Wedding in fiancée's country for her family before coming to the U.S. on K-1

[baron555 934]

So if there is no actual paperwork generated from the "wedding", how would USCIS make their determination? When they submit their AOS packet it would just be with the US marriage record, there would be no record of anything from their home country.

It has been documented that USCIS can and does check out social websites. At any time until obtain Naturalization, one could run the risk of having USCIS becoming suspicious. The worst case is that they declare you have committed visa fraud and impose a lifetime ban on the beneficiary.

Your choice, your gamble.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Really? I had no idea.

I meant official stance on having a wedding party/civil ceremony/mock wedding outside the US before having a legal and true wedding in the US. I see so many ppl adamantly against having anything outside the country because USCIS might look at it as a real wedding, while I think they really don't care as long as you are not legally married when you enter the country and are prepared to get married in the allotted time frame.

It's a grey area because some in some countries a ceremony alone without paperwork is enough to be seen as a legal wedding from the US's perspective.

It has happened before that somehow the embassy got wind of the ceremony and denied the visa.

Even if you did get the visa, if it came to light later somehow (maybe through foreign records or on social media) that you had the ceremony in the foreign country, the K-1, AOS and Green Card all become invalid and the alien will be deported with a ban for overstaying and also possibly for "lying". No one wants to be looking over their shoulder their whole life for the sake of a party.

[Villanelle 4,122]

So what you are both saying is that basically the wedding in Colombia can never be official, before or after K-1 entry?

thanks to everyone for the quick responses... went with K-1 to avoid the hassle of waiting longer for her to come to the states with K-3 method. I have read a lot of posts and information with people stating that they did a second ceremony for the fiancé(e)'s family in their home country, but never knew the specifics of the "second" ceremonies. So sounds like it is always a non official ceremony without paperwork.

So thus before or after makes no difference (with no papers)?

Huh. So many pages of the same answers and they all glazed over the highlighted red part of the question/

Probably because the more urgent part is as repeated stressed already- the interview is set for June. So the interview will occur, the K1 will be issued/used to travel to the US and a marriage will occur in the US. It is very important that nothing interrupts this process. No other marriage ceremony can occur between today and the actual signing of the marriage certificate by the official proceeding over the events in the US. If it does your K1 visa will be declared null and void. To be extra safe it is recommended that you avoid anything that can even be construed by officials as a marriage ceremony as certain cultures and regions have traditional parties and gatherings and symbolic gestures that are only performed when two people are wed/ For example - jumping the broom. If this is a gesture the extended 'family' would much appreciate viewing symbolically even though a legal document has not been filed in the US, so you perform the act in a party overseas and the Officer is aware of the jumping in the "party" you will be under much pressure to explain that you are not infact wed and still qualify for K1. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_broom) Because the broom jumping is culturally symbolic act in/of a wedding.

NOW all this changes once you are legally wed. Once the K1 visa requirements are met- which is obtaining it, traveling to the US and marrying with in 90 days. You are DONE. You are then free to do as you wish, where you wish, when you wish. Since its a one time entry visa you must file for AP if you wish to leave the US of course, but if you initially wed in Boise Idaho, there is nothing stopping you from traveling to New York New York and renewing your vows there in front of friends and family. Or getting your AP and taking a romantic vacation to Cancun and renewing vows there. Or flying everyone you love to Iceland and having a huge party and wedding celebration there where a priest or official of your choice marries you yet again there.

The only limitations is your and your spouses willingness to continuously say I do- the willingness of the official to perform the ceremony and the location you choose to allow it to occur. Since you are legally wed in the US you are not seeking marriage certificates from every country in the world lol. Theres a thing called reciprocity. It means countries respect each others paperwork. So if you are married here you guys are married there. How silly it would be if the Jones were married for 40years and immigrate to the US and are told sorry grandma and grandpa but in the US you are both single cause your marriage isnt valid!

So if you were to get AP and remarry in your spouses homeland you can look into registering your existing marriage there, there may be benefits to doing so in regards to long term financial planning. Perhaps you plan on retiring there? If you were to travel there you should look into it. Maybe inquire in the regional forums as well.

[EP&PE 6]

What about the bride price ceremony which take place before the wedding in certains country in Afrika?for me it depeds

[ehklei19 18]

Really pretty simple -- if you are married ANYWHERE in the world, it is recognized in the US and you MUST use a Cr-1 / IR-1 visa to enter the US. The K-1 is valid ONLY If you are not married anywhere in the world. So if you get married legally in Colombia, the K-1 is no longer valid and you MUST start over with a CR-1 -- more time, more money down the drain.

K-1 is specifically to get married in the US -- not in addition to somewhere else, but solely in the US.

That's not entirely true. The marriage must be legal in one of the 50 states. So, for example, while it is legal to marry 4 wives in Saudi Arabia, those marriages would not be recognized by the US. Same thing if you married a 14 year old (and it was legal where you did it) it would not be recognized here.

[Villanelle 4,122]

What about the bride price ceremony which take place before the wedding in certains country in Afrika?for me it depeds

From my understanding of the bride price ceremony in regards to certain countries in Africa- it occurs prior to the marriage. Such as an engagement party for traditional American weddings. In a culture where a bride price ceremony is expected- if it does not occur, it will look suspicious and oddly enough the same result can occur- a denial.

Not because you are married or suspected to be married at the K1 interview/ but because you do not have a real relationship! If traditionally you are expected to have a bride price ceremony and you do not- they are going to want to know why you didnt.

USCIS can be complicated and it can be simple.

The best advice is to try not to swim against the ocean current unless you need to. They generally adjudicate the petitions and interview you at your local office and local embassies for a reason- because the people in them live where you live. They know the customs and the culture and whats normal and whats trendy. So you typically dont have to explain to them whats a bride price ceremony or jumping the broom. But by the same logic because they know whats up you can not build a bomb- Im talking gather every little explosive device, tape em all together and just conveniently leave off the fuse and then insist that it is not a bomb! it has no fuse. How dare they think its a bomb.

[Aya820 33]

From my understanding of the bride price ceremony in regards to certain countries in Africa- it occurs prior to the marriage. Such as an engagement party for traditional American weddings. In a culture where a bride price ceremony is expected- if it does not occur, it will look suspicious and oddly enough the same result can occur- a denial.

Not because you are married or suspected to be married at the K1 interview/ but because you do not have a real relationship! If traditionally you are expected to have a bride price ceremony and you do not- they are going to want to know why you didnt.

USCIS can be complicated and it can be simple.

The best advice is to try not to swim against the ocean current unless you need to. They generally adjudicate the petitions and interview you at your local office and local embassies for a reason- because the people in them live where you live. They know the customs and the culture and whats normal and whats trendy. So you typically dont have to explain to them whats a bride price ceremony or jumping the broom. But by the same logic because they know whats up you can not build a bomb- Im talking gather every little explosive device, tape em all together and just conveniently leave off the fuse and then insist that it is not a bomb! it has no fuse. How dare they think its a bomb.

Actually it is the opposite of the statement in red. If Bride Price is paid it is considered being married....therefore this should be avoided as well as giving any gifts. Below are examples of what I am saying. Especially the first link....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/266708-denied-k-1-visa/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/341804-bride-price-payment-caused-visa-delay/