Question

[QAtester 0]

Hi MENA

I would like to ask a question. If all goes as planned I assume that my wife (non resident alien) will have her interview for the CR1 visa prior to us actually holding a wedding. (Wedding is scheduled sometime in June but it appears that the interview will be sometime in May).

To give you a background on the issue…..

The culture in Saudi Arabia which we both originally from performs marriage ceremonies in this order, the legal part is taken care of at the court house which makes the couple legally wedded, immediately after that the families hold an engagement party which starts an engagement period then months later the wedding party is held. Please note that after the legal part is done the couple is legally considered married and in fact if the couple would to split up then they would go through a divorce procedure as would any other married couple.

My question is…..

1- Do you see any way that I will have an issue at the interview level that the wedding party did not yet happen, I only had the legal court document that shows us as legally married and we held and engagement party at which point we took plenty of photos?

please let me know if you have applied for the CR-1 visa under similar circumstances as this is very common in the middle east. I would really like to hear your thoughts.

Thank you all again and good luck

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi MENA

I would like to ask a question. If all goes as planned I assume that my wife (non resident alien) will have her interview for the CR1 visa prior to us actually holding a wedding. (Wedding is scheduled sometime in June but it appears that the interview will be sometime in May).

To give you a background on the issue…..

The culture in Saudi Arabia which we both originally from performs marriage ceremonies in this order, the legal part is taken care of at the court house which makes the couple legally wedded, immediately after that the families hold an engagement party which starts an engagement period then months later the wedding party is held. Please note that after the legal part is done the couple is legally considered married and in fact if the couple would to split up then they would go through a divorce procedure as would any other married couple.

My question is…..

1- Do you see any way that I will have an issue at the interview level that the wedding party did not yet happen, I only had the legal court document that shows us as legally married and we held and engagement party at which point we took plenty of photos?

please let me know if you have applied for the CR-1 visa under similar circumstances as this is very common in the middle east. I would really like to hear your thoughts.

Thank you all again and good luck

The "legality" of the marriage is primary... The consulates are well aware of local "customs"

[QAtester 0]

What got me worried is that I read on some threads, primarily applicants from India that they were denied based on them not having religious or culture ceremonies done.

Do I have the same scenario here? Or is this different all together? Thanks

[Candy/SadanNasir 2]

What got me worried is that I read on some threads, primarily applicants from India that they were denied based on them not having religious or culture ceremonies done.

Do I have the same scenario here? Or is this different all together? Thanks

Well, I doubt that whether or not a couple has a religious wedding will effect the outcome of the CO's decision at the interview.

Many have been married at the court house for convenience sake, financial reasons or because of different traditions i.e. Agnostic/Muslim, Christian/Muslim couples, etc.

So I hope this is not the case for the sake of many people who have not.

Would you share the couple's forum posts with us that have experienced this bias at their interviews? I'm curious to know how they fared.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Candy/SadanNasir

[illnevergetthis 5]

The "legality" of the marriage is primary... The consulates are well aware of local "customs"

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Since you are legally married, then your wife qualifies to apply for a CR1 visa to immigrate to the US. That is the most important part, as far as the visa goes. The wedding is most likely incidental. the most important part is that you are able to prove a substantive relationship. That you are both from the same culture will be a big advantage for you, as it was for my husband and I. We did the nikah contract with adoul without the customary ceremony before his interview, and, still, all went very smoothly for the interview after that. He received an IR1 visa.

If you like, I will send you some interview tips for your wife that have proven to be very helpful to others. Insha'allah, all goes well for you!

Hi MENA

I would like to ask a question. If all goes as planned I assume that my wife (non resident alien) will have her interview for the CR1 visa prior to us actually holding a wedding. (Wedding is scheduled sometime in June but it appears that the interview will be sometime in May).

To give you a background on the issue…..

The culture in Saudi Arabia which we both originally from performs marriage ceremonies in this order, the legal part is taken care of at the court house which makes the couple legally wedded, immediately after that the families hold an engagement party which starts an engagement period then months later the wedding party is held. Please note that after the legal part is done the couple is legally considered married and in fact if the couple would to split up then they would go through a divorce procedure as would any other married couple.

My question is…..

1- Do you see any way that I will have an issue at the interview level that the wedding party did not yet happen, I only had the legal court document that shows us as legally married and we held and engagement party at which point we took plenty of photos?

please let me know if you have applied for the CR-1 visa under similar circumstances as this is very common in the middle east. I would really like to hear your thoughts.

Thank you all again and good luck

Edited March 31, 2010 by Sofiyya

[QAtester 0]

Thank you all for the reply.

Sofiyya, I would really appreciate it if you can post your interview preparation tips. Thanks again.