F2A visa; Court Marriage; Any issues?

[jeharpatel31 6]

Hey VJ members.

So here's the deal. My husband is a LPR and I'm an Indian citizen. We have been together since 2009 and got married in March 2015 after he moved to US and got his GC. The thing is we didn't have a big fancy wedding! We just went to the court and had a court marriage! Now I'm worried that that when the time comes for my interview, I won't have any "wedding" pictures to show to the interviewer! We do have a gazillion pictures of us together before he left for US and when he came to India to visit me twice in past two years. And the chats and calls too. Will all this be enough to prove that our marriage is genuine? Also, only my parents and his parents know about the marriage. We didn't tell our relatives about our relationship. Is that going to be an issue? Because I've heard that the Embassy sometimes conducts checks where they call relatives or neighbors and ask questions. Don't know for sure though. Any insight will be appreciated. ?

[apple21 953]

We didn't have a big wedding either and my in-laws were not present because of budget restrictions but that was not an issue during my interview. Relax. Just bring whatever evidence you have and you'll be fine. The embassy doesn't care if you had a church or civil wedding as long as the wedding is recognizable by both your country and them. And who cares about relatives and neighbors? Hahaha. They don't play a part in your immigration journey. What matters is you and your spouse.

Good luck!

[cd37 229]

It doesn't matter if you had small court wedding or big ceremony where you spent millions. Not everybody can afford big fat wedding. They want to see bonafide marriage not how much you spent on your wedding. Collect documents on how your relationship has developed and don't worry about interview. Good luck

[amul 229]

Hey VJ members.

So here's the deal. My husband is a LPR and I'm an Indian citizen. We have been together since 2009 and got married in March 2015 after he moved to US and got his GC. The thing is we didn't have a big fancy wedding! We just went to the court and had a court marriage! Now I'm worried that that when the time comes for my interview, I won't have any "wedding" pictures to show to the interviewer! We do have a gazillion pictures of us together before he left for US and when he came to India to visit me twice in past two years. And the chats and calls too. Will all this be enough to prove that our marriage is genuine? Also, only my parents and his parents know about the marriage. We didn't tell our relatives about our relationship. Is that going to be an issue? Because I've heard that the Embassy sometimes conducts checks where they call relatives or neighbors and ask questions. Don't know for sure though. Any insight will be appreciated. ?

We had a court marriage as well and are still at the beginning of our journey, hence I cannot add personal anecdotes on the topic. However what I gather is that, the calls to family etc. mostly happen when the VO suspects the legitimacy of the marriage.

I know that Indian Embassy is particularly picky when it comes to traditions (large weddings, lavish invitations, pictures, family consent etc. etc.), but there are many people who get approved without these things.

At first we had an information overload and got frazzled thinking about all the red flags, India related customs/traditions/norms etc. etc., but then me and hubby decided to focus on our relationship and nothing else.

If we start to stress out about all the hurdles we need to jump, we would miss out on what makes us a couple. We still collect all the pertinent info (boarding passes, chats, receipts, pictures etc.), but that is where we draw the line.

Breath and just spend as much time as you guys can. Stressing out about something that has not yet occurred can take its toll on your health and burden your relationship. As my bestie puts it, "just do you!" and focus on what matters.

Best to you and yours.

[jeharpatel31 6]

Thank you everyone for responding! It certainly helped me a lot! ???