Ceremony/Reception while K1 Visa is Pending

[NikLR 13,232]

It's a risky route to take.  The CO could decide the wedding is legal regardless. The CBP could deny entry if they think the beneficiary is married too.  

Considering the 10s of thousands of K1 who manage to make sure they plan a wedding around their visa it's certainly possible.  

You have 6 months from the medical date to immigrate after getting the visa. You have 90 days to get married after immigrating.. plenty of time to plan a wedding.  You can also plan a wedding, get married, and there is an immigration route for a spouse. 

[Lemonslice 4,991]

1 hour ago, goodyblmp said:

I know what you mean. It isn’t a legal marriage in anyway so you should be okay.  (We were.) You or your fiancée will just need to be prepared to prove that you aren’t legally married and any questions that may follow throughout the remainder of the K1 process. 

How do you prove your not married?

[Unlockable 7,316]

On 4/12/2018 at 7:18 PM, RB&MN said:

I was told by a lawyer today that there is nothing preventing me from having a religious ceremony and party afterwards. As long as i don't go out and try to get a wedding marriage certificate and try to be legally married. He did mention that I don't need to advertise the whole thing. So I don't know what to do but my gut tells me to stick with the K1.

 

Thanks,

 

Rabel

 

2 hours ago, goodyblmp said:

I know what you mean. It isn’t a legal marriage in anyway so you should be okay.  (We were.) You or your fiancée will just need to be prepared to prove that you aren’t legally married and any questions that may follow throughout the remainder of the K1 process. 

Here is the thing that many of you are not getting. Whether marriage is legal or not or letters written etc etc. It is not a legal case. A CO CAN DENY A VISA BASED ON HIS OR HER PERCEPTION. 

 

You can throw legal documents and lawyers at the CO all you want but they can still deny it. 

 

We have seen people get denied for having engagement 'parties" that wasn't even a ceremony.

 

So the question is, why even risk it?

[pajobra 1,395]

5 hours ago, NikLR said:

It's a risky route to take.  The CO could decide the wedding is legal regardless. The CBP could deny entry if they think the beneficiary is married too.  

Considering the 10s of thousands of K1 who manage to make sure they plan a wedding around their visa it's certainly possible.  

You have 6 months from the medical date to immigrate after getting the visa. You have 90 days to get married after immigrating.. plenty of time to plan a wedding.  You can also plan a wedding, get married, and there is an immigration route for a spouse. 

I agree it is really risky for the OP. Personally I wish I had come down on a CR1 but lol what we did was forgo the big wedding went for a court wedding and then a year later have another wedding/reception where all my family and friends can come down as well as my husbands.  They do say do not plan a wedding until you have VISA in hand for a reason. lol

[geowrian 22,338]

Yup,, definitely risky IMO. Who wants to spend the money and risk starting the process over? I'm not much of a gambling man normally, but he risk/reward just does not look good IMO. We see somebody being denied due to being "too married" maybe a couple times a month on VJ. It's not common, but it's not uncommon either.

[RB&MN 3]

Quote

 

How long can my wife visit the US for on a pending K3 visa?

[pajobra 1,395]

1 hour ago, RB&MN said:

How long can my wife visit the US for on a pending K3 visa?

Wife? I thought you guys were going K-1 and not married. K3 is a pretty much defunct visa. If you are married you need to go the CR1 route. She can visit as much as she wants as long as she shows great ties back to Canada. While my K-1 was processing I visited my fiance who is now my husband once for 11 days. I worked and that was all I could take off and be able to still take 10 days off to have my medical and interview later. 

[geowrian 22,338]

K-3 is effectively obsolete.

A Canadian visiting without a visa is generally granted a stay up to 6 months. The exact duration is determined at POE. Spending too much time in the US (without overstaying) / not enough time outside the US may cause CBP to suspect they are living in the US (not just visiting) and therefore deny entry.