Questions about Getting Married

[Villanelle 4,122]

You know Im kinda looking through the AOS procedures to see if I can find something that specifically says they wont accept a foreign marriage certificate with your AOS from a K1. But I cant find anything..

Like Aaron said, it would be a real pisser if they reject you for it. The K1 says you have to come to the US and get married in 90 days in the US, however the AOS guidelines make no mention of the AOS application from the K1 person needing to be a US marriage certificate. I guess because K1s can not leave the US, its a one time entry. Its a very rare situation what youre proposing. The only places where someone could get a marriage certificate in the US w/o leaving the US would be at a foreign embassy, so I guess it doesnt come up much and they dont have specific clause forbidding it (?) Doesnt mean they allow it either though...

So IMO it could go either way...

I guess its your choice, if you do decide to marry at the embassy and have a marriage cert from Egypt you can file the AOS under the K1, and hope they dont reject it. If they do then you lost the money and youll just have to refile and pay the fee to resubmit the 130 and 485. Or you can elect to just file the 130 and 485 from the beginning and know that it will be approved, but you already paid for the 129, so its kind of like try to get away with paying for 2 applications, but if you dont you pay for 4 or pay for 3.

(Either way, you have nothing to worry about in regards to intent or fraud, your intent is sound in getting the K1, you plan on marrying in the US, its just a question of where in the US and if the resulting certificate you get will qualify you to adjust as a K1- you can try to call and speak to a tier 2 rep maybe? perhaps anon so its not tagged to your case and then they do say you have intent to marry in a foreign location and see if they have any idea but like I said I read the guidelines and its not mentioned at all- it just says marriage certificate, nothing about whether it must be a US one for those adjusting from K visas.)

[Peace.... 281]

1359928327[/url]' post='5957667']

There are plenty of Christian religious issues that can arise from a marriage taking place in a masjid, involving a Christian that have nothing to do with "issues of you marrying a Muslim". What squares away for you religiously might not for someone else. What you did is certainly not orthodox by any means, religiously. No one is hassling you about that, and they shouldn't, but it's weird the way you're dogging her here.

no one is dogging her here... I asked, she answered, no need for you to be condesending as usual to most of us here.

[visaqueries 111]

I really appreciate all the work so many of you are doing to help me find the answer to my questions. It feels great to know that others could become "invested" in the queries of a stranger. Thank you, Capri, for looking at the AOS guidelines for me. And thanks also, "Togetherforever13" for posting the Arabic Marriage information coming from the Chicago Consulate. I will continue the research, and if something definitive arises, I'll share it here.

Edited February 3, 2013 by visaqueries

[Peace.... 281]

1359928319[/url]' post='5957666']

What an exciting celebration you have! Happy anniversary.

Thank you....i hope you find a way for both of you to be happy.

[wantknow 11]

You know Im kinda looking through the AOS procedures to see if I can find something that specifically says they wont accept a foreign marriage certificate with your AOS from a K1. But I cant find anything..

Like Aaron said, it would be a real pisser if they reject you for it. The K1 says you have to come to the US and get married in 90 days in the US, however the AOS guidelines make no mention of the AOS application from the K1 person needing to be a US marriage certificate. I guess because K1s can not leave the US, its a one time entry. Its a very rare situation what youre proposing. The only places where someone could get a marriage certificate in the US w/o leaving the US would be at a foreign embassy, so I guess it doesnt come up much and they dont have specific clause forbidding it (?) Doesnt mean they allow it either though...

So IMO it could go either way...

I guess its your choice, if you do decide to marry at the embassy and have a marriage cert from Egypt you can file the AOS under the K1, and hope they dont reject it. If they do then you lost the money and youll just have to refile and pay the fee to resubmit the 130 and 485. Or you can elect to just file the 130 and 485 from the beginning and know that it will be approved, but you already paid for the 129, so its kind of like try to get away with paying for 2 applications, but if you dont you pay for 4 or pay for 3.

(Either way, you have nothing to worry about in regards to intent or fraud, your intent is sound in getting the K1, you plan on marrying in the US, its just a question of where in the US and if the resulting certificate you get will qualify you to adjust as a K1- you can try to call and speak to a tier 2 rep maybe? perhaps anon so its not tagged to your case and then they do say you have intent to marry in a foreign location and see if they have any idea but like I said I read the guidelines and its not mentioned at all- it just says marriage certificate, nothing about whether it must be a US one for those adjusting from K visas.)

Everyone has made some great points here with this delima .... Best of luck on her decision

[sandinista! 1,816]

no one is dogging her here... I asked, she answered, no need for you to be condesending as usual to most of us here.

She said on the first page they had both agreed to not get married by their respective faiths' officiants. What's condescending is telling other people what issues they should or shouldn't have, religiously, because your family was cool with what you did. You are not her. your family is not hers. Another family's objections to that kind of a wedding ceremony does not inevitably mean they have issues with her marrying a Muslim in the first place either, it could be a myriad other issues or reasons!

[Mithra 1,185]

Can't you get married at the justice of the peace? It's non religious and legal. Why would you want to complicate matters by having to travel to the nearest Egyptian embassy? You can register the marriage with Egypt at a later date.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Perhaps the issue is that the Justice of the Peace will probably not be Muslim? But the officiant at the Egyptian embassy is more likely to be? Who knows.

[Mithra 1,185]

If the ceremony is non religious does it matter if the person officiating is Muslim? I mean if it's not going to involve scripture of some kind, does it really matter? Also, how does getting married at the Egyptian embassy satisfy the fiancé's religious requirements if it's not a religious ceremony? And what about you, OP? What about YOUR religious requirements? Or does your religion not count? Just curious because this all seems one sided and catering to your fiancé, only.

[sandinista! 1,816]

no idea, but then i don't understand the big poufy dress thing at weddings, or stupid cakes and all that nonsense. weddings and people's preferences for certain things at weddings are nutty, imo.

you hit on a really important thing there, re. some women on this forum throwing out their religious preferences for that of their spouse's at weddings. some people are irreligious, but nominally christian, and don't care one way or another. but that many?

there's a trend on vj mena anyways, from my observation. as a muslim it's not like i'm advocating for muslims to get married to their christian spouses in churches, but i wonder why it's so often my way or the highway for how lots of mena guys want to get married.

[visaqueries 111]

You have lots of really great questions, and I don't know that I have all the answers to them. At this point, I don't fully understand what a marriage at an Embassy/Consulate would look like. I guess as I explore the possibility of this scenario, I'll figure it out. I don't like to go into anything unprepared, so as I gather details, I'll be able to understand it more fully. My fiance and I have had many conversations about this, and I know we will have many more. That will help us as well.

Does this satisfy the requirements of my religion? Simple answer, no. I should be married by a minister in my faith. However, it also says that we should obey the laws of the land. Now, the next question is...will marrying in an Egyptian Embassy be following the "laws of the land"? That's another part of the puzzle I'm trying to figure out.

Our NOA1 was filed in August, and I imagine it will be a few weeks before I hear anything about that. I've read that the interview usually takes 4.5 months to occur (along with the time it takes to go from the CSC to the NVC to the American Consulate in Egypt). My point is...we have many months to talk about all of this. I will be visiting him in May, and we will have a better chance then to talk about all of our options.

Really, having interfaith marriages can take an extra measure of work, love, and understanding because we both have to give a little. As I continue to ask questions, I will know more. That's really what I want--to figure it all out.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Now, this is assuming that they even do weddings at the Embassy/Consulate...

Could I first go to the courthouse, get married then turn around and fly to the Consulate/Embassy closest to my residence and get married there? Or, could the Egyptian Embassy issue two certificates--one to file in Cairo and one to file in the US?

Of course, these are the things I don't know...are marriages like I'm talking about even performed at an Embassy/Consulate? If not, problem solved...Do the people who perform these supposed weddings have dual certifications--meaning are they able to marry people both out in the public US sector and in the Embassy/Consulate sector? If yes, can this qualify for an American wedding?

Do people in this forum who are married to Egyptian citizens while living in the US also file their marriages in Egypt? I have mentioned before that I've never been married, so I really don't know anything about documenting a marriage. I do notice that there are people who have several marriages--some US side then also in Egypt (not sure if that's for all the families to see or to fulfill some other rule).

Heres some interesting information about this ^

My intital reaction to your post was - no to most of what you said. Typically the person marrying you is only going to be authorized to wed people under one authority. Not Egyptian auth and US authority. Its only going to be recorded in one book of records, but then I found this titled- How to Determine Whether a Foreign Marriage Is Valid

U.S. states typically recognize a foreign marriage -- but don't take any chances

most of the steps can be of help to you (forgetting the fact that hes talking about 2 USC getting married abroad)

Step 1:

Check with a specific country's embassy regarding any residency requirements or waiting periods that will affect your foreign marriage ceremony. Often you can find the information through the country's official tourism website.

Step 2:

Contact the American Embassy in that country or the attorney general of that country and ask if marriages between two U.S. citizens in that country are recognized by the United States. Check with the attorney general's office in your state of residence to be sure if a foreign marriage license is legal where you live.

Step 3:

Make sure the individual performing the ceremony is authorized to do so. This is most often a judge or religious representative. Members of the military are not permitted to perform marriages.

Step 4:

Provide marriage documents signed by the two individuals and the performing authority, as well as witnesses. You must purchase the foreign marriage certificate from that country and may bring it to the American embassy, which will authorize this certificate for a small fee.

Step 5:

Make sure the marriage certificate from the foreign country is in English and that the marriage complies with all American laws governing marriage, such as the mandate that both individuals be over 18 unless signed consent from the parents of the underage person is permitted.

Step 6:

For extra peace of mind, check with your county courthouse to see if you can record your foreign marriage on your local marriage rolls.

What I take from this:

You must contact the embassy and see if they would be even able to marry you guys w/o a waiting period. (as taken from step 1) from step 2- contact the attorney general in your area and find out if a foreign marriage certificate is a valid recognized marriage in your state (if its not, then it wont meet the K1 guidelines) Step 4 raises a lot of questions- youre in the US, so theres no American Embassy, so I dont know where you would get it authenticated (?) (authenticating means - the consular official at the American embassy abroad checked that the laws of the country where the marriage is performed were all followed and authenticated your foreign marriage documents. The fee for authentication of a document is approximately $32.00.) Step 6 contact your local county clerk and ask about if its possible to register your foreign marriage on the rolls. See what they can tell you.(what kind of proof you get if they are able to record you to the rolls as well) Your local clerk may not be able to help you. They may direct you to the clerk in the county where the marriage took place (the county where the embassy is located) So you may have to make a few phone calls/send some emails and see what kind of info you can get.

[Mithra 1,185]

I just discussed this with my Egyptian husband and he said getting married at the Egyptian embassy will not fulfill any religious requirements for your fiancé. He was like, there are Christians in Egypt, too so what does the Egyptian embassy have to do with Islamic religious requirements? If your fiancé was so concerned about being married by Egyptian authority perhaps he should've pushed for getting married in Egypt. Seriously, why complicate things?

[visaqueries 111]

Thanks for all that information.

If it weren't me in this quest, I'm sure I would also wonder why complicate things. If I continue on the path of discovery, it might be that I spent a ton of time just to find out that we should get married at the courthouse and let it be done. I can live with that. However, if this is important to him, I'll still check it out. After all, putting me on this mission has done a lot for keeping me from sitting around wondering, "Where in the world is my NOA2?" Thank you as well for your thoughs and ideas. It's much appreciated.

[devotedpartners 77]

I too come from a strong christian family but they all understand one thing, and that is we all believe in the same God no matter where we attend our christian services, so marrying in a mosque should not be the issue with a christian family unless of course they have issues of you marrying a muslim to begin with.

Two years ago tomorrow,, I married my loving husband at the mosque by an Imam and witnesses. The Imam spoke of marriage in great detail and the importance of marriage. Our marriage is valid, and its also recognized in Morocco due to the fact we were married by a muslim and not the courthouse.

Best of luck...

Its nice to see other couples getting married at the mosque. Me and my wife will be married next month at the local mosque as well. My wife is very curious and we share an account here and we are new to the forum. Could you share your experience with her?