question about Photo, & miscellaneous

[Ryan76 46]

Ooh you need to make double sure that in no way does the US interpret this as a legal wedding. If at the interview there's any hint or interpretation that you might possibly be married they could deny you the K1.

Good luck!

I think we just need to make sure her church understands it would be a non-legal wedding ceremony. Nothing would be signed or turned into the government/authorities.

So we would not "be married". It would just be a demonstration of our commitment in front of her family at her church. Then when we get to the US we have a legal wedding.

I don't want to do anything deceptive or that could get us in trouble, but I don't see why this would.

[Love Eth 14]

Somebody correct me on this, but I thought you weren't allowed to leave the US until after you get Advanced Parole and working on Adjustment Of Status.

As far as I know and learned from the experiance of couple of friends, it is Ok to travle after the AOS but not sure before.

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

I think we just need to make sure her church understands it would be a non-legal wedding ceremony. Nothing would be signed or turned into the government/authorities.

So we would not "be married". It would just be a demonstration of our commitment in front of her family at her church. Then when we get to the US we have a legal wedding.

I don't want to do anything deceptive or that could get us in trouble, but I don't see why this would.

I don't know a whole lot about it, and the whole thought of it makes me nervous.

No I don't mean deceptive, just I've probably read to many freaky interview posts. I would post this question by itself to see what people say and you'll get more thoughts.

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

As far as I know and learned from the experiance of couple of friends, it is Ok to travle after the AOS but not sure before.

Yes you can get the Advanced Parole papers after AOS, just the OP wanted to do it sooner.

[Tim/Mav 305]

Oh man...okay.

Well what about this....

Once the K-1 is approved, I fly to Colombia and we have a non-legal/non-official wedding ceremony in her church. Then together we fly to the USA and have a legal wedding (or say our vows in front of a Justice of the Peace). Is there any problem with that?

YES. You will have a problem and find yourself misrepresenting additional documents . You need to listen. Engagement Party. Yes... Any other sort of Ceremony that hints a Wedding is unadvisable.

There is a way to make everyone happy in this case for the family.

No matter what we say: You mind is stuck on getting (or not) a K-1 Approval and then going back to make the Family happy and her by Marrying there, If caught: USCIS will never let you see your Bride. A Link below is a Unlegal Engagement Party and Acceptable.

Its a very nice Video and shows how everyone can be happy with a Engagement Party and not Violate USCIS Guildlines.

http://youtu.be/DH9IGjD9CJE

[Tim/Mav 305]

YES. You will have a problem and find yourself misrepresenting additional documents . You need to listen. Engagement Party. Yes... Any other sort of Ceremony that hints a Wedding is unadvisable.

There is a way to make everyone happy in this case for the family.

No matter what we say: You mind is stuck on getting (or not) a K-1 Approval and then going back to make the Family happy and her by Marrying there, If caught: USCIS will never let you see your Bride. A Link below is a Unlegal Engagement Party and Acceptable.

Its a very nice Video and shows how everyone can be happy with a Engagement Party and not Violate USCIS Guildlines.

http://youtu.be/DH9IGjD9CJE

TYPO! Legal Engagement Party. You guys should have told me you know.

[southcalhog 43]

Oh man...okay.

Well what about this....

Once the K-1 is approved, I fly to Colombia and we have a non-legal/non-official wedding ceremony in her church. Then together we fly to the USA and have a legal wedding (or say our vows in front of a Justice of the Peace). Is there any problem with that?

To Save possible complications,why dont you get Married FIRST in the USA,do your AOS and then either apply for Advance Parole or wait until she gets her Temporary green card? Then fly there and have a Non-legal ceromony or wedding party???

[googled 13]

Hello all, I became a member here months back. I've been researching quite a bit, but now that we are in the process of gathering documents and completing forms I have many questions I need to ask.

First and foremost, I just went to Walgreens to see about getting my photo taken, and they told me they cannot give me a digital copy. I realize I don't need one for the forms, but I wanted to send it to my fiance so she could be sure to get her photo taken to the same size/dimensions. Also, the lady working at Walgreens told me that the Visa pictures are a different size than the 2" by 2" passport photos. She said she thought they were 2" by 3". So obviously with all of this confusion I did not get my pictures taken. I wanted to go to a place like walgreens who does this type of thing on a regular basis, but now I'm wondering if there's somewhere else I should go....or if we should just take our own pictures and print them. And why won't Walgreens sell me a digital copy? Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Secondly, looking ahead we are trying to make some general plans/ideas for our wedding. We really want to be married in her church in Colombia with all her family. Is it okay for us to get married in her country when the K-1 is approved, or do we have to get married in the USA?

I'm going to have a lot more questions in the coming weeks, so I hope I don't get on your nerves! Thanks for your time.

I think you need to go to a different WalGreens. I got mine done there no problem. Walgreens are like pop cans they are all over the place. I think CVS photo will do it also.

[Ryan76 46]

To Save possible complications,why dont you get Married FIRST in the USA,do your AOS and then either apply for Advance Parole or wait until she gets her Temporary green card? Then fly there and have a Non-legal ceromony or wedding party???

That is definitely an option, and maybe the best one. My next question would be how long is the wait (approximately) for Advance Parole or Temporary green card? I mean are we talking weeks, months, a year?

[southcalhog 43]

That is definitely an option, and maybe the best one. My next question would be how long is the wait (approximately) for Advance Parole or Temporary green card? I mean are we talking weeks, months, a year?

I couldnt answer you on the Advance parole. maybe some other member can answer that? But far as the AOS, its about 8 Mths or less! So you have Options, maybe what you dont like but it is what it is! Choose whats BEST for you guys! Good Luck!

[BocaChicaBabe 6]

Hello all, I became a member here months back. I've been researching quite a bit, but now that we are in the process of gathering documents and completing forms I have many questions I need to ask.

First and foremost, I just went to Walgreens to see about getting my photo taken, and they told me they cannot give me a digital copy. I realize I don't need one for the forms, but I wanted to send it to my fiance so she could be sure to get her photo taken to the same size/dimensions. Also, the lady working at Walgreens told me that the Visa pictures are a different size than the 2" by 2" passport photos. She said she thought they were 2" by 3". So obviously with all of this confusion I did not get my pictures taken. I wanted to go to a place like walgreens who does this type of thing on a regular basis, but now I'm wondering if there's somewhere else I should go....or if we should just take our own pictures and print them. And why won't Walgreens sell me a digital copy? Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Secondly, looking ahead we are trying to make some general plans/ideas for our wedding. We really want to be married in her church in Colombia with all her family. Is it okay for us to get married in her country when the K-1 is approved, or do we have to get married in the USA?

I'm going to have a lot more questions in the coming weeks, so I hope I don't get on your nerves! Thanks for your time.

What do you mean you don't need one for the forms? Forgive me if I misunderstood, but both petitioner and beneficiary need to submit photos. As far as size, I have read here and other places that USCIS isn't overly concerned with the size. I didn't realize my husband's photos weren't 2x2 until I purchased my own photos just before I submitted the petition. I was sure I'd get an RFE, but my petition was just recently approved with no issues at all.

Have you guys only discussed the K1 as your option or have you left yourselves open to other options? If you really want to be married in her church with her family, you can always make it legal and go the CR1 route. You mention the K1, but you also mention wanting to marry in her country. It just seems like a lot of confusion/work can be avoided if you just marry there first and file the CR1, if marrying there is really important to you and you guys are open to that. I'm not trying to change your mind if you guys have made a firm decision on the K1, I was just trying to make you aware of other options available to you.

Good luck with your journey!!

[Ryan76 46]

YES. You will have a problem and find yourself misrepresenting additional documents . You need to listen. Engagement Party. Yes... Any other sort of Ceremony that hints a Wedding is unadvisable.

There is a way to make everyone happy in this case for the family.

No matter what we say: You mind is stuck on getting (or not) a K-1 Approval and then going back to make the Family happy and her by Marrying there, If caught: USCIS will never let you see your Bride. A Link below is a Unlegal Engagement Party and Acceptable.

Its a very nice Video and shows how everyone can be happy with a Engagement Party and not Violate USCIS Guildlines.

http://youtu.be/DH9IGjD9CJE

I am listening, and I'm asking questions. My mind isn't stuck on anything, I'm just trying to find the best way to get what we want. I guess I'm not comprehending why a non-legal private ceremony would make any difference whatsoever. I mean, we would not be married. How would we be "misrepesenting additional documents" if we are not married? I was under the impression that just because people gather in a church and say words to each other doesn't mean anything in the eyes of the government unless you sign documents, marriage certificate, etc. If I was wrong about that, then so be it..and we'll move on to the next option. The reason I'm asking these questions and trying to analyze things as much as possible is so we DON'T misrepresent anything in any way.

[southcalhog 43]

What do you mean you don't need one for the forms? Forgive me if I misunderstood, but both petitioner and beneficiary need to submit photos. As far as size, I have read here and other places that USCIS isn't overly concerned with the size. I didn't realize my husband's photos weren't 2x2 until I purchased my own photos just before I submitted the petition. I was sure I'd get an RFE, but my petition was just recently approved with no issues at all.

Have you guys only discussed the K1 as your option or have you left yourselves open to other options? If you really want to be married in her church with her family, you can always make it legal and go the CR1 route. You mention the K1, but you also mention wanting to marry in her country. It just seems like a lot of confusion/work can be avoided if you just marry there first and file the CR1, if marrying there is really important to you and you guys are open to that. I'm not trying to change your mind if you guys have made a firm decision on the K1, I was just trying to make you aware of other options available to you.

Good luck with your journey!!

True! that ia another option!

[Ryan76 46]

What do you mean you don't need one for the forms? Forgive me if I misunderstood, but both petitioner and beneficiary need to submit photos. As far as size, I have read here and other places that USCIS isn't overly concerned with the size. I didn't realize my husband's photos weren't 2x2 until I purchased my own photos just before I submitted the petition. I was sure I'd get an RFE, but my petition was just recently approved with no issues at all.

Have you guys only discussed the K1 as your option or have you left yourselves open to other options? If you really want to be married in her church with her family, you can always make it legal and go the CR1 route. You mention the K1, but you also mention wanting to marry in her country. It just seems like a lot of confusion/work can be avoided if you just marry there first and file the CR1, if marrying there is really important to you and you guys are open to that. I'm not trying to change your mind if you guys have made a firm decision on the K1, I was just trying to make you aware of other options available to you.

Good luck with your journey!!

About the photos...what I meant was we don't need a digital copy for the forms. You only have to send them a printed photograph. I just wanted one so I could email it to my fiance, so she will understand exactly what her photo needs to look like. I'm just going to go to a different walgreens or cvs....the lady i talked too obviously didn't know what she was talking about.

I had previously been told the CR1/spouse visa was more expensive and took a little more time. I suppose that is an option as well. We are at the stage where we are ready to move forward, but we are open to any and all options that will work. Though with the CR1 visa we couldn't file until after the marriage in her country...but I just came home from visiting her and it will probably be at least a few months before I can start planning another vacation. With the k-1 route we could start right away.

[Love Eth 14]

I had previously been told the CR1/spouse visa was more expensive and took a little more time. I suppose that is an option as well. We are at the stage where we are ready to move forward, but we are open to any and all options that will work. Though with the CR1 visa we couldn't file until after the marriage in her country...but I just came home from visiting her and it will probably be at least a few months before I can start planning another vacation. With the k-1 route we could start right away.

This days the difference of K-1 visa from CR-1 is in days. It used to be in months. And also there is another process that has to be doon after your fiacee comes to the US (for K-1). Money wise K-1 is cheaper than CR-1. Since you are not married now, you can't file CR-1, but you can file K-1 because you visited your fiancee at least once in the last two years.

Good luck

Edited June 5, 2011 by Love Eth