Getting married here and there.

[Cixelsyd 1]

So we just got married here in the US a little over a week ago ( I know, I need to post pictures ). One of the questions that came up was can we still get married in Russia?

After reading over some information it looks as if the ZAGS require an affidavit from the U.S. embassy stating I can get married etc...

So has anyone done anything like this? Or anyone have some info on this situation.

Follow up question on while on the topic. Should we be notifying someone in the Russian consulate about her being married now?

And for those that are worried we're trying to beat the system; don't, we still plan for her to go back to Russia and then follow the whole visa process.

[mox 298]

Congratulations!!

You can't get legally married in Russia. Your US marriage is recognized internationally, including in Russia. I suppose you could do it anyway, it's doubtful that it would ever be a problem. But if it was me, I wouldn't risk it.

I'm not sure what the procedure is with regards to "notifying" Russia. Somebody else will undoubtedly weigh in on this.

[baron555 934]

So we just got married here in the US a little over a week ago ( I know, I need to post pictures ). One of the questions that came up was can we still get married in Russia?

After reading over some information it looks as if the ZAGS require an affidavit from the U.S. embassy stating I can get married etc...

So has anyone done anything like this? Or anyone have some info on this situation.

Follow up question on while on the topic. Should we be notifying someone in the Russian consulate about her being married now?

And for those that are worried we're trying to beat the system; don't, we still plan for her to go back to Russia and then follow the whole visa process.

I gotta question.

You have no timeline, you say that you just got married in the US but your profile says you used a K-3 petition.

Care to explain the discrepancy?

[clueless_in_usa 8]

So we just got married here in the US a little over a week ago ( I know, I need to post pictures ). One of the questions that came up was can we still get married in Russia?

After reading over some information it looks as if the ZAGS require an affidavit from the U.S. embassy stating I can get married etc...

So has anyone done anything like this? Or anyone have some info on this situation.

Follow up question on while on the topic. Should we be notifying someone in the Russian consulate about her being married now?

And for those that are worried we're trying to beat the system; don't, we still plan for her to go back to Russia and then follow the whole visa process.

I am planning to marry here and there too, at least in Church, because her friends and family deserve to enjoy her special day with her. I do not see any problem with it, because I will be marrying the same person, and it will essentially facilitate the registration process on both sides.

[Cixelsyd 1]

I gotta question.

You have no timeline, you say that you just got married in the US but your profile says you used a K-3 petition.

Care to explain the discrepancy?

I can't have a timeline yet as I haven't filed a visa yet. Unless I want to add when we met etc. But I don't want to clutter my timeline up with that stuff. I do suppose I could actually add my date of marriage now however.

As for the petition; no it hasn't been filed, but of course K-3/Cr-1 is what I will have to file. So just think of it like a movie preview:

"Coming this summer, to an under paid over worked government slob near you"

"It's Russia and America like you've never seen before"

"THE K...DASH...3"

"This petition has not yet been filed and may not be aired in the Pitcairn Islands"

So, if there are any further questions about timelines or lack of filed petitions, please direct them to my secretary.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Cixelsyd

[Cixelsyd 1]

I am planning to marry here and there too, at least in Church, because her friends and family deserve to enjoy her special day with her. I do not see any problem with it, because I will be marrying the same person, and it will essentially facilitate the registration process on both sides.

Just wondering if you've looked at the actual procedure to do this. Or are you planning on not having an "official" ceremony in one of the two countries?

We origionally planned on doing a K-1 with an unofficial ceremony in Russia and an official one here. But then we found out the Churches there won't perform a wedding unless they have papers from the ZAGS. At least that's what we were told when we inquired with the local clergy and what not.

I agree that it shouldn't be a problem, being that it's with the same person you are married to, but of course laws may feel otherwise. From what Mox said, it seems like they law doesn't agree with having a wedding in both places I feel like I've heard of people doing this, but I have no facts to back that up. Hence why I'm here asking around and maybe insulting at least one person in the process.

[BluesTraveler 0]

Cixelsyd: After you are married, you are married. Period. End of Story. Do no pass go!

The simple answer is, On either side, Russian or American the 2nd cermony will not be an "official" cermony, it will be a confirmation or vow renewal, etc... However you want to do it. Talk to the priest, officiant, or justice of the peace to figure out what you can do.

You can only get married once, until you get divorced or have the marriage annulled. Although you can have as many vow renewal and wedding receptions, as you want - especially if there is pie there.

[1HappyGuy 45]

What is confusing everyone is your process. You said you got married, we assume that was in the USA. So, now the question is really what kind of visa is she here on? If you had met when she was here, fell in love and got married, AND, she was here on a legal visa, then that is a different procedure. That is Adjustment of Status, not K-3. That's why we are trying to clarify what is you current status for her in the USA.

The question about getting married in Russia or anywhere else is a mute point at this time. You need to deal with the legal status for her first.

[mox 298]

What is confusing everyone is your process. You said you got married, we assume that was in the USA.

Doesn't seem confusing to me:

So we just got married here in the US a little over a week ago ( I know, I need to post pictures ).

So, now the question is really what kind of visa is she here on? If you had met when she was here, fell in love and got married, AND, she was here on a legal visa, then that is a different procedure. That is Adjustment of Status, not K-3. That's why we are trying to clarify what is you current status for her in the USA.

Again, from the OP:

And for those that are worried we're trying to beat the system; don't, we still plan for her to go back to Russia and then follow the whole visa process.

Doesn't really matter what visa she's on, although it's probably a tourist or student visa. In any case, the plan is for her to go back to Russia so they can start the K-3.

The question about getting married in Russia or anywhere else is a mute point at this time. You need to deal with the legal status for her first.

Unless the OP clarifies further, she's probably legal. Otherwise I think he'd be asking very different questions.

Edited July 27, 2009 by mox

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Cixelsyd: After you are married, you are married. Period. End of Story. Do no pass go!

The simple answer is, On either side, Russian or American the 2nd cermony will not be an "official" cermony, it will be a confirmation or vow renewal, etc... However you want to do it. Talk to the priest, officiant, or justice of the peace to figure out what you can do.

You can only get married once, until you get divorced or have the marriage annulled. Although you can have as many vow renewal and wedding receptions, as you want - especially if there is pie there.

Although what you say is true in theory, in practice, another country's marriage is not valid until it is properly registered in the second country. Therefore, I do not see why it will be illegal to just get a new marriage certificate from a new jurisdiction ... as long as you are not practicing bigamy

[SMR 368]

You can have as many weddings as you want. You can only have one marriage at a time. Governments expect that a marriage should start on a certain date and have one marriage certificate. There are lots of reasons for this including taxes, bigamy prevention, potential divorce settlements, parental rights and responsibilities to children, medical records, etc. Trying to get married twice, even to the same person, would be illegal in most countries. A marriage recognized by any recognized government is usually recognized everywhere (with exceptions of bigamy, homosexuality, incest, and other morally debatable marriages).

Churches and many other organizations usually won't perform a wedding if the participants aren't married and the person performing the marriage doesn't have the authority to marry them. In the US, this is usually a mute point because there are tons of people authorized to preform marriages (and if you aren't authorized but would like to be, it isn't that difficult) and you can get married just about anywhere you want to. In Russia, you have to get married in a ZAGC or a wedding palace (Дворец Бракосочитаний). This is why all Russian weddings start there. Once the participants are officially married, most clergymen don't object to performing additional ceremonies and renewing the vows.

[mox 298]

Although what you say is true in theory, in practice, another country's marriage is not valid until it is properly registered in the second country. Therefore, I do not see why it will be illegal to just get a new marriage certificate from a new jurisdiction ... as long as you are not practicing bigamy

I'm pretty sure that's not the way it works. Specifically, Russia recognizes US marriages, and vice versa. There's probably some kind of registration they would like you to do, but that doesn't mean you're not married in Russia. Getting married in 2 different countries, even to the same person, would be a pretty bad idea. You could probably get away with it, but you'd be technically in violation of both US and Russian law.

[SMR 368]

Cixelsyd: After you are married, you are married. Period. End of Story. Do no pass go!

The simple answer is, On either side, Russian or American the 2nd cermony will not be an "official" cermony, it will be a confirmation or vow renewal, etc... However you want to do it. Talk to the priest, officiant, or justice of the peace to figure out what you can do.

You can only get married once, until you get divorced or have the marriage annulled. Although you can have as many vow renewal and wedding receptions, as you want - especially if there is pie there.

Although what you say is true in theory, in practice, another country's marriage is not valid until it is properly registered in the second country. Therefore, I do not see why it will be illegal to just get a new marriage certificate from a new jurisdiction ... as long as you are not practicing bigamy

International record-keeping isn't stellar, so you might be able to get away with it. Problem is, you now have two marriage certificates with two different marriage dates (Unless you take the concorde).

[Cixelsyd 1]

Instead of quoting, just going to make this short and sweet.

I think Mox is right. I didn't know if there would be a problem getting married (legally) to the same person in two different countries, but it seems there are.

As far as record keeping goes, the ZAGS do require an affidavit to show that you can get married if you are not Russian. And like Mox said, each country does recognize the marriage. I just didn't know if it made a difference if you wanted to marry the same person etc... But we already went over that.

To sum it up, looks like a big fat NO. And there's really no way around that. However, of course we can have as many ceremonies, receptions and what not.

So on to the next question. Do we need to register with the Russian consulate here, so that our marriage is recognized in Russia? Has anyone done this, does anyone have any experience and or advice for this part of the discussion.

Almost forgot. From the desk of my secretary:

She's here on a student/work visa for the summer.

Said couple met last year on the same visa (if that matters).

Both parties are still present in the U.S. until further notice.

The aforementioned bride is expected to depart the U.S. at the end of the summer.

Suspect K-3/CR-1 visa is expected to be filed in the next coming weeks.

If my secretary is unable to clear the matter up, then please direct all questions to the suggestion box that happens to be conveniently located next to the trash receptacle.

[visaveteran 1]

Look at it this way....two marriages ceremonies now might equal two divorce processes some day.