K-1 fiance(e) visa interview

[Habibati & Habibi 21]

Good day

I am going for K-1 visa interview and something that is really stressing us out, when my fiancee met me in my country we made an engagement party and of course we had photos and we put rings in each other fingers, so what we asking is having rings in our fingers will make CO think we married? my fiancee told that in engaement parties in USA a man do not put a ring on his finger till married, but I am puting the ring she gave me all the time since we got enageged, and it showes on some of our photos too (photos we took after engagement party). is that ok? it not going to posses us a problem during interview?

please advice us.

[Athens 101]

I've heard about someone who was denied because of engagement party, the CO believed they were married.  I think it depends on how the party was organised and sometimes it looks like a traditional marriage took place.

When I did my interview,  I had no ring on my finger and in the pics we took too. I will advise you go with pictures that do not show the ring on your finger except if it's a tradition in your country for both men and women to wear engagement ring before getting married.

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Were these photos included in the I-129F petition? If they were, there's nothing you can do about it now.

 

If they weren't, don't bring them to the embassy. Just bring other photos of you together.

 

Your engagement party does sound more like a wedding with ring exchange though you're not actually married. 

 

Be more cautious with what you do and say yet stay honest. 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 hour ago, Tawfik & Marzanna said:

Good day

I am going for K-1 visa interview and something that is really stressing us out, when my fiancee met me in my country we made an engagement party and of course we had photos and we put rings in each other fingers, so what we asking is having rings in our fingers will make CO think we married? my fiancee told that in engaement parties in USA a man do not put a ring on his finger till married, but I am puting the ring she gave me all the time since we got enageged, and it showes on some of our photos too (photos we took after engagement party). is that ok? it not going to posses us a problem during interview?

please advice us.

In my country as well the tradition is that the man wears also an engagement ring. My then fiance did (he's the USC though and we didn't have a party) there was no word about it on the interview. A lot of this will be judged from the norms of the country where the embassy is. Does it look like how a traditional Algerian wedding would look or does it look like an engagement party. The other part is what you say in the interview and how you refer to each other for example (husband/wife or fiance/fiancee) and finally the CO's gut feeling and discretion. Sometimes they make judgment calls that are not correct. At this point there is nothing to do about the ring or the pictures being sent, just be honest when/if asked about it. As always don't answer questions that aren't asked. Meaning, if they don't ask about it, don't volunteer information, cause that in itself can arouse suspicion. You will most likely be fine - Let us know how it goes and good luck! 

Edited July 24, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Habibati & Habibi 21]

I am really confused even more by answers here.

so is it wrong we did an engagement party, yes we did put rings on each other fingers and we had a cake for the party where an announcement was written in both languages arabic and english (happy enagement) and the tradition implies in mycountry we do it like this. so is behaving accourding to tradition and customs make CO suspicious?

we did sent pictures of us and party with I-129 and we got RFE of having met  during teh 2 years and we sent back other pictures.

in my country marriage is announced and registered there is no such a thing official or unofficial marriage.

i do not know what to o the embasy way of thinking.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 hour ago, Tawfik & Marzanna said:

I am really confused even more by answers here.

so is it wrong we did an engagement party, yes we did put rings on each other fingers and we had a cake for the party where an announcement was written in both languages arabic and english (happy enagement) and the tradition implies in mycountry we do it like this. so is behaving accourding to tradition and customs make CO suspicious?

we did sent pictures of us and party with I-129 and we got RFE of having met  during teh 2 years and we sent back other pictures.

in my country marriage is announced and registered there is no such a thing official or unofficial marriage.

i do not know what to o the embasy way of thinking.

It isn't wrong that you did an engagement party, many ppl do that naturally! There is however a risk in sending pictures where it might look like it was actually a wedding ceremony. There are quite a few (it doesn't happen too often, but it does occur) instances where the consulate officer will say "it looks like you got married - you cannot use the K1 visa). You would be too married for K1, not married enough for spousal visa. If friends and family view you as married before you are, then for many intents and purposes you can be considered married. I agree that this is a grey zone and confusing. On VJ it is therefore recommended (simply to avoid even the appearance of it) to not send pictures from engagement parties or ring exchanging ceremonies. Most ppl just don't want to add ANY sort of risk however small to their process. It should be said that many ppl send engagement photos and are perfectly fine. In truth, I don't know for which embassies this is mostly common, however I was quite surprised to see such a denial from the low fraud UK embassy recently. 
No one can guarantee you how the consulate officer will view your specific case and details - you should be fine, but you should also be aware that this is a possibility that exists.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Habibati & Habibi 21]

1 hour ago, Suss&Camm said:

It isn't wrong that you did an engagement party, many ppl do that naturally! There is however a risk in sending pictures where it might look like it was actually a wedding ceremony. There are quite a few (it doesn't happen too often, but it does occur) instances where the consulate officer will say "it looks like you got married - you cannot use the K1 visa). You would be too married for K1, not married enough for spousal visa. If friends and family view you as married before you are, then for many intents and purposes you can be considered married. I agree that this is a grey zone and confusing. On VJ it is therefore recommended (simply to avoid even the appearance of it) to not send pictures from engagement parties or ring exchanging ceremonies. Most ppl just don't want to add ANY sort of risk however small to their process. It should be said that many ppl send engagement photos and are perfectly fine. In truth, I don't know for which embassies this is mostly common, however I was quite surprised to see such a denial from the low fraud UK embassy recently. 
No one can guarantee you how the consulate officer will view your specific case and details - you should be fine, but you should also be aware that this is a possibility that exists.

 

thanks for the reply,

how could someone be too married for K1, and not married enough for spousal visa. so what is the marriage notion then? in my culture there is no such a things.in my culture also have other views about the ring, some culture say engagement should be one set of ring and wedding two sets so I am really confused.

I am going just to the interveiw and just answer the CO questions and that is all.

thanks for the answer.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

9 minutes ago, Tawfik & Marzanna said:

thanks for the reply,

how could someone be too married for K1, and not married enough for spousal visa. so what is the marriage notion then? in my culture there is no such a things.in my culture also have other views about the ring, some culture say engagement should be one set of ring and wedding two sets so I am really confused.

I am going just to the interveiw and just answer the CO questions and that is all.

thanks for the answer.

I can't answer "why?". It's just the way it is. It's better to aware of it then to not know. Here are some other threads about it. I personally think you will be fine, local customs i.e. how it would be viewed locally play a great role and as you are saying that in your home country there is no such thing, the risk would be smaller.

Yes, ofc always answer all questions - I'm sorry that you couldn't get the absolute reassurance you were looking for. The facts aren't always what we want to hear. I wish you good luck

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Redheadguy03 505]

Lots of people have been denied for having engagement parties. Yes, in some countries its normal, but in the United States not so much. 

 

If they think it looks like a marriage even if it's not they'll deny it. If that's the case you'll have to get officially married and file for the cr1. 

[USAMorocco 143]

14 hours ago, Tawfik & Marzanna said:

Good day

I am going for K-1 visa interview and something that is really stressing us out, when my fiancee met me in my country we made an engagement party and of course we had photos and we put rings in each other fingers, so what we asking is having rings in our fingers will make CO think we married? my fiancee told that in engaement parties in USA a man do not put a ring on his finger till married, but I am puting the ring she gave me all the time since we got enageged, and it showes on some of our photos too (photos we took after engagement party). is that ok? it not going to posses us a problem during interview?

please advice us.

My husband is from Morocco and came on a K1.  We had matching rings that had hearts on them.  He wore his and nothing was said.

[Habibati & Habibi 21]

thank you for the reply, well this nice that they did not said anything, but cases at embassy at dealt with uniquely to say.

so there is no law how it will be.

[Bren9218 11]

On 7/24/2017 at 9:27 AM, Tawfik & Marzanna said:

I am really confused even more by answers here.

so is it wrong we did an engagement party, yes we did put rings on each other fingers and we had a cake for the party where an announcement was written in both languages arabic and english (happy enagement) and the tradition implies in mycountry we do it like this. so is behaving accourding to tradition and customs make CO suspicious?

we did sent pictures of us and party with I-129 and we got RFE of having met  during teh 2 years and we sent back other pictures.

in my country marriage is announced and registered there is no such a thing official or unofficial marriage.

i do not know what to o the embasy way of thinking.

The consulate officers are trained to look for signs of Nikah marriages hidden as an engagement party.  They are aware that some religious ceremonies can join the couple in marriage even without a certificate. If there was no imam present at your party, then you have nothing to hide. Hope this helps.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

5 minutes ago, Bren9218 said:

The consulate officers are trained to look for signs of Nikah marriages hidden as an engagement party.  They are aware that some religious ceremonies can join the couple in marriage even without a certificate. If there was no imam present at your party, then you have nothing to hide. Hope this helps.

This is not just a Muslim occurance - it happens to ppl from all faiths. 

[Bren9218 11]

11 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

This is not just a Muslim occurance - it happens to ppl from all faiths. 

Islam is the official religion in Algeria, the country where this interview will be taking place.  I was answering their case specifically, but yes, other ceremonies of commitment can get you a refusal as well.

[TheSkywalkers 143]

On 7/24/2017 at 10:27 AM, Tawfik & Marzanna said:

in my country marriage is announced and registered there is no such a thing official or unofficial marriage.

i do not know what to o the embasy way of thinking.

The thing is, consuls are trained to be doubtful of the cases they handle because that makes them look at the situation from a different perspective. If the consul suspects that this is not just a typical engagement party, it would be hard to convince them otherwise. That would be a tough case to prove. Best of luck!