Dual Citizenship and K3

[ColombianoGringo 0]

I am a US born American citizen who is the son of Colombian parents. I am planning on marrying my girlfriend in Colombia later this year in a civil ceremony. The normal process for an American citizen to marry in Colombia involves a ton of apostilled paperwork. This is especially true since I was previously married and divorced in the US.

However, since I am also a Colombian citizen, I can avoid a lot of the paperwork requirements by getting married as a Colombian citizen. This would only require that I present my Colombian Civil Registration.

Would getting married down there as a Colombian citizen in any way affect my ability to apply for a K3 visa for my new wife? The marriage would be a completely legal civil marriage in Colombia and all my identifying information would be the same. I would love to avoid the hassle of getting all my US documents translated and apostilled, but not if it will cause problems down the road in the K3 process.

Thanks for any information.

CG

[dougyceci 0]

I am no expert here but I can see no reason why this would cause any problems for you. You have dual citizenship, use it. The registro de civil matrimonio y contracto will be the same except for what documents you produced. It will state where you are living and that should be what they look at. Maybe someone else can give you more insight but I was married in Colombia last summer in San Andres, that was easier for me than my colombiana wife.

[jigshafel 0]

I am no expert here but I can see no reason why this would cause any problems for you. You have dual citizenship, use it. The registro de civil matrimonio y contracto will be the same except for what documents you produced. It will state where you are living and that should be what they look at. Maybe someone else can give you more insight but I was married in Colombia last summer in San Andres, that was easier for me than my colombiana wife.

hi. i have a similar situation. i am a dual citizen (US & Philippines). I was undecided whether to use my Filipino citizenship (to avoid the paperwork involved with having to marry as a foreigner) when I got married there. I asked around people who I know had the same questions but had gone through it already. They had told me that their lawyers advised them that to avoid any inconsistencies in the forms you'd need to fill out here AND doubt on the consular officer later on in the process, it would be wise to deal with the paperwork there than risk a more lengthy delay once the papers have been processed. So I decided to get married there as an American. Now it may different per country as the process in Manila may be a lot simpler than the process required in Colombia. Good luck!!

Edited January 10, 2007 by jwilson929

[ColombianoGringo 0]

FYI:

I just got an answer from an immigration attorney I am thinking of using for my future wife's K3. He stated that since the US government recognizes dual citizenship, that marrying as a Colombian citizen should not cause any problems with the K3 application. In my case all of my information is the same as my name, address, etc. are all the same on my Colombian documentation.

Edited January 10, 2007 by ColombianoGringo

[RabbitNYC 0]

Hey there.. well what a surprise.. never have i met someone in the same exact situation I was 2 years ago... I'm also an American Citizen by birth but a Colombian citizen cuz of my parents..

I lived in Colombia for 12 years and I married my then Girlfriend 2 years ago. I got married with my Cedula as a Colombian citizen. I did it this way because of all the paperwork that has to be done if u wanna marry as an American in Colombia.

When I filed my I-130 I just sent my proof of Citizenship along with a translated copy of my marriage certificate and it all worked well. My wife has her interview on Feb. 2..

As long as you have proof of citizenship, your good.

If you have anymore questions, just holls back!

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Thanks everybody.

I only have my "registro civil" so far, but I plan on stopping by the consulate to get my cedula very soon. We are going to do our civil wedding in March or April.

Good luck with your interview.

CG

[ColombianoGringo 0]

I meant RabbitNYC good luck with your wife's upcoming interview.

[Mononoke28 135]

I meant RabbitNYC good luck with your wife's upcoming interview.

ColombianoGringo, I am also a US/Colombian citizen. I got married this past January in a civil ceremony and all I needed was my Registro Civil and my cédula (you can't get married there without them) and you also have to give them a Colombian address. Make sure you get your cédula here in the States (even though is more expensive) because the new process to get it in Colombia at this time is a PAIN in the butt. Also, don't forget to translate your Registro de Matrimonio, you can do it yourself but I found it a bit complicated so I paid $15.000 pesos ($7US) for an official translator to do it for me. Then all you need is send that in your packet with your US birth certificate to show you are a US citizen and there shouldn't be any complications with this. Good luck!