Getting married before entering the US?

[Jason and Rania 0]

Hello,

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered... if it has, mea culpa!

Alright, so I want to marry a girl from Egypt, and bring her here under the K-1 visa. The problem is this: When I go to Egypt next year, we will be getting married. If we do get married while I'm in Egypt, but after she has been approved the a K-1 Visa, will it cause problems? MUST we wait and get married in the US, or will the marriage in Egypt be valid and she'd be able to enter the country on the K-1 Visa? Also, after we enter would we be required to have another marriage?

Thank you for your advice!

[thesnowman 1]

The K1 visa is used for getting married in the USA. If you are already married you need to file for a spousal visa which is a K-3 visa (i think).

[john_and_marlene 162]

Hello,

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered... if it has, mea culpa!

Alright, so I want to marry a girl from Egypt, and bring her here under the K-1 visa. The problem is this: When I go to Egypt next year, we will be getting married. If we do get married while I'm in Egypt, but after she has been approved the a K-1 Visa, will it cause problems? MUST we wait and get married in the US, or will the marriage in Egypt be valid and she'd be able to enter the country on the K-1 Visa? Also, after we enter would we be required to have another marriage?

Thank you for your advice!

What you are contemplating would be visa fraud. To use the K1 visa, you can't be married before using the visa to enter the U.S.

[gwenneh 7]

If you marry her, she's no longer your fiance and therefore would be inelgible to use a fiance visa to enter the country. You would need to start again and file for a K-3 (or DCF if it's possible in that country).

[mallett_sj 0]

what if the marriage is just ceremonial...our plan was to get married here in the states and then go back to her home country and do a ceremonial wedding there for all the family. but the way things are working out with the whole delay due to IMBRA we will get to our wedding day in her home country before she gets her visa to marry in the states...can we still do a ceremonial marriage in her home country and have the legal paperwork marriage in the states when she gets her visa(k1)?

[gwenneh 7]

what if the marriage is just ceremonial...our plan was to get married here in the states and then go back to her home country and do a ceremonial wedding there for all the family. but the way things are working out with the whole delay due to IMBRA we will get to our wedding day in her home country before she gets her visa to marry in the states...can we still do a ceremonial marriage in her home country and have the legal paperwork marriage in the states when she gets her visa(k1)?

Many religious ceremonies are recognized as legally binding by the US, so chances are your answer is no. You will need to check; if you're wrong, you could invalidate your visa-I wouldn't chance it.

[Joey559 1]

Is there any reason you don't want to use the K3 visa if you don't mind me asking? Basically you would marry your fiancee in Egypt then come home and apply for the K3. You still have to be apart, but it's often shorter than the fiance K1 waiting time anyway...

[norotonfd 1]

I have a great solution to your concern. You can have a ceremony in her country and not violate the law. Just make sure that your ceremony is not legally binding. Your allowed to celebrate being together, but you are not allowed to be legally married abroad and use the k-1 visa.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I have a great solution to your concern. You can have a ceremony in her country and not violate the law. Just make sure that your ceremony is not legally binding. Your allowed to celebrate being together, but you are not allowed to be legally married abroad and use the k-1 visa.

Unfortunatly, there have been some denials recently when people have done this.

Now, my husband and I did have a religious ceremony (in egypt) long before we ever filed for a visa. At the time, a popular immigration book said that this was a-ok and the government wouldn't care. However, it appears that this has changed, and if the interviewers or point of entry (POE) officers find out about the ceremony, they might request that you do a K-3 instead and deny the K-1 or not let her in the country.

If you have a traditional egyptian wedding, with all of the hoopla, pictures, relatives, etc etc etc, it may be very difficult to convince the immigration officials that you are not married, despite the lack of offiality.

If you want to avoid trouble, you have a few options:

Get married in Egypt and file a K-3/IR,CR-1

Do the K-1 and once she has a green card or advanced parole (AP), go back and have the whole to do with her family.

Edited July 14, 2006 by rahma

[KarenCee 3]

Is there any reason you don't want to use the K3 visa if you don't mind me asking? Basically you would marry your fiancee in Egypt then come home and apply for the K3. You still have to be apart, but it's often shorter than the fiance K1 waiting time anyway...

Uhm...for the most part the K3 is longer than the K1, from what I've been able to see here on VJ. Just MHO of course...

[Jason and Rania 0]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. We just don't want to be married, then seperate for the time it takes to do the visa, and a k-1 seemed like a good option to do the waiting before the marriage takes place. So our options would be to get married here, and go back there for a big ceremony, or do the k-3 route. How long from the time of the application being sent in, until she would be allowed in the country?

Thank you!

[KarenCee 3]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. We just don't want to be married, then seperate for the time it takes to do the visa, and a k-1 seemed like a good option to do the waiting before the marriage takes place. So our options would be to get married here, and go back there for a big ceremony, or do the k-3 route. How long from the time of the application being sent in, until she would be allowed in the country?

Thank you!

That depends on the length of time it takes for the petition to be processed...which petition you use...whether or not you get additional RFE's along with the one you apparently get due to IMBRA...and which service centre the petition is sent to. Not sure about Egypt, but my husband is Canadian and it took all total 7 months for him to arrive and we did the K-1.

Do a timeline search for fiancé(e)'s in Egypt...that will give you some idea of how long. Best of luck!

Edited July 14, 2006 by KarenCee

[rosyanne 0]

K1: You two must get married within the 90 days after her enter into U.S.

Otherwise, you have to apply K3.

[Jason and Rania 0]

I have another question... what a suprise? If she comes here on the k-1, and we get married, can we both go back to Egypt to have a full Egyptian wedding, or will she have to stay until she becomes a permeant resident?

[vartan 0]

she can leave at any time when she comes back .. its the coming back in the US that is the tricky part.. she would have to apply for advance parole and explain why she would be leaving..