Don't do it.

- Also - don't get married on your visitor visa. A visitor visa is just for coming to the states and VISITING. If you came with the intenet of marrying your fiance then that is illegal. Again, someone else can fill you in on the exact repurcussions of those decisions - but I can tell you NOT TO DO IT. There is a slim chance if you got married you could convince the immigration officials that you didn't intend to get married when you came, it just happened while you were here but that is very unlikely and not worth the chance, if you really want to be together.

The best thing for you to do is to apply for the k1 visa. You can stay here as long as your visitor visa is good but eventually will have to go home to finish the visa process there. Read through the guides on this site (the tab on top of the page), they are very thorough and good. The wait is a little longer - but it is the LEGAL and SAFE way to do it.. a little longer wait now is worth it compared to happiness soon (if you marry in 2 months) then possibly great hardship later (when the government gets you for visa fraud from coming to the US on a visitor visa with the intent to marry)...

Hope you choose the good route - that's what many here have done successfully and we are a great support during the wait! If you want to be together, the wait is well worth it.

[Ana&D 0]

Actually, there is nothing illegal about marrying on the visitor visa. What is considered fraud is using visitor visa to get into the country to marry AND stay to adjust status. To best of my knowledge, marriage in American church is indeed legal (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), thus if you marry while waiting for K1 you won't be able to use this visa to enter the country. Your best option is to marry and file for a spousal visa if you are set on a December wedding.

[desert_fox 32]

It would only be legal if they have a marriage license and it is signed by the minister and returned to the county clerk. Mny ministers will not perform a marriage ceremony without a marriage license.

[payxibka 10,048]

It would only be legal if they have a marriage license and it is signed by the minister and returned to the county clerk. Mny ministers will not perform a marriage ceremony without a marriage license.

It is not the church that makes it legal. What makes it legal is if 1) the ceremony is performed by a registered officiant and 2) the couple have a marriage license that gets properly signed and recorded.

Edited September 22, 2008 by payxibka

[KimandRuss 0]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

As suggested above, marrying on a visitor's visa is perfectly legal... as long as you did not have these plans when you came into the U.S.. You can not enter the US with the intention of marrying and it is up to you to prove this to the officer at AOS.

If you did not come with the intention of marrying then you can just get married and adjust status. If you want to marry in the church and file for K1 afterwards you will need to be certain the ceremony is not legally binding.... I think in most places it probably is. Check with the laws of the State you are wanting to have your ceremony in. If you want to be married here now and have planned this out then you can certainly marry legally and then return to your home Country to await a spousal visa.

good luck

[lilies 0]

Dear all,

Thanks for your reply. I forgot to add some informations here. I will of course go back to my country to complete my K1 process (interview) at the US embassy, and after they approve then I'll go back to US using my K1 visa and get married by law. Is it still a fraud visa? Thanks.

[KimandRuss 0]

nope, not fraud. As long as you plan on leaving and are not 'legally' married you can go back home and your fiance can petition you for a K1. you will want to check with others who have ventured through the same Consulate so you know what to expect there.

Just a word of added advice, most wouuld advise not to send 'wedding photos' as supporting evidence for a bonafide relationship as you go through the process. Ohters have suffered much grief for doing so.

[Neonred 3,778]

Why not go ahead and get married in the church and then file for a K-3 visa? Of course you are going to have to leave and return to your home country doing a K-1 or K-3.

If it were me, I'd get married, stay, and file for AOS (as long as you did not enter the country planning to get married).

[TayRivers 4]

Why not go ahead and get married in the church and then file for a K-3 visa? Of course you are going to have to leave and return to your home country doing a K-1 or K-3.

If it were me, I'd get married, stay, and file for AOS (as long as you did not enter the country planning to get married).

Planning to get married when you enter the US on a Tourist visa or VWP is not the issue it is having the intent at entry to remain and file for AOS. If you enter and plan to get married you have done nothing wrong, all you need to do is leave the US before the expiry of your I-94. Then file for a spousal visa to return.

If you enter with no intent to remain and during your stay you decide to marry and remain then you can do so, you only need evidence to prove your intent to return when you entered.

If you plan to enter the US on a tourist visa or VWP with the intent of getting married and remaining so that you dont have to wait for a K1 then you are commiting visa fraud, which can result in deportation and a lifetime ban on re-entry.

[Cailyn15467 0]

Me and my fiance were going to do the same thing until we consulted our lawyer. When you try to change your status while on a visitor visa the government automatically becomes suspicious. They WILL look into it and if they believe you came with the intent to marry they will consider what you did as immigration fraud. You WILL be deported and either you or your fiance will be charged a nice chunk of change and could possibly face jail time. Don't risk it, if you're caught you may never be able to come back, or at least have to wait 10 years. When you go back to your country have your Fiance file a K-1 Fiance petition. While this is processing you will not be aloud to come to the US but your fiance can travel to your country.

Better safe than sorry.

[JenT 0]

There's a lot of mis-information being posted here.

Entering the US on a VWP with the intent to marry is perfectly legal AS LONG AS you return to your country within 90 days. If you return to your country as a legal spouse (having filed a marriage certificate), your USC spouse must file a K-3 for you to return.

If your ceremony was not legalized with a marriage certificate, your USC can file a K1 for you to re-enter as a fiancee.

If your entry into the US on a VWP was with the intent to remain in the US, THAT is fraud. It's the intent to remain, not the intent to marry, that is the issue.

Jen

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Me and my fiance were going to do the same thing until we consulted our lawyer. When you try to change your status while on a visitor visa the government automatically becomes suspicious. They WILL look into it and if they believe you came with the intent to marry they will consider what you did as immigration fraud. You WILL be deported and either you or your fiance will be charged a nice chunk of change and could possibly face jail time. Don't risk it, if you're caught you may never be able to come back, or at least have to wait 10 years. When you go back to your country have your Fiance file a K-1 Fiance petition. While this is processing you will not be aloud to come to the US but your fiance can travel to your country.

Better safe than sorry.

Let me just clear things up here a bit: If you genuinely came to visit the US without the intent to marry, and then you did marry and attempted to adjust status, you are not (as others have pointed out above) committing visa fraud. You will need to prove that you didn't have intent (i.e. you still have a job/house/children etc in your home country that were expecting your return). Of course the USCIS will look into it -- they look into everyone's case. There are plenty of people who do this successfully but it hinges on your intent at the time of entry.

Second, it is completely possible to visit the US while your K1 or any other visa is pending. Again, people do it all the time. You may need to prove at the border that you have the intent to return to your life abroad after this trip. Again, letters showing you have a job/house etc will help, as well as a return ticket. I say "may" because it is always at the discretion of the CBP to deny you entry on the occasion. It is a very common misconception that visa applicants cannot visit during the processing stage.

Edited September 22, 2008 by elmcitymaven

[jundp 191]

Me and my fiance were going to do the same thing until we consulted our lawyer. When you try to change your status while on a visitor visa the government automatically becomes suspicious. They WILL look into it and if they believe you came with the intent to marry they will consider what you did as immigration fraud. You WILL be deported and either you or your fiance will be charged a nice chunk of change and could possibly face jail time. Don't risk it, if you're caught you may never be able to come back, or at least have to wait 10 years. When you go back to your country have your Fiance file a K-1 Fiance petition. While this is processing you will not be aloud to come to the US but your fiance can travel to your country.

Better safe than sorry.

There are some inaccuracies in this post. First of all, it is possible to marry while on a visitor visa and adjust status, though the burden of proving that your INTENT was not to marry when you entered the country. Merely entering on a visitor visa and marrying isn't fraud. However, the OP can marry legally and return home to file the K3 (spousal visa) and that wouldn't be a problem. Also, it is possible to visit while awaiting the approval of a K1 visa, but it is necessary to show proof of ties to the home country.

[lilies 0]

Dear all, I will ask the preacher who will preform the ceremony for further information about marriage license things. Thanks for sharing and help