Religious wedding before legal wedding?

[expatrica 0]

burralow,

Many people get married before a justice of the peace, or other authorized person, with the required number of witnesses present, and nothing more.

What could you possibly expect to be proving to a USCIS officer by showing pictures of a wedding ceremony that did not create a marriage when what they are wanting you to prove, what they are expecting you to document, is that you got married? What can you possibly expect the reaction to be other than that you got married before entering the USA on a K1 visa, something that is not allowed.

Yodrak

so then i think the real question is that in a case like expatrica's if you do not bring pictures from your 'non-legal wedding' and just bring pics from the legal wedding but the legal wedding was small, not many people present etc does that matter to the AOS interviewer?

would they see such a small wedding and no family present and see no other pictures of any other wedding and therefore suspect a fraudulent relationship due to the fact that u obviously didnt make a big deal of it?

or is it enough that you have pictures of the legal ceremony and then have other documentation to prove continued relationship. ie. joint cars, insurance, utilities, rent etc?

Yodrak,

Very well put.

Peter Miami

I think you're both kind of missing the point here. We did not get married before L entered the US but we did have a ceremony and reception. We got married last Friday. The reason I would contemplate bringing both sets of pictures is to show how much time and effort went into our july party. If I explained the situation, they would surely understand and not expect all of our guests to travel long distances twice. We did nothing wrong and I don't see why there would be a problem.

[Yodrak 7]

E,

You may have to do more than explain it - you may have to prove it. Can you do that?

Even if you can prove it, do you want to put forth the time, effort, and money it may take to prove it?

The photo's from your party add nothing to your case, they only offer the risk of detracting from your case.

Yodrak

Hi!

My husband and I had a wedding ceremony here officiated by a priest in July. However, it was not legally binding as no marriage certificate was filed for.

He was approved for the visa last week and we were officially and legally married last Friday. We did take some pictures at this official ceremony but most of our pictures are from the July reception at which we had 80 of our family and friends presents.

I don't see any problem in us bringing both sets of pictures to the AoS interview. Does anyone see any problem in doing so and just explaining the differences in the two ceremonies?

E

[KarenCee 3]

This is an issue that I don't think will never be resolved. It will take yet another couple denied entry at a POE or having their AOS held up for who knows how long to maybe drive home this simple point. And still, even then, I doubt it would make anyone else think twice.

[John & Annie 0]

I think alot of people are missing the point.

I do not think it would hurt you, we have 130 pictures from our betrothal service and 200 from the wedding. We are bringing them all.

All of the pictures substanciate the fact that we are in a real relationship, with the support of all of our families. Regardless of what parties were held where. We were legally married here in the US, that is in compliance with the Visa. Everything else is just evidence of the relationship.

[meauxna 15]

I think alot of people are missing the point.

I do not think it would hurt you, we have 130 pictures from our betrothal service and 200 from the wedding. We are bringing them all.

All of the pictures substanciate the fact that we are in a real relationship, with the support of all of our families. Regardless of what parties were held where. We were legally married here in the US, that is in compliance with the Visa. Everything else is just evidence of the relationship.

I think you are missing the point.

You call yours a 'betrothal service'. Were you wearing wedding clothes--white dress & tux? Can you appreciate the difference between a celebration or party and a ceremony with two people in formal gear in front of an officiant with a big audience.

You just have to describe this situation in more depth when discussing it with others online--just because you understand what you did does not mean some reader next week will, and they may conclude that hey, it's dandy to have a "wedding" as long as no one signs the papers.

[zauberblume 0]

John & Annie,

Expatrica,

How are you going to prove that the ceremony you had in your home country was not legally binding? What information can you provide?

Think about the possible consequences of showing photos from two wedding ceremonies to the adjudicator at the AOS interview. What is s/he going to think about the first set of photos?

If someone showed me photos from two wedding ceremonies, I would wonder which one conferred a legal marriage. And, considering the requirements of the K-1 visa, I'd wonder if the ceremony in the home country actually conferred legal status. Regardless, I'd probably ask the couple to produce some evidence to the contrary. If the couple could not produce the evidence, I would deny their AOS application on the grounds that they were legally married prior to entry into the United States. I would send the immigrant back to his/her home country to file for a marriage-based visa.

-Z

P.S. It's fine that you had a non-legal ceremony. The problem is proving that you didn't get married in that non-legal ceremony. It's best to play it safe and only show photos from your wedding in the United States. That way, there is no possibility for confusion unless you actually tell the adjudicator about the other wedding in your home country.

Either way, post the outcome, whatever decision you make.

[Peter Miami 0]

It is people like you guys that do things that could be misconstrued and then you want to make Immigration seem like they are out to get you. Immigrations does want it want’s when ever they want. Why would you take a chance that might seem border line. Yes your wedding in Brazil is not binding according to you but the Immigration Officer or Immigration clerk and most of us done know this and it is not their job to know every specific law of every country and religion. That is your case to prove.

Let me put it in an example if you send in an AOS package and they lost it and they tell you, you have to reapply what are you going to do? You have no choice and you are either going to reapply or you are going to take your fiancée and leave to her country, there is no choice you are screw because they have the last word. Do you understand this?

Peter Miami

[John & Annie 0]

I completly agree, either immigration believes you or they don't. We would rather show that our relationship is real, There is no doubt in our situation as too where the "real" wedding took place.

I am not worried in the least, if someone is uncomfortable with this, that is their deal.

Besides, if you have some kind of Ceremony outside of the US, it would behoove you to ensure it is only a ceremony, otherwise you are commiting fraud with your US marriage. What if there is an investigation and they find you had some sort of service in the other country. Personnally, I would rather be forward and justify this now then be caught trying to justify it after the fact.

Edited October 20, 2006 by John & Annie

[frndly1 1]

To be perfectly honest they don't want to see allot of pictures. I think I would just provide a few pictures, bills with both names, letters with both names and be done with it. I would not open up pandora's box either. But why is it so important to show the "non-marriage" pictures. Most people only have one wedding be it real or not.

I completly agree, either immigration believes you or they don't. We would rather show that our relationship is real, There is no doubt in our situation as too where the "real" wedding took place.

I am not worried in the least, if someone is uncomfortable with this, that is their deal.

Besides, if you have some kind of Ceremony outside of the US, it would behoove you to ensure it is only a ceremony, otherwise you are commiting fraud with your US marriage. What if there is an investigation and they find you had some sort of service in the other country. Personnally, I would rather be forward and justify this now then be caught trying to justify it after the fact.

[Reba 2]

I dunno about other AOS interviews, but we were not asked to show ANY photos. Not a single one was asked for. I toted a bunch of them along, and my husband was annoyed that she didnt ask for any, so we showed her some pics of our dogs, cuz she had pics of her dogs on her desk. By that point tho, I'd already been stamped and congratulated.

IMO, there really is no need to confuse the matter by showing them photos of 2 separate ceremonies, when in all likelihood, none are needed.

There have been cases of people denied because a conoff figures they're already married, because photo evidence of engagement parties have been shown. If there's any frilly dresses or flowers involved, they think wedding.

[Griffon76 0]

I had been wondering about this whole situation too. Ours happened because his divorce lawyer told us we would have the certified copy of divorce in hand by the beginning of August 2006. Well, that time came and went and we were not about to cancel wedding plans as friends and family came from all over. So we waited til we got the papers (got them this past Monday) and we met the Reverend that officiated the religious ceremony to sign the marriage license. No pictures were taken this time as it was in a public place just to get them signed. We do have all kinds of pictures from the August wedding and that is all I have to show. She mentioned that it was legal for her to do this and it was more common than I might think. I thought we had to sign something (besides the application for the marriage license) as well as our witnesses but apparently not in the Commonwealth of Virginia!! This was not planned this way but it happened and I will have to show my photos in August.

[CanadaGirl 0]

I think having 2 wedding ceremonies is very common for immigrants. My husband and I decided to get married in Canada and apply for a K3 then AOS when I got to the states.

We had a ceremony with just the 2 of us and 1 witness (the justice of peace's daughter) in Canada. We applied for K3 and then in April of 2006 after I was in the USA we had a big ceremony with the wedding dress and all. I only have 1 pic from our legally binding marriage in Canada and I have about 150 pictures of our "fake" wedding in the USA.

I plan on bringing all the pictures just incase the officer wants to see a picture of our legally binding wedding.

I know our case is backwards but if I were you and you wanted to have a ceremony in your home country just have some kind of proof that you weren't actually legally married. I don't see the big deal since tons of immigrants have 2 weddings and only 1 is legally binding.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[Reba 2]

yeah but it depends on which visa you're going to the US with, and what country you plan to be "not" married in.

Others in Canada have attempted to have a non legal wedding in Canada, and because of the marriage laws there, cannot find an officiate to do it. If they're licensed to perform a marriage ceremony in Canada, its a legally binding event, with or without paperwork completed. Except in BC. Plus there are some churches that just will not allow it, for religious purposes. You're either married or not married, and by a minister performing a "not" marriage, some have felt that they're giving the couple permission for sex before marriage.

Your legal wedding happened before you came to the US, and you had a K3 visa. Then you had a religious non-legal service, obviously you're already legally married so a minister wouldn't have a problem with a renewal of vows.

[elyjack 0]

thanks very much raffy,

but im still curious if anyone has done it and what their experience with the AOS interview is?

Yes, I think we qualify as having done what you are saying. We had a religious ceremony in my wife's home country and then she came over on a K1. We didn't refer to it as a wedding (the Catholic church called it an "engagement blessing") even though there was an exchange of vows and everyone knew what we were doing. When my wife arrived we got legally married a few days later at the county courthouse with no ceremony. This was mostly because it was the last week of the year and we needed to get legally married for tax purposes. We never did have a ceremony in the U.S.

We had our interview in August. My wife was asked when and where we got married. She was so nervous that she was off by almost 20 years on the date but she got the place right - the county courthouse. I then told them we had a "celebration" in the Philippines before she left and we decided not to have one in the U.S. so we just went to the courthouse to make it legal. The interviewer said nothing more on the subject and never asked for any pictures of our wedding or anything else for that matter. If it hadn't been for my wife's flubbing the date and then acting so nervous I probably wouldn't have even volunteered that information but I did and it didn't matter.

Hope that answers your question.

Edited October 23, 2006 by elyjack

[Yodrak 7]

Griffon,

"have to"? Why will you "have to"?

Yodrak

.... I will have to show my photos in August.