This may seem silly but... Scheduling the wedding!?

[kew612 1]

So forgive me if this is a super silly question (or if there are a lot of threads about it), but I want to hear some stories!

My fiancé and I are in the throes of wedding planning, but the idea that we could pick a date that is before his approval or too late AFTER the approval is terrifying!

So what did y'all do?

We were thinking, ideally, we'd apply in August 2014 and be able to get married (or "married," as in venues, flowers, cake but maybe not legally, lawfully, sign the certificate yet if the visa isn't ready yet) in June 2015. We are looking at a venue when he visits this weekend. Is it possible to have a "ceremony" and reception of sorts, and then get "married" after? Or vice versa? Should we just wait until the petition is approved?

As if wedding planning weren't already insane enough...

[JIJourney 96]

No. Do not wait until the petition is approved. That still gives plenty of room for error.

Your best bet is to wait until the K1 VISA is approved than marry away!

[sweetswinks 400]

So forgive me if this is a super silly question (or if there are a lot of threads about it), but I want to hear some stories!

My fiancé and I are in the throes of wedding planning, but the idea that we could pick a date that is before his approval or too late AFTER the approval is terrifying!

So what did y'all do?

We were thinking, ideally, we'd apply in August 2014 and be able to get married (or "married," as in venues, flowers, cake but maybe not legally, lawfully, sign the certificate yet if the visa isn't ready yet) in June 2015. We are looking at a venue when he visits this weekend. Is it possible to have a "ceremony" and reception of sorts, and then get "married" after? Or vice versa? Should we just wait until the petition is approved?

As if wedding planning weren't already insane enough...

No no no no, this is a red flag. Do not do anything remotely close to getting married or having a wedding while your K1 visa is processing. If the u.s. consulate sees this, you will be denied, it makes you unqualified for a K1 fiané visa.

My fiancé and I are legally getting married September 7th (after my arrival) and we're having a big wedding July 2015.

No. Do not wait until the petition is approved. That still gives plenty of room for error.

Your best bet is to wait until the K1 VISA is approved than marry away!

Did you mean to say that?!

[JIJourney 96]

No no no no, this is a red flag. Do not do anything remotely close to getting married or having a wedding while your K1 visa is processing. If the u.s. consulate sees this, you will be denied, it makes you unqualified for a K1 fiané visa.

My fiancé and I are legally getting married September 7th (after my arrival) and we're having a big wedding July 2015.

Did you mean to say that?!

Yes because the petition being approved means NOA2. Do NOT, I repeat they should NOT get married after approval of petition (NOA2) because it is still during the process.

They should wait until they get the k1 VISA in hand and travel to states and get married.

[sweetswinks 400]

Yes because the petition being approved means NOA2. Do NOT, I repeat they should NOT get married after approval of petition (NOA2) because it is still during the process.

They should wait until they get the k1 VISA in hand and travel to states and get married.

If you go back and read again what you said, you told OP "No. Do not wait until the petition is approved. That still gives plenty of room for error."

On reading it, what it implies is that they should marry now before I129f petition is approved.

What they should be doing is waiting until they receive their K1 visa and have entered the Unites States.

[kew612 1]

Wow, thanks for all the help! I understood what JIJourney meant (don't wait for NOA2, wait longer than that - got it). Thanks for clarifying though, sweetswinks.

So I suppose we will worry about the visa for 2014/1st half of 2015, and the wedding planning can come later. Again, thanks to both of you for the replies!!

[JIJourney 96]

i was not saying they should get married before the petition approval.

I was basically replying to the OP's question "Should we just wait until the petition is approved?"

That is definitely a No No. From my understanding they were asking RIGHT after NOA2 can they have a wedding?

I was implying that they were talking about getting married (even before the petition gets to the embassy, etc.) and thats a No.

Then I said "They should wait until they get the k1 VISA in hand and travel to states and get married."

anyways now were on the same page lol.

so kew, now you got some great advice haha

Wow, thanks for all the help! I understood what JIJourney meant (don't wait for NOA2, wait longer than that - got it). Thanks for clarifying though, sweetswinks.

So I suppose we will worry about the visa for 2014/1st half of 2015, and the wedding planning can come later. Again, thanks to both of you for the replies!!

No problem.

Sorry for the confusion. Sweetstinks and us are pretty good friends so no hard feelings lol. Good luck on your Journey!

[kew612 1]

Oh, to clarify my question though - I wasn't talking about when I should HAVE the wedding, but when we can start planning it. Like, for instance, picking a date.

When do you think it is ok to finally be like "Ok, let's pick a date for our big wedding ceremony and reception"? Sorry if I was unclear!

[sweetswinks 400]

Oh, to clarify my question though - I wasn't talking about when I should HAVE the wedding, but when we can start planning it. Like, for instance, picking a date.

When do you think it is ok to finally be like "Ok, let's pick a date for our big wedding ceremony and reception"? Sorry if I was unclear!

If you're sending your petition in August, and you live in NY, your petition will be forwarded to TSC.

You can expect a wait of 6-8 months for NOA2, and another 3months(ish) until the interview, so say an arrival date of June/July would be fine to have a big wedding, just bare in mind you need to leave yourself plenty of room to get things done.

[kehills 217]

Oh, to clarify my question though - I wasn't talking about when I should HAVE the wedding, but when we can start planning it. Like, for instance, picking a date.

When do you think it is ok to finally be like "Ok, let's pick a date for our big wedding ceremony and reception"? Sorry if I was unclear!

You can start planning whenever you want. You shouldn't set a date or make any reservations until the VISA is in hand - there's no way to guarantee you won't sit in AP for months, there won't be RFEs, etc.

If you want a big fancy floofy wedding that requires months of planning and reservations, you should probably plan on having a courthouse wedding after your fiancé enters the country on the K1 VISA, and then plan a big floofy wedding after the legal wedding.

[kew612 1]

We kind of do want a big floofy wedding. Guilty!

Thank you all again for the advice!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

After your visa is approved, you will have about 6 months to use it. Then you will have 90 days in which to get married. That gives you 9 months to plan a wedding.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

You can start planning whenever you want. You shouldn't set a date or make any reservations until the VISA is in hand - there's no way to guarantee you won't sit in AP for months, there won't be RFEs, etc.

If you want a big fancy floofy wedding that requires months of planning and reservations, you should probably plan on having a courthouse wedding after your fiancé enters the country on the K1 VISA, and then plan a big floofy wedding after the legal wedding.

^^ This. That is what we did.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

After your visa is approved, you will have about 6 months to use it. Then you will have 90 days in which to get married. That gives you 9 months to plan a wedding.

Note: 6 months to use it. If you enter the USA before 6 months, your 90 days begins. It's better to just come to the USA, get married in a courthouse with a few witnesses and then plan a big wedding/reception later.

[Dave&Roza 748]

It depends on what is important to you and your fiance. If a big wedding is important AND it must be the official wedding, then start planing now, but do not commit to anything until the visa is in your hands. Then see about dates and set a date that falls within the maximum of the expiration date of the visa (typically 6 months, but please check YOUR visa to see when it expires and enter the US before that date) plus the 90 days after arrival to get married and plan accordingly. If getting here as fast as possible is the main goal, then enter the US right after the visa is issued and get married at the courthouse and file for AOS (adjustment of status) and then have a party later.

Good luck,

Dave