Which country should the official marriage take place?

[KenyanGift 0]

There is an advantage to us officially marrying in my fiancee's country of Kenya; however, we have applied for a K-1 which requires an official wedding in the US. Is it going to cause problems if we have two official weddings, one in Kenya and one in the US?

[Hell0W0rld 10]

if you marry in kenya then the K-1 will not work anymore and you'll have to apply for K-3 or CR-1

[sara..... 371]

There is an advantage to us officially marrying in my fiancee's country of Kenya; however, we have applied for a K-1 which requires an official wedding in the US. Is it going to cause problems if we have two official weddings, one in Kenya and one in the US?

if u marry ur s/o before they come to the usa then ur no longer able to file k1 or to have ur s/o come on k1

sara

[jundp 191]

Yes it is a problem. A k1 is a fiance visa. If you hve an official, legal wedding in Kenya, then you will need a spousal visa.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

There is an advantage to us officially marrying in my fiancee's country of Kenya; however, we have applied for a K-1 which requires an official wedding in the US. Is it going to cause problems if we have two official weddings, one in Kenya and one in the US?

Not if the "official" US marriage is first. If you are officially married before the visa is issued, you CANNOT apply or continue the procedure for a K-1 visa. After she arrives and you are married, she will have to wait for her AOS or AP to travel back and get "offically" married in her home country, probably 4-6 months from her arrival.

If married before visa issuance, you forfeit the $455 fee and have to re-apply for the k-3 visa

Edited April 26, 2009 by Gary and Alla

[pushbrk 12,618]

There is an advantage to us officially marrying in my fiancee's country of Kenya; however, we have applied for a K-1 which requires an official wedding in the US. Is it going to cause problems if we have two official weddings, one in Kenya and one in the US?

Not if the "official" US marriage is first. If you are officially married before the visa is issued, you CANNOT apply or continue the procedure for a K-1 visa. After she arrives and you are married, she will have to wait for her AOS or AP to travel back and get "offically" married in her home country, probably 4-6 months from her arrival.

If married before visa issuance, you forfeit the $455 fee and have to re-apply for the k-3 visa

Two major problems with the above.

1. Married is married. You only get one "official" marriage. Anything after that is something else.

2. You do not have to re-apply for the K3 visa. You take a spouse visa route. K3 would be the second of two choices. CR1 is the first choice.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

There is an advantage to us officially marrying in my fiancee's country of Kenya; however, we have applied for a K-1 which requires an official wedding in the US. Is it going to cause problems if we have two official weddings, one in Kenya and one in the US?

Not if the "official" US marriage is first. If you are officially married before the visa is issued, you CANNOT apply or continue the procedure for a K-1 visa. After she arrives and you are married, she will have to wait for her AOS or AP to travel back and get "offically" married in her home country, probably 4-6 months from her arrival.

If married before visa issuance, you forfeit the $455 fee and have to re-apply for the k-3 visa

Two major problems with the above.

1. Married is married. You only get one "official" marriage. Anything after that is something else.

2. You do not have to re-apply for the K3 visa. You take a spouse visa route. K3 would be the second of two choices. CR1 is the first choice.

Sorry, Push, I meant to imply if the US marriage was "first" it would be subsequent to a K-1 visa. If I wasn't clear on that, perhaps just a bit tongue in cheek.

[KenyanGift 0]

Thanks for the answers...let me offer more clarity. By "official" I mean recognized by the government, whether Kenyan or US. Both weddings would be after the visa is granted. I just worry that if we have an official wedding in Kenya even after the visa is issued then Uncle Sam will raise a stink about the visa not being a K3 even though we are still officially getting married in the US...after the Kenyan wedding. Hopefully this explanation makes better sense.

[Hell0W0rld 10]

Thanks for the answers...let me offer more clarity. By "official" I mean recognized by the government, whether Kenyan or US. Both weddings would be after the visa is granted. I just worry that if we have an official wedding in Kenya even after the visa is issued then Uncle Sam will raise a stink about the visa not being a K3 even though we are still officially getting married in the US...after the Kenyan wedding. Hopefully this explanation makes better sense.

even after the VISA is in your hands, if you marry in Kenya then the K-1 would be useless, there is no way around that. if you really want to get married in kenya then k-1 is not for you, you should go with K-3.

[pushbrk 12,618]

There is an advantage to us officially marrying in my fiancee's country of Kenya; however, we have applied for a K-1 which requires an official wedding in the US. Is it going to cause problems if we have two official weddings, one in Kenya and one in the US?

Not if the "official" US marriage is first. If you are officially married before the visa is issued, you CANNOT apply or continue the procedure for a K-1 visa. After she arrives and you are married, she will have to wait for her AOS or AP to travel back and get "offically" married in her home country, probably 4-6 months from her arrival.

If married before visa issuance, you forfeit the $455 fee and have to re-apply for the k-3 visa

Two major problems with the above.

1. Married is married. You only get one "official" marriage. Anything after that is something else.

2. You do not have to re-apply for the K3 visa. You take a spouse visa route. K3 would be the second of two choices. CR1 is the first choice.

Sorry, Push, I meant to imply if the US marriage was "first" it would be subsequent to a K-1 visa. If I wasn't clear on that, perhaps just a bit tongue in cheek.

I understood that. If married "officially" in the US any subsequent event is not an official marriage. You get one "marriage" but can have as man ceremonies as you wish to arrange and K3 is only the second choice of spouse visas, not the required choice.

[pushbrk 12,618]

Thanks for the answers...let me offer more clarity. By "official" I mean recognized by the government, whether Kenyan or US. Both weddings would be after the visa is granted. I just worry that if we have an official wedding in Kenya even after the visa is issued then Uncle Sam will raise a stink about the visa not being a K3 even though we are still officially getting married in the US...after the Kenyan wedding. Hopefully this explanation makes better sense.

even after the VISA is in your hands, if you marry in Kenya then the K-1 would be useless, there is no way around that. if you really want to get married in kenya then k-1 is not for you, you should go with K-3.

No, if they wish to get married in Kenya, then a CR1 visa would be first choice for nearly all situations. K3 is virtually obsolete. "Marriage" is recognized universally. No need for a ceremony in more than one country. If that were the case, we'd need a marriage chapel between the jetway and immigration control at every international airport.