Red Flags - timing and informal wedding

[flicki 0]

My Fiance and I are planning on getting married in Germany this Christmas. We have decided to have the formal wedding celebratio in the following summer, but to expedite the CR-1 Visa process we will marry ASAP.

We were planning not having any formal wedding this Christmas, just go to city hall and tie the knot. We will probably be joined by only our parents. Are required to show proof of a wedding via pictures during the visa process?

Also does filing for the CR-1 visa just a few weeks after the wedding raise any red flags?

[girl 37 7]

We weren't asked for any photos at either the K-3 or CR-1 interview, but it seems to vary by country. (Doesn't seem like Germany's a high fraud-risk country, but maybe check in your regional forum to see what others going through the same consulate have to say about showing extra evidence at their interviews.)

Lots of couples file their I-130 right after getting married. That shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!

[YuAndDan 153]

All that is required is proof, the marriage certificate is proof.

[lucyrich 20]

We filed the day after we were married. That doesn't raise any red flags. It's quite a normal thing to do for a couple who is in a hurry to get started spending their life together in the US.

They didn't ask to see our wedding pictures. They may or may not ask to see yours. But there's no requirement to have a big formal ceremony with lots of guests. Lots of genuine couples have very small civil weddings. There's a requirement to be legally married, but your proof of that is the marriage certificate. Beyond that, the "big picture" of your relationship just needs to be consistent with a couple that is not marrying for the purpose of immigration fraud. There's no requirement to have a camera at the wedding.

You may want to have a camera at your small wedding and take pictures regardless of whether they're needed for immigration. If they ask to see the pictures, show them with pride. Tell them the truth, don't apologize for having a small civil cermony, and if you like, tell them you're planning a bigger party after you get the visa.

[SarahK 0]

They won't think this is unusual. In Germany you are required to have a civil wedding first anyway, so they are used to seeing that. We had our marriage in Germany and then filed our paperwork after that. My husband brought photos of our civil ceremony with him to his interview in Frankfurt, but they didn't ask to see any of them, and only asked him two questions at the inteview before sending him on his way as "approved"