Married before K-1

[CancelAccount 0]

According to our fortune teller...it is very bad to get married next year. So we have decided to get married before the visa comes. If we do not do paperwork in VN for marriage, shouldn't we be ok to still get the Visa? I mean all we are going to do is the ceremony and no offical paperwork or anything.

Please advise.

[STL_HCMC 0]

Hi CharlieBox,

Technically? Yes.

STL_HCMC

Edited July 16, 2006 by STL_HCMC

[CancelAccount 0]

Hi CharlieBox,

Technically? Yes.

STL_HCMC

Then I guess that is what we are going to do. Thank you for your response.

[STL_HCMC 0]

Hi CharlieBox,

Technically was the keyword in my two-word reply.

It is your decision, but I'd give this a bit more thought and shoot it around with some others on here. I personally wouldn't rest confident only technically.

STL_HCMC

Then I guess that is what we are going to do. Thank you for your response.

[gurugreg 0]

First off, I'm not a lawyer or Vietnamese. I'm just summarizing my understanding.

There are 3 types of marriages: Spiritual, Legal, and Public (most just happen at the same time).

All goverments care about is a legal wedding. You wedding is not legal unless you give the government money and they give you a piece of paper.

Seeing that you're committed with going though this, I assume you have had a spiritual wedding...i.e. you already think of her as your wife.

That leave a public marriage. Luckly, the Vietnamese culture has just what you need! It's called lễ đính hôn (engagement ceremony). It's just like a wedding reception, but without the wedding. And, the embassy will look more favorably on your petition when they see the pictures.

I'd go back as ask the fortune teller and clear up the spiritual/legal/public wedding issue. It's it really the exchange of money with the government that spells doom and gloom?

Here are some lễ đính hôn pictures that google was good enough to find for me

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbalina/sets/76111/

[chuckandkim 0]

Engagement and Wedding Ceremony are two different events.

For the purpose of your K-1 Visa, technically, EC would be ok. For her family's sake and yours, do the EC but everyone should understood it is her family's WC for her. Why? It is crucial for ALL vietnamese family/klan to have their daughter married before leaving to go home to her husband, otherwise, it is inevitable to become a talk of relative and neighbor how she was not got married and left for some boy in America.

STL_HCM says "technically" is correct.

A marriage is to both Vietnam and US government only legal when the parties register their name with the city/town office of vital record. In your case, you are planning to have a wedding this year. Go and do what please her and her family, that keeps your honey happy, therefore you'll be a happy man.

Why I vote for having any ceremony you like, because an Engagement/Wedding ceremony is only what you want it to be. The rest just formality!

Dream wedding: get everyone on a cruise ship, cruise a long the delta river (Song Cuu Long), eat and drink all the local fresh catch of the day. Stop at every major ports along the way to party. Or flight all your guests to PHU QUOC Island.Anyway, go all out, have a blast and take lots of picture... We want evidence!!!

But, big but, do not register with the government in Vietnam that you are married. I shut up now!

[justin728jn 0]

Anyone remember "Question 18, Description of Circumstances of Meeting" in your I-129F petition? Well I was stupid enough to write this, "... We are planning to have a wedding ceremony..." As a result, my case was delayed. I received a Request for Additional Infomation letter from USCIS. It said, "K1 is a non-marriage based case. Please confirm that you and your fiancee are not married before your K1 case is approved" I had to write them a letter saying the wedding ceremony is cancel. So think twice before making any wedding arrangment.

[Yodrak 7]

STL_HCMC and CharlieBox,

If one is married one is not eligible for a K1 visa. In this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law. Nothing 'technical' about it - you are or you are not.

Either way, be ready to prove it should questions arise.

Yodrak

Hi CharlieBox,

Technically? Yes.

STL_HCMC

[chuckandkim 0]

What do you call a "party" where both of your families dressed up, showed up at a restaurant where they servered 10 dishes meal, with the groom and bride dressed up in traditional dresses, bowing to the parents and offering wine/tea to them, and everyone celebrate the lovely couple with gift and presents. But just say: this is a Promise to Be Married Ceremony. Still have all the fun and traditional activities... The key here is never say it is a WEDDING, just say: family get together PARTY.

If you plan to have a "non-wedding" ceremony in a church by a priest or pastor, they can't do it for you for religious reason (since you two are not legally married yet). So you have to take in account if you are Christian/Catholic. But they can pray for you and her at your "non-wedding" ceremony.

In all and all, they just try to give GuruGreg a hard time by picking on his statement "plan to have a wedding ceremony". You can have 1000 Wedding Ceremony in Vietnam but you don't have the Marriage Certificate from the Vietnamese Official, then you are NOT legally/technically married, you just have a big and expensive party.

good luck and I hope this won't stop you from having a "big expensive party" CharlieBox

[Yodrak 7]

chuckandkim,

Why say anything at all?

One should carry their gun unloaded, not cocked and pointing at their groin.

Yodrak

What do you call a "party" where both of your families dressed up, showed up at a restaurant where they servered 10 dishes meal, with the groom and bride dressed up in traditional dresses, bowing to the parents and offering wine/tea to them, and everyone celebrate the lovely couple with gift and presents. But just say: .....

[CancelAccount 0]

We will get married "Have a party" before the K-1 Visa. We will not do any paperwork. This wedding...errr umm party will be just that. It will have all the traditional elements to it, just that we won't file any paperwork with the government (like the traditional old way before paperwork registration).

My Vo is a North Vietnamese, so I doubt they would find out about wedding (Party) invitations. What say you?

[STL_HCMC 0]

Yodrak,

Thus the reason I said technically.

STL_HCMC

chuckandkim,

Why say anything at all?

One should carry their gun unloaded, not cocked and pointing at their groin.

Yodrak

[STL_HCMC 0]

Technically is part of it.

Yodrak stated it himself, "...in this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law."

Technically, yes, what Yodrak said is absolutely true.

However, technically, if one is married traditionally for the sake of family and friends, and not married in accordance with Vietnamese law (i.e. no marriage registration), then technically that couple is not married for the purposes of US immigration law.

But at the same time, Yodrak is completely correct when stating, "Why say anything at all? One should carry their gun unloaded, not cocked and pointing at their groin."

CharlieBox,

It looks well and deep that you got the further opinion on this topic that I suggested in my earlier post!

STL_HCMC

STL_HCMC and CharlieBox,

If one is married one is not eligible for a K1 visa. In this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law. Nothing 'technical' about it - you are or you are not.

Either way, be ready to prove it should questions arise.

Yodrak

[CancelAccount 0]

Technically is part of it.

Yodrak stated it himself, "...in this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law."

Technically, yes, what Yodrak said is absolutely true.

However, technically, if one is married traditionally for the sake of family and friends, and not married in accordance with Vietnamese law (i.e. no marriage registration), then technically that couple is not married for the purposes of US immigration law.

But at the same time, Yodrak is completely correct when stating, "Why say anything at all? One should carry their gun unloaded, not cocked and pointing at their groin."

CharlieBox,

It looks well and deep that you got the further opinion on this topic that I suggested in my earlier post!

STL_HCMC

STL_HCMC and CharlieBox,

If one is married one is not eligible for a K1 visa. In this case, where the alien is Vietnamese, if one is married in accordance with Vietnamese law then one is married for the purposes of US immigration law. Nothing 'technical' about it - you are or you are not.

Either way, be ready to prove it should questions arise.

Yodrak

Read your entire story. WOW!!! DRAMA to the hilt...should be a movie man.

I wonder if Thanh being North Vietnamese and being a communist party member will affect her in her interview. I have been around VN for nearly 4 years now. Been to Saigon and Hanoi several times. In my experience, there are quite a few south VN that still dislike the NVN. They can tell them apart from South because the accent. My point being, if the interviewer is a SVN, would that person treat Thanh any different? Hmmm....interesting question to ask.

OH!!! forgot to ask you STL_HCMC, what was the reason behind them wanting your wife to give them previous addresses of your ex's?

Edited July 18, 2006 by CharlieBox

[STL_HCMC 0]

Hi CharlieBox,

Not for me!

I think perhaps you meant for this reply to go to Kevin&Loan who were referenced about their 1 year of AR by dalegg on this post: 14 days and no NOA1.

No elaborate story for our case yet. I hope there will be a happy outcome tomorrow. We're not married. Just engaged. Just myself and my fiancee that has her interview tomorrow!

Your comment about accent difference of north and south is accurate.

STL_HCMC

Read your entire story. WOW!!! DRAMA to the hilt...should be a movie man.

I wonder if Thanh being North Vietnamese and being a communist party member will affect her in her interview. I have been around VN for nearly 4 years now. Been to Saigon and Hanoi several times. In my experience, there are quite a few south VN that still dislike the NVN. They can tell them apart from South because the accent. My point being, if the interviewer is a SVN, would that person treat Thanh any different? Hmmm....interesting question to ask.

OH!!! forgot to ask you STL_HCMC, what was the reason behind them wanting your wife to give them previous addresses of your ex's?