Getting Married Before Entering US on a K-1

[payxibka 10,045]

Is it possible to have a wedding ceremony before entering US with K1 visa?

as long aas it is not legally recognized as a marriage

[SabrinaFrance 8]

Thank you all for the replies. I suppose that makes sense as for an initial entry into the US. On a similar note however, is it not possible to obtain advance permission to leave and re-enter the country for the purpose of getting married once my fiance' enters on the K-1 Visa? I did not understand that it was ONLY possible to marry in the US.

You also have the option of getting legally married in the US, and then go back to the UK once your fiance has her/his GC or at least advance parole for a religious and family celebration...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Ironically, the K-1 visa was introduced to allow "marriage-minded" couples who intend to live in the US to be together during the dreadfully long process of status adjustment. Historically, it has worked well. However, in recent years the processing time of K-1 visas equal or exceed the time it takes to file a I-130 which seems to defeat the purpose of the K-1. Furthermore, entering on an immigrant visa allows the foreign spouse to work immediately. Having said that, you are still better off sticking with the K-1 at this stage of the game. Good luck.

That's sort of the middle of the story. As you say, the K-1 allows the foreign fiance to come to the US, marry, and then wait out the immigration process here in the US with their new spouse. But, speeding up the process wasn't the primary benefit the K-1 was intended to provide.

The K-1 was included in the original INA of 1952. It was provided primarily for the benefit of US citizens who would find it difficult or impossible to marry in their fiancee's home country, but comparatively easy to marry in the US. For example, some countries required the permission of the fiancee's parents before a marriage could be approved. If her parents didn't like you then you weren't going to get married. Other countries imposed very difficult requirements on marriages to foreigners. In many countries, these requirements still exist. For example, in order to get a marriage license in Vietnam it's necessary for the Vietnamese national to prove they are fluent in the native language of their foreign fiance's country, even if the foreign fiance is fluent in Vietnamese. The K-1 was an attempt to be fair to Americans who might otherwise not be able to marry their foreign fiancees.

The difference in processing times between an IR-1 and a K-1 was an issue almost from the beginning. Many people who had already married a foreign spouse saw it as being fundamentally unfair that a K-1 fiancee could come to the US and be with their US citizen spouse much faster than a foreign spouse. This was addressed in the LIFE Act of 2000, which created the K-3 visa category. The K-3 allowed the foreign spouse to come to the US and wait out the immigration process, more or less the same way that a K-1 could.

USCIS has since streamlined the process for IR-1 visa petitions, effectively nullifying the time benefits of the K-3. Although the K-3 still exists in the law, it has been essentially phased out by Department of State. Even if you apply for a K-3, your foreign spouse will likely end up being interviewed for an IR-1 visa.

As you noted, the time advantage of a K-1 over an IR-1 has largely evaporated in the past year. Whether it will remain this way is unknown. However, it's reasonably certain that the K-1 will not be phased out, even if the processing times become much longer than the IR-1 processing times, because the original reason for creating the K-1 visa category still exists - it's difficult or impossible for some US citizens to marry their fiancee's abroad.

[HeatDeath 430]

To answer the original question: The foreign beneficiary will be asked, at the Point of Entry, by the CBP officer, if they are legally free to marry. If the answer is anything but yes (and especially if the CBP officer is given reason, by body language, voice, or other clues, to believe the "yes" answer is fraudulent) the K-1 visa will be canceled right then and there and the beneficiary will be denied entry. If misrepresentation is found, additional mult-year or permanent bans can be imposed, and there is very little appeal or recourse.

Do NOT get married after receiving the K-1 visa but before entering the US. You will need to include the marriage certificate with the AOS papers, and it will be obvious if there is a discrepancy between the marriage date and the PoE date. [it goes without saying that lying to any government official on any subject even tangentially related to immigration or your marriage is very very bad!]

I would also strongly recommend against doing a "religious-only" marriage ceremony prior to entry. You never ever want to put yourself in a situation where your answer to a CBP or immigration officer's question starts with the words "well, technically...".

[Yellowhead 12]

Thank you all for the replies. I suppose that makes sense as for an initial entry into the US. On a similar note however, is it not possible to obtain advance permission to leave and re-enter the country for the purpose of getting married once my fiance' enters on the K-1 Visa? I did not understand that it was ONLY possible to marry in the US.

It is not possible. Once you enter on the K-1 the fiance is stuck in the USA until AP document is issued. This takes up to 3 months. In order to leave and re-enter, you must be married already. K-1 is a one entry visa. If she leaves during adjustment status, or prior to getting married (even if the purpose is to marry), you will start again from the beginning with the marriage based visa.

We had the same issue. Who wants to be away from their family when marrying? No one. We had a civil ceremony at the county clerks office. This can be as casual or as formal as you like, and then save your big ceremony for later. Up to you whether you choose to tell people you are yet married, or wait until the bigger event. We are planning our bigger better wedding for a year or two from now (starting to plan when we have green card in hand).

That being said, DO NOT make ANY plans for a bigger wedding until you get your AP docs and AOS approved. You can not base plans on USCIS and you run the risk of losing a lot of money if your case is delayed for any reason. Just have patience and wait it out like the rest of us. You are not the only one who has had to adjust plans because of the system, just try to work through it and things will be fine.

[Channah&Aaron 51]

; sometimes I wonder if some peeps who are petitioning an I-129f (K1) know what K1 actually means, and what the requirements are. Heck, I won't petition for anything if I don't know what it means or what I can or can't do

back to topic. If you really wanna get married in the UK, withdraw your petition and go on the CR-1 route. Or get married in a simple court house in the US, wait til you received your permission to travel outside the US and then do the reception in the UK....

Edited May 6, 2011 by Channah&Aaron

[Mrichards 0]

; sometimes I wonder if some peeps who are petitioning an I-129f (K1) know what K1 actually means, and what the requirements are. Heck, I won't petition for anything if I don't know what it means or what I can or can't do

back to topic. If you really wanna get married in the UK, withdraw your petition and go on the CR-1 route. Or get married in a simple court house in the US, wait til you received your permission to travel outside the US and then do the reception in the UK....

Well, if you would, please forgive my ignorance. Based on the requirements I read (over and over) I did not see a reason that we could not get married outside the US. The USCIS does not make it at all clear that you MUST marry within the US. Since advanced parole was available, I did not see a problem. It not expressly state that AP can only be used while the AOS is pending. What they also do not tell you and what I have since seen on this website is that although AP is supposed to be available for any purpose, it is not actually. The USCIS is wanting to limit these to family emergencies, and the like. In any case, thank you to those on this forum that are here to help some of us "newbies" gain a clearer understanding of what the USCIS websites fail to mention or do not make expressly clear.

[Pedro Thiago 2]

Please, forgive my ignorance of legal jurisprudence.

It seems that there are both legal and ceremonial aspects to marriage and that in many countries, the UK included, a ceremonial or religious celebration has absolutely no validity as a legally binding contract. Thus, the participants in the ceremonial celebration are not legally married, have no marriage certificate or registration, and would still be single and legally free to marry. So, from that point of view, someone who has had a ceremonial celebration but no legal marriage would not be lying in any sense if they responded yes when asked if they are free to marry. Of course, a legally recognized marriage would be a completely different matter.

I could be way off about this, and I would not ask the OP to take my word for it. I am sure others will be able to provide more clarity on this matter.

[Boiler 45,579]

You can get married outside the US, as has been mentioned several times.

AP can apply to a variety of circumstances.

You do not need to have a family emergency.

I have been on this site for 6 years, only in the last few months have I seen this question raised, I have no idea why now.

Please, forgive my ignorance of legal jurisprudence.

It seems that there are both legal and ceremonial aspects to marriage and that in many countries, the UK included, a ceremonial or religious celebration has absolutely no validity as a legally binding contract. Thus, the participants in the ceremonial celebration are not legally married, have no marriage certificate or registration, and would still be single and legally free to marry. So, from that point of view, someone who has had a ceremonial celebration but no legal marriage would not be lying in any sense if they responded yes when asked if they are free to marry. Of course, a legally recognized marriage would be a completely different matter.

I could be way off about this, and I would not ask the OP to take my word for it. I am sure others will be able to provide more clarity on this matter.

Yep, I was married in Church in the UK, perfectly legal. Actually there was a televised UK Church marriage not long ago.....

[Pedro Thiago 2]

You can get married outside the US, as has been mentioned several times.

AP can apply to a variety of circumstances.

You do not need to have a family emergency.

I have been on this site for 6 years, only in the last few months have I seen this question raised, I have no idea why now.

Yep, I was married in Church in the UK, perfectly legal. Actually there was a televised UK Church marriage not long ago.....

I never said you can not marry in a church, I said that you need a legally binding contract to be considered married. Recently there have been many Muslims in the UK who got married at mosques and did not register there marriages. Thus, just because you are in a religious establishment does not mean that you are officially married.

[Pedro Thiago 2]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8493660.stm

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Hello All,

I was wondering if someone could shed some light on the timing of the use of the K-1. My fiance resides in the UK and we are awaiting an NOA2. Assuming everything goes through fine, the Visa is issued, I was wondering if it is possible for us to get married in the UK, prior to him entering the country with the K-1 Visa. Will this cause some confusion since the K-1 is for a fiance'? We were trying to avoid having to get permission for him to leave the country and re-enter for the purpose of getting married in the UK.

Thanks!

If you were wanting to marry in the UK, why did you file for the K1?

The K1 is a visa to be used to enter the US for the purpose of getting married in the US. If you want to marry in the UK, go ahead, but by doing so you would be forfeiting your K1 petition and process, you would lose your filing fee and time, and you would need to file the I-130 to obtain a CR-1 visa for your spouse.

[JoannaV 174]

The instructions for the I-129F state multiple time that it is for the purpose of bringing your fiance to the US to marry, and that you must marry within 90 days of admission. I suppose you could be confused because they do not make their sentences repetitive and so don't say things such as "you plan to marry your fiance within 90 days of his/her admission to the US, the marriage being within the US"...

It also tells you that once legally married within 90 days of admission your spouse can then apply for adjustment of status. Remember that advance parole is something applied for with (or after) adjustment of status. You cannot adjust status until married. Therefore you can only apply for advance parole to travel out of the US AFTER you are married.

Really, in the main, the instructions on USCIS forms are pretty straightforward. Normally, one should not read anything into them beyond the obvious.

Edited May 6, 2011 by JoannaV

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

You probably also don't realize that you can't just fly over to the UK and marry your boyfriend. Foreign nationals must have a visa to enter the UK in order to marry a UK citizen.