Confused about Marriage, K-1, K-3, and CR1

[gendna2 1]

Thank you for the great website and all the information. I have gotten a decent understanding of the different processes out there but sometimes, the more I read, the more I get confused. Hopefully some of you will answer my question or tell me "this is what I'd do if I were you."

I am engaged to a girl in Vietnam and have proof of this. Unfortunately, due to my job, my ability to visit Vietnam is limited. I can only go back in January of 2013.

My plan is to have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam in January, but start the K-1 process now.

Question: Will the wedding ceremony in the morning, and the party in the evening, disqualify me from the K-1 process if they somehow find out?

Question: Is the morning "Le Vu Quy" ceremony the same as an "engagement" ceremony that so many people mention here? My fiance said that my parents and hers will talk, and then we are married....but it seems like there might be some miscommunication here.

Question: Assuming the morning ceremony is an engagement ceremony, can we do that, and skip the party at night?

I basically can only come to Vietnam in January, then again 3 months later. If I put off marrying her in Vietnam in January until she can return, God knows when we will have the ceremony and it will be a real let down for her family.

Question: What is CR1? What is CR1 vs K-3?

Some people here were saying CR1 is a good idea, go for it. Almost like CR1 is better than K-3 or K-1 but I don't really know what the deal is.

My hope is that we can have the wedding in January with just the ceremony. Then, a couple of months later get the fiance visa and have her come over here. I have heard horror stories about the US embassy getting all antsy because someone had a wedding ceremony even though there is no legal backing to it....I am just not sure if Vietnam is like that.

I cannot wait to hear your responses so I can formulate a plan and start pushing some papers through.

[Darnell 8,478]

I be clueless on anything Vietnam specific (we've a forum for that)

but do have a read?

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[gendna2 1]

If I understand it correctly, an IR1/CR1 is basically a K-3 visa where you wait for the I-130 to make its way through the system instead of applying for an I-129 as soon as you can.

If anyone else wants to look at the other questions and comment, please

[ScottThuy 140]

You can have a wedding ceremony, and as long as you don't file paperwork with the VN govt, you are not married yet. Then you can tie the govt knot here having filed for K1...

Or you can actually get married VN govt paperwork and all and file CR1 when you get back...

Many have done this.... How many times have you been to VN? How many years have you known her?

[gendna2 1]

The reason I asked about the ceremony is that many others have said on this website that the marriage ceremony can be a K-1 deal breaker. Many have also said the ceremony is country specific. In some countries, having just the ceremony is no problem while in others the ceremony, for whatever reason, gets your K-1 rejected, even if you never performed a legal marriage.

I just want to hear from people who have actually done the whole ceremony and the party and also got their K-1 accepted.

Also, I am confused as to the difference between the engagement ceremony and marriage ceremony because it seems in Vietnam the US embassy keeps asking about this engagement ceremony. Of course I asked my fiance's family if I could marry her, but I do not think that is a ceremony.

[gendna2 1]

I did some more research and it just gets more confusing.

Honestly, the marriage and engagement ceremony are practically the same thing. Different websites note minor differences, but some websites do not even differentiate between the two.

The parents meet, gifts are exchanged, jewelry is exchanged, and a man gives a speech. My fiance made it seem like her friends do this ceremony one day and the next they have the big party. Sometimes people do both on the same day.

The way I understand it, engagement ceremony = marriage ceremony. To really be married, you also need to have the big party where your wife wears a white wedding dress. Am I understanding this correctly?

[ScottThuy 140]

The reason I asked about the ceremony is that many others have said on this website that the marriage ceremony can be a K-1 deal breaker. Many have also said the ceremony is country specific. In some countries, having just the ceremony is no problem while in others the ceremony, for whatever reason, gets your K-1 rejected, even if you never performed a legal marriage.

I just want to hear from people who have actually done the whole ceremony and the party and also got their K-1 accepted.

Also, I am confused as to the difference between the engagement ceremony and marriage ceremony because it seems in Vietnam the US embassy keeps asking about this engagement ceremony. Of course I asked my fiance's family if I could marry her, but I do not think that is a ceremony.

The Embassy in Hanoi has nothing to do with family based immigration. It is all done at the consulate in HCMC. People got rejected because there was an issue with the case presented. If you go in there and say "We had our wedding ceremony look at the photo of my 'wife' in her wedding dress" expect to get denied a K1 visa...

The two ceremonies are different... usually not done on the same day but can be... The engagement ceremony is the two families agreeing to allow you two to get married. has nothing about the two of you wanting to get married.. VN culture is VERY family oriented and the families must agree for it to be... The marriage ceremony is self explanitory... In VN just like in the US, you are not 'married' unless you have a govt document that says so... if you want to go through the traditional oops, do it.. but dont present the CO with photos of her in a wedding dress or talk about a wedding ceremony... just call it the dam hoi.. and don't get a wedding cert from the govt... wait until the US for that...

[gendna2 1]

Ok, now it is starting to make complete sense, thank you.

1. Do you think if I showed the embassy pictures of the wedding ceremony that looks a lot like the engagement ceremony they would be able to tell the difference? Could they look at the jewelry or pick out something and be able to tell? I don't know how sophisticated these people are.

One option would be to have the wedding ceremony and the wedding but tell the HCMC consulate that we just had the engagement ceremony and that is it.

2. Are original signatures required on immigration documents or can copies be made and sent in?

[brr5 6]

Wedding Ceremony = Lễ Thành Hôn *** do not show them photos with this in them if you file for fiancee visa

Engagement Ceremony = Lễ Dính Hôn

HMC Embassy has VN people - they will understand the difference.

Edited August 15, 2012 by brr5

[Doanh M. 4]

Hi there,

I highly recommend that you take more than one trip to Vietnam and take a lot of photo of you and her spending time and travel together. If you don't, the story is not there and you will have a difficult time at the interview.

Also it gives you a chance to really know her.

I actually had both the engagement party and the wedding party on different trips. My engagement party and ceremony was pretty much the same. A little different because at the engagement ceremony, only the engagement ring was given to the girl. At the wedding ceremony my mom, her mom gave her jewelries and everyone gave us gifts and money. That's the major difference.

Like other had said here, they don't send a spy to follow your every step. So have as many wedding parties as you want but don't show them the pictures which contradicts with K1 fiance visa.

Best to you!

Thank you for the great website and all the information. I have gotten a decent understanding of the different processes out there but sometimes, the more I read, the more I get confused. Hopefully some of you will answer my question or tell me "this is what I'd do if I were you."

I am engaged to a girl in Vietnam and have proof of this. Unfortunately, due to my job, my ability to visit Vietnam is limited. I can only go back in January of 2013.

My plan is to have the wedding ceremony in Vietnam in January, but start the K-1 process now.

Question: Will the wedding ceremony in the morning, and the party in the evening, disqualify me from the K-1 process if they somehow find out?

Question: Is the morning "Le Vu Quy" ceremony the same as an "engagement" ceremony that so many people mention here? My fiance said that my parents and hers will talk, and then we are married....but it seems like there might be some miscommunication here.

Question: Assuming the morning ceremony is an engagement ceremony, can we do that, and skip the party at night?

I basically can only come to Vietnam in January, then again 3 months later. If I put off marrying her in Vietnam in January until she can return, God knows when we will have the ceremony and it will be a real let down for her family.

Question: What is CR1? What is CR1 vs K-3?

Some people here were saying CR1 is a good idea, go for it. Almost like CR1 is better than K-3 or K-1 but I don't really know what the deal is.

My hope is that we can have the wedding in January with just the ceremony. Then, a couple of months later get the fiance visa and have her come over here. I have heard horror stories about the US embassy getting all antsy because someone had a wedding ceremony even though there is no legal backing to it....I am just not sure if Vietnam is like that.

I cannot wait to hear your responses so I can formulate a plan and start pushing some papers through.

[gendna2 1]

Considering my work schedule, my family's schedule, traditions, and wanting to do things right, I will legally marry my fiance in Vietnam and use a K-3 Visa.

I wish I could put some of you in my shoes; you would see things differently. Alas, I cannot do that, but thank you for the helpful comments.

The next step is getting my marriage set up in Vietnam, but that does not seem to hard. As for the K-3, it looks like your typical US bureaucratic stumbling block, but I've dealt with plenty of them in my life.

Doing this process made me think "when did my country change from a libertarian republic to a Byzantine Empire?" You play their little game and hopefully you beat it.

[ScottThuy 140]

K3 is obsolete.. CR1 is the route... do some more reading...

[gendna2 1]

Can you elaborate further or point me in the right direction.

According to this website, there is an entire K-3 application pipeline and it is not obsolete.

The way I understand it, you do your I-130, then, once the feds tell you they got your I-130 you go ahead and apply an I-129 on top of that.

If you are lucky, the I-129 process gets complete, your fiance comes to the USA, and then she does her green card interview here.

CR1 just looks like what happens if your I-130 gets processed faster than the I-129 and you have been married less than 2 years.

Please point me to some references, I would really appreciate it.

[ScottThuy 140]

You can file a K3, but they let them Die at NVC... this is why it is said to be obsolete. Both CR1 and K3 had visa interview at the consulate. Greencard 'interiews' may or may not take place after she arrives in the US depending on the case.. Many just get sent the card w/o an interview. If you are getting married in VN.. file CR1... If you decide to wait and get married here. K1...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/253847-why-are-people-advising-others-that-the-k3-is-obsolete/

be sure that you understand what it will take to get married in VN.. including the required documents and the amount of time in VN required to get it done.

[gendna2 1]

Everyone has made it seem like getting married in Vietnam is really difficult. However, just going by the face value of the documents I need to provide, including a power of attorney for my fiance to turn it all in, it does not seem so bad.

I am getting all the documents for Vietnam and I figure in 5 months they will get processed.

I am also very interested in hiring a law firm. This visa thing is too important to just go by myself. If you know any good ones in HCMC, please send me a pm.

Thank you for the forum link, that helps a lot.

Edited August 20, 2012 by gendna2