Wedding is overseas. How does the visa work?

[Darnell 8,478]

Hi, so my fiancé and I got engaged over the holidays, and we want to have our wedding in Brazil where most of our family members live (including my fiancé....for now). We've already booked the church and reception, and it needs to be during that time of the year for me to be able to get away from work. I almost have all of our paperwork to send in the I-129F petition for K-1 fiancé visa.

Anyway, we were planning on getting the civil wedding done as soon as he gets here to begin the process of adjusting his status so that he can work/study. The wedding is in late December in Brazil. I assume that with the petition and visa processes he will only be able to come to the United States in September at the absolute earliest. Would he be able to go to Brazil for the wedding and come back to the US if his status has not been adjusted yet? Should we just do the religious ceremony first and get the civil part handled after the December wedding?

Thanks!

Here's a thought, instead.

get the civil done NOW in Brasil, since the two of you are still there,

and then file the I-130 into the lockbox/Chicago address,

chasing a CR-1 visa.

Sure, it means you get married THIS WEEK in a civil ceremony, but if'n you file on Friday, there's a chance of a different calendar.

[Nemo2010 0]

Great advice from everybody!

To clarify, I live and work in the United States. My fiancé and I have been in a relationship for 3 and a half years now. We see each other at least twice a year.

Now, I talked to a paralegal that specializes in immigration, and she too recommended the CR-1. She told me the timeline for the green card between the CR-1 and K-1 would be roughly the same. I would have to travel to Brazil as soon as I have the chance to have the civil ceremony. However, a co-worker that got a green card last year warned me that if we get married in Brazil, it will take much longer to get the green card. He said my fiancé should come up here and get married here because it will move much faster. I told him that can be considered fraud if my fiancé comes up and stays. I've also seen that if we get married here and he goes back after the wedding, we will be ok. I want us to be able to be together as fast as we can and not lose the deposits on the wedding in Brazil. I know it was not the smartest thing to do before starting this process, but the deed is done. Also, the December wedding is just a religious ceremony and is in no way considered binding under Brazilian law unless we decide we want it to be.

[Darnell 8,478]

OK. I give up. I will seek a place to give advice about growing spirulina for fun and profit, instead.

[SparklePony 238]

The issue with having a religious ceremony, even if not legally binding, is that you run the risk of the CO at the Embassy denying you the visa on account of being already married. Now, that tends to happen more in countries where the religious wedding has strong cultural meaning, and there are a few threads on here of couples who were denied the K1 for this very reason. From what I know, Brazil doesn't fall into that category of countries, but the risk is still there and you should be aware of it. I suppose if you do all that after the visa is issued (given that it has a 6 month expiration date), it might not be as big a problem, but it's still a risk.

As for what your co-worker said, one personal example should not influence your decision. It has been explained before that when you file for a CR-1, the green card is included, so what your co-worker said is technically incorrect. It doesn't take longer to get the green card on a CR-1, it takes longer to get the visa. So it is a gamble. Doing the CR-1 alone, or the K1+AOS+AP/EAD, which will take longest? No one can predict that for you - absolutely no one.

Also, in the case of having your fiance go visit you, get married, then return to Brazil so you can do the December reception and file for the visa, not only do you run the risk of being denied at the border for fear of overstay, it also makes little sense, to me. Might as well do the full package at the December ceremony. And you are correct in what you told your co-worker, that it could be considered fraud.