Commitment Ceremony

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Hey all,

My fiancée and I are planning a 'commitment ceremony' for January 2011 for ourselves and immediate family. We don't want our wedding to be dependent on paperwork and the US Govt. We are about to file our petition for the K-1 Visa application and know that he probably won't be able to move to the US (from Canada) until springtime. After all our paperwork comes though we will go to the court house to make it legal. But, we've been long distance for years and can deal with this.

Here is my question:

When coming to the US for our 'ceremony' can his relatives be open about the purpose of their visit? A wedding?

Do we need to hide our status on social networking sites (facebook)? Because we will consider ourselves married even if it isn't recognized by the govt.

Not post pictures of our ceremony or send announcements to friends and extended family?

Hope you all have some input on this.

Regards,

Strawberryblonde

Strawberryblonde,

If you are going to go through the trouble of organizing and having a ceremony where family and friends will be present and you will declare your commitment and love to one another, why not get legally married and make your ceremony, a wedding ceremony? Then, instead of completing the fiance(e) visa paperwork you could petition your husband using the I-130. By doing this, your ceremony would be official, and once your petition process is approved your husband will be able to enter the USA as a permanent resident. Right away he would be able to work and you would not have to worry about any additional paperwork to complete and send...for a while. Have you considered this possibility?

Best wishes!

[baron555 934]

Anh:

The ceremony we had planned did not have an officiant. It was simply going to be an exchange of vows between us in front of a small group of people. We know that the ceremony is not legally binding, but as the lawyer says, immigration tends to take a conservative position on wedding-like ceremonies.

What vows were you going to say?

I herby take you as my wife? No no no.

It would be OK to say, I hereby promise to marry you and to love you (and then under your breath, "Within 90 days of your arrival in the US").

The vows are mere words....your loving committment to each other is different and forever. Don't get hung up on the details or the show for other people. If they are truly your family and friends, they will understand the differences.