"Fake" Marriage in Nicaragua

[MRStee 19]

Yes, you absolutely should report the ceremony. In fact, you should provide detailed information about it with the petition package, and make it absolutely clear that the ceremony was not a legally binding wedding. This may be your only chance to explain it, since the consular officer isn't required to accept any evidence or listen to any explanations, nor is there any requirement that any evidence offered or explanations given at the interview be placed in the case file.

In every case I can remember, where the beneficiary was denied a visa for having had a wedding ceremony prior to the interview, the wedding ceremony was discovered during the interview and not declared in the petition package. This makes it "new" evidence which USCIS didn't know about when they adjudicated the petition, and therefore grounds to deny the visa.

There are two government agencies involved in this process - USCIS, which is Department of Homeland Security, and the US consulate, which is Department of State. Each agency has it's own role, and cannot assert it's authority over the other. USCIS is responsible for determining if the petitioner and beneficiary meet the minimum requirements to apply for a visa. The foreign consulate is responsible for determining if the beneficiary is inadmissible or ineligible for the visa. Neither agency can override the decision of the other. USCIS cannot force a consulate to issue a visa, and a consulate cannot revoke the approval of a petition.

When a consulate denies a visa because they've discovered a wedding ceremony took place, they are claiming that the petitioner and beneficiary are not free to marry because they are already married. They are also claiming that the petition never should have been approved because the petitioner and beneficiary didn't meet the minimum requirements. However, the consulate doesn't have the authority to revoke the approval of the petition, so they send it back to USCIS with a recommendation to revoke the approval of the petition.

This is precisely why you must declare the wedding ceremony in the petition package.

If USCIS approves the petition, in spite of the fact that the non-legal wedding ceremony was declared, then they have determined that this fact does not make the beneficiary ineligible to apply for a visa. The consulate cannot readjudicate this decision, and it would not be valid grounds to return a petition to USCIS for a reason which USCIS had already determined does not disqualify the petitioner and beneficiary. In effect, this disarms the consulate by taking away a potential reason for denial. This is one of the strongest arguments for 'frontloading' a petition with evidence to explain anything the consulate might determine is a red flag, or potential reason to deny.

A qualifying sponsor must usually have income which is at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size (which includes the beneficiary). Active duty military only need income of 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. You can see the current guidelines here:

http://www.uscis.gov...form/i-864p.pdf

I just love love love the way you explain things! You make it seem so easy

[Colleens 40]

Hello everyone!

Well, don't know if my question was asked before and I did try to search and read several posts, but didn't find any of my nature. Basically, my fiancee and I want to get married by this year (December) "hopefully" if we can get the filing back quickly (I hear being an officer in the military expedites the process due to proof being much easier to validate?)..

Well my question is the following:

I would like to have my wedding in Nicaragua though not "Legally" in Nicaragua so that I can apply for the K-1 via the U.S. I understand that if I get a legal marriage in Nicaragua I would have to go through a whole different process of paperwork (confirm/deny please?) and I'd like to deviate from that. However my fiancee is telling me she believes that I need to do it LEGAL, but I doubt that since I know of a friend who also did a wedding/reception there without having to do any legal paperwork of Nicaraguan nature.

The reason I would like to have the real wedding in Nicaragua and the Court-style wedding here is because she has all her family/friends and while myself, I only have my immediate family with me (Mother, sister, grandmother and uncle) my friends have either been deployed or stationed in other countries and the rest are off in their own world (studying, getting married, etc..) so I see it much more fitting to have the reception in Nicaragua and simply fly my family there.

If anyone can comment and/or contribute their information or experience, I would greatly and wholeheartedly appreciate it.

Thank you,

2LT Lee, Javier

I think the only time you will get a military expedite is if you have orders to deploy (or sometimes if you are a member of special forces where you may not get much notice of deployment). There is a USCIS number specifically for military members listed on the USCIS website that you can call and enquire. It never hurts to try, yau might get lucky. My husband was in the military and it did not speed up the process at all.

[jlee 2]

He did put it well and all my questions were properly answered. Thank you everyone for all your input and I am ready to go ! Jim is what we call in the Army a "SME" SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, great job in providing that detail.

[British_Cupcake 1]

Hello everyone!

Well, don't know if my question was asked before and I did try to search and read several posts, but didn't find any of my nature. Basically, my fiancee and I want to get married by this year (December) "hopefully" if we can get the filing back quickly (I hear being an officer in the military expedites the process due to proof being much easier to validate?)..

Thank you,

2LT Lee, Javier

We are military and we have not been given one bit of help. Im curious are you getting help because your an officer in the military??

Edited May 19, 2010 by Jonswifey

[jlee 2]

No of course not! I was asking in general any personnel in the military regardless of rank would be expedited (if at all). Someone already answered the question.

[TracyTN 237]

You don't have to be an officer in the military to receive assistance.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=7d1f8430256b3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=7d1f8430256b3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

[Vivi6 12]

Not a bad idea, how long does it take to obtain said AP/GC (what is AP I know GC is Green Card) once she is here? I've read much and it just blurs now from all the information... sorry

We did a small beach wedding here and we are planning a bigger wedding in Italy next summer- when we have more money and especially when my prents come around about the fact I left Italy, LOL! I think k1 is best for you. and you can plan the bigger celebration knowing you guys already live together and np other visa stands in your way! (except for AOS, but that is a matter of waiting unless there are bigger issued which doesn't seem to be the case)

[PhoebeMarlow 0]

No of course not! I was asking in general any personnel in the military regardless of rank would be expedited (if at all). Someone already answered the question.

That is right, the military helpline is for enlisted and/or officers and sometimes they expedite the paperwork. My husband is enlisted and was deployed while our paperwork was processed. USCIS was really behind their deadlines at that time and if they hadn't expedited our paperwork, we would not have been able to go to the States together. But I think they only did it because he was deployed. But it's always worth a try :-)

[Yader&Sarah 0]

hola buenas tardes!

I just want to throw my 2 cents in here. We have LOTS of experience with the K-1 and Managua.

I would definitely recommend the K-1. it was really fast. See my timeline.

I had plans to do similar to what you would like to do. I was going to go down for Yader's interview and during that time we were going to have our 'Nica' wedding. However, we didn't end up doing that because, turns out it was important to his mother, that we not mock a real wedding. Religious reasons. But that really doesn't matter much for your case!

You mentioned that you are planning a trip down to Nicaragua soon, I would REALLY recommend speaking to a Nicaraguan lawyer about what 'legally' defines marriage. We had some issues surrounding a religious blessing on a past relationship of my husband's and whether it constituted a marriage or not. You should ask the lawyer to legally spell out what constitutes a marriage, I find it's really hard to pinpoint a lot of things in Nicaragua... but this would be worth it.

You might have to sacrifice and alter your ceremony a little bit, if you want to go ahead with the k-1. But the k-1 is totally worth it. and tons of the VJ members who have been through k1 interviews in Managua can provide you with the packet of information to work on ahead of time, which is immensly useful.

i wish you muy buena suerte!

[jlee 2]

Thanks yea I really enjoy reading everyones response because of the fact they're all both different and unique. I guess my only frustration is trying to hit the December mark so that she can finally be with me. Its difficult to find free time in active duty as an officer ( we get a good 2 weeks off in December or so they told me).

This is why I want/ed to do the "ceremony" without registering it on december over there, of which "hopefully" she should have been approved to come over, and get married here.

Its my wish and dream so we will see what happens. I'm just going to go over all the risks and options for her and we'll come to an agreement somewhere in there.

[Yader&Sarah 0]

Its my wish and dream so we will see what happens. I'm just going to go over all the risks and options for her and we'll come to an agreement somewhere in there.

That's all you really can do, and it's the best plan to move forward as stress free as possible! Just stay connected to eachother!

[jlee 2]

Thank you YaderandSarah, I will then speak to a Nica lawyer and see what constitues a "wedding". Her family does want a father (I'm roman catholic as well as she) so we will see what we can do. And if any VJ members want to help with the packet I will be more than happy to read into all of it ! My email is javielee@gmail.com. Thank you!!

[mike101 8]

Hello everyone!

Well, don't know if my question was asked before and I did try to search and read several posts, but didn't find any of my nature. Basically, my fiancee and I want to get married by this year (December) "hopefully" if we can get the filing back quickly (I hear being an officer in the military expedites the process due to proof being much easier to validate?)..

Well my question is the following:

I would like to have my wedding in Nicaragua though not "Legally" in Nicaragua so that I can apply for the K-1 via the U.S. I understand that if I get a legal marriage in Nicaragua I would have to go through a whole different process of paperwork (confirm/deny please?) and I'd like to deviate from that. However my fiancee is telling me she believes that I need to do it LEGAL, but I doubt that since I know of a friend who also did a wedding/reception there without having to do any legal paperwork of Nicaraguan nature.

The reason I would like to have the real wedding in Nicaragua and the Court-style wedding here is because she has all her family/friends and while myself, I only have my immediate family with me (Mother, sister, grandmother and uncle) my friends have either been deployed or stationed in other countries and the rest are off in their own world (studying, getting married, etc..) so I see it much more fitting to have the reception in Nicaragua and simply fly my family there.

If anyone can comment and/or contribute their information or experience, I would greatly and wholeheartedly appreciate it.

Thank you,

2LT Lee, Javier

2LT,

My fiancee and I plan doing something similar. We have discussed onhaving a cerimonial wedding with her family in Colombia (No papers involved) and the legal wedding in the USA. I dont think it will interrupt the process if the marriage is cerimonial and not documented.

[BinhJerome 14]

Yes, you absolutely should report the ceremony. In fact, you should provide detailed information about it with the petition package, and make it absolutely clear that the ceremony was not a legally binding wedding. This may be your only chance to explain it, since the consular officer isn't required to accept any evidence or listen to any explanations, nor is there any requirement that any evidence offered or explanations given at the interview be placed in the case file.

In every case I can remember, where the beneficiary was denied a visa for having had a wedding ceremony prior to the interview, the wedding ceremony was discovered during the interview and not declared in the petition package. This makes it "new" evidence which USCIS didn't know about when they adjudicated the petition, and therefore grounds to deny the visa.

There are two government agencies involved in this process - USCIS, which is Department of Homeland Security, and the US consulate, which is Department of State. Each agency has it's own role, and cannot assert it's authority over the other. USCIS is responsible for determining if the petitioner and beneficiary meet the minimum requirements to apply for a visa. The foreign consulate is responsible for determining if the beneficiary is inadmissible or ineligible for the visa. Neither agency can override the decision of the other. USCIS cannot force a consulate to issue a visa, and a consulate cannot revoke the approval of a petition.

When a consulate denies a visa because they've discovered a wedding ceremony took place, they are claiming that the petitioner and beneficiary are not free to marry because they are already married. They are also claiming that the petition never should have been approved because the petitioner and beneficiary didn't meet the minimum requirements. However, the consulate doesn't have the authority to revoke the approval of the petition, so they send it back to USCIS with a recommendation to revoke the approval of the petition.

This is precisely why you must declare the wedding ceremony in the petition package.

If USCIS approves the petition, in spite of the fact that the non-legal wedding ceremony was declared, then they have determined that this fact does not make the beneficiary ineligible to apply for a visa. The consulate cannot readjudicate this decision, and it would not be valid grounds to return a petition to USCIS for a reason which USCIS had already determined does not disqualify the petitioner and beneficiary. In effect, this disarms the consulate by taking away a potential reason for denial. This is one of the strongest arguments for 'frontloading' a petition with evidence to explain anything the consulate might determine is a red flag, or potential reason to deny.

A qualifying sponsor must usually have income which is at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size (which includes the beneficiary). Active duty military only need income of 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. You can see the current guidelines here:

http://www.uscis.gov...form/i-864p.pdf

Jim, I think on those other petitions there was something else, and the denial was not specifically for the ceremony since at the interview they both proved that they can be married, so they could not prove that if their fake wedding was real. Point is that there is no paperwork showing it is legal and binding, because there is none. I do agree to disclose it, but to say that all the people you can remember were denied solely based on this seems off a bit to me. We both went through the same room, and I dont remember anyone getting denied because of having the wedding ceremony without the papers, and in our case specifically we did not tell USCIS, or HCMC that we had a wedding ceremony, and the CO had the pictures at the interview and even looked at them. Yes we were denied, but it was not because of the wedding ceremony, and it was never mentioned. Because we could both PROVE we were legally able to be married. What people do you remember being denied only because of the wedding ceremony? I remember people saying not to do it in the Vietnam forum but there were also tons of people stating it would be fine and no problems. It isnt a red flag if you can prove you are both able to be married, this fact negates any photos that would say other wise after all a certified/notorized paper from the local governments stating you are legally able to be married trumps any photo of a wedding ceremony, and besides most people and even the CO I personally know states that it makes them feel more comfortable with issuing a visa since it shows interest on the petitoners part to make sure that the family has their ceremony knowing that most of them would never be able to make it stateside for a real wedding, and that was straight out of a CO at HCMC's mouth. Jerome

[K and L 27]

For whatever it is worth, the US consulate in Nicaragua says, on the subject of marriage:

Who May Perform Marriages Abroad

American and diplomatic and consular officers are NOT permitted to perform marriages (Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations 52.1). In Nicaragua, legal marriages can be performed by either a Nicaraguan notary or judge.

Consular officer may authenticate foreign marriage documents, but this is not required for the marriage to be considered valid outside of Nicaragua. The fee for the authentication of a document is $30.00.

Documentation

To legally marry in Nicaragua, a foreigner must present a valid passport (or other acceptable identification document) and sometimes a birth certificate. In addition, persons previously married must present evidence of the dissolution of the previous marriage (e.g. a divorce decree or death certificate of the previous spouse) and/or proof that they are single. As the United States government does not produce “singleness” certificates, some U.S. citizens contract with Nicaraguan attorneys to draft a “singleness” document for their signature.

With the documentation listed above and two witnesses with Nicaraguan cedulas, a Nicaraguan notary or judge can marry you.

Do not provide your passport or ID to your officient, do not get a license, do not sign anything, and you are good to go. Make sure your officiant (if they are a notary/judge) knows you do NOT want a legally binding ceremony due to the visa. Fully disclose in detail (as Jim discussed in detail) on the I129F that you had a non-legally binding ceremony for her family and friends. You should be good to go.