How did you deal with foreign family for a US wedding

[Sarah&Facundo 600]

My husband moved here from Argentina in March. As soon as we were approved for the K1, his parents applied for tourist visas and were accepted. They came to the wedding and so did his best friend. For the rest of my husband's family that could not make it, we had a friend of mine live stream the entire ceremony via facebook. Our wedding was in April. We had an English-speaking wedding and a Spanish translator during the whole ceremony so his entire family could watch & understand via the Livestream. Plus, now it is a cool video we have forever!! We are waiting for his travel permits and plan to hold a second wedding in person in Argentina during the summer.  

Edited May 20, 2018 by Sarah&Facundo

[JFH 12,191]

3 hours ago, Kali4nia58 said:

I hear that takes even longer. Plus, I can't imagine living for a year or more away from my wife. It's enough to say goodbye to my fiancee. 

I hear this a lot. "I couldn't face living without my husband/wife for a year". What makes you think it's any different from how it is now? You're still you and she's still her. Married or not doesn't change your feelings for one another. If you've reached the stage of applying for a K-1 you've already decided that each other is "the one" forever. What's the difference? Apart is apart. And once it's over, just like childbirth, you have no memory of the pain of it because then you feel only joy. My husband and I spent the first two years of married life living in separate countries. I've been here in the USA for 17 months now and we always say to each other how we can't even remember the time we were apart. It's been erased from our memories. I know it must have been horrible but we had regular visits. And we both survived. No one has died due to separation yet. We even had a visa denial to cope with but we got through it. And I can assure you I do not love my husband any less than you love your fiancé. 

[little immigrant 801]

1 hour ago, ADAngel said:

We are still waiting to be approved but we have decided to just do a hush-hush court "wedding" with just my mom and step dad as witnesses and we're planning a large wedding in the UK for both of our families. No one has asked about the nature of his visa so we're just playing engaged until our wedding in 2020.  I guess it's not that big of a deal but I figured if my family found out we were already married they probably wouldn't come to our wedding abroad, plus I've always wanted the big wedding but that's just not possible (at least how we want it) to do around the K1.  

So you're already married while you wait on the K1 approval? How do you "play" being engaged? Who are you playing? 

 

Sorry maybe I just misunderstand this whole post. 

[shadowfox7569 14]

My wife is from canada. We got married quietly when she arrived since we didn't need to wait. Then planned a major wedding for all the family 6 months down the road when we knew she would have her AP approval and we could have the formal wedding and give everyone time to make trip arrangements.

[Lars & Sasha 17]

1 minute ago, shadowfox7569 said:

My wife is from canada. We got married quietly when she arrived since we didn't need to wait. Then planned a major wedding for all the family 6 months down the road when we knew she would have her AP approval and we could have the formal wedding and give everyone time to make trip arrangements.

I am not sure I could keep it a secret! Ha! But it's worth giving some thought too.

[Unlockable 7,315]

1 hour ago, ADAngel said:

We are still waiting to be approved but we have decided to just do a hush-hush court "wedding" with just my mom and step dad as witnesses and we're planning a large wedding in the UK for both of our families. No one has asked about the nature of his visa so we're just playing engaged until our wedding in 2020.  I guess it's not that big of a deal but I figured if my family found out we were already married they probably wouldn't come to our wedding abroad, plus I've always wanted the big wedding but that's just not possible (at least how we want it) to do around the K1.  

This is 100% fraud. If you are already married then you are NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A K1 VISA! PERIOD!

 

Not only that, you do not realize the severity of your actions. If USCIS finds out your were married before you got the K1 visa at anytime, then you can be charged with misrepresentation, have your green card (if received) revoked, and face deportation and ban from the US. 

[JFH 12,191]

1 minute ago, NuestraUnion said:

This is 100% fraud. If you are already married then you are NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A K1 VISA! PERIOD!

 

Not only that, you do not realize the severity of your actions. If USCIS finds out your were married before you got the K1 visa at anytime, then you can be charged with misrepresentation, have your green card (if received) revoked, and face deportation and ban from the US. 

I think what they mean is once the K-1 is approved they will have a quick wedding just to comply with the terms of the visa but the rest of the family won't know that they are married and they will have a big wedding in 2020 once AP is approved/GC is in hand. 

 

I have a friend who did the same thing - applied for a K-1 but told her family she was moving to the USA on a work visa (even though she couldn't work). Her parents knew nothing about immigration so they didn't have a clue. They got married in secret and then had a big "wedding" in the U.K. once her AOS was completed. To this day, her family still think that was her actual wedding day. 

[Unlockable 7,315]

4 minutes ago, JFH said:

I think what they mean is once the K-1 is approved they will have a quick wedding just to comply with the terms of the visa but the rest of the family won't know that they are married and they will have a big wedding in 2020 once AP is approved/GC is in hand. 

 

I have a friend who did the same thing - applied for a K-1 but told her family she was moving to the USA on a work visa (even though she couldn't work). Her parents knew nothing about immigration so they didn't have a clue. They got married in secret and then had a big "wedding" in the U.K. once her AOS was completed. To this day, her family still think that was her actual wedding day. 

I hope that is the case. The way it reads it is if they are married with the, "we're just playing engaged" part.

[yuna628 9,744]

As UK citizens my husband's family utilized the VWP to visit us for the wedding. Not everyone was able to come sadly, but we had a fun week with who did arrive and a lovely wedding. Once we had the visa, we booked their flights and hotels. They wouldn't have missed it for all the world.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

30 minutes ago, Kali4nia58 said:

I am not sure I could keep it a secret! Ha! But it's worth giving some thought too.

FWIW, my thinking (and why we're going the K-1 route) was

•  it's not practical for us to marry in Russia (meeting the requirements to legally marry there would take spending more time there than I could manage and keep my job)
• getting a non-immigrant visa to the US from Russia is pretty much impossible at this time (and even under normal circumstances, it would be difficult) so we can't get married in the US except via a K-1
• if we married in a third country, it's likely neither my family nor hers could attend, and setting up a trip to get married would add at least another month or two (and that's if we're just doing a quick courthouse wedding/Vegas wedding equivalent in another country) to the extra time to getting to the US that a CR-1 usually takes vs a K-1
• Also, getting married in the US neatly sidesteps inviting both her mother and stepmother to the same event 

 

[Coco8 1,042]

Maybe do a very small wedding in the US, that way nobody gets upset if they cannot attend and you don't have to feel lonely around people we've never met before and probably will never see again.

[Sarah&Facundo 600]

1 hour ago, NuestraUnion said:

This is 100% fraud. If you are already married then you are NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A K1 VISA! PERIOD!

 

Not only that, you do not realize the severity of your actions. If USCIS finds out your were married before you got the K1 visa at anytime, then you can be charged with misrepresentation, have your green card (if received) revoked, and face deportation and ban from the US. 

They aren't doing anything fraudulent. Reread it.

They are getting married via the regular K1 route, but hiding this from their family. Then they will have a bigger wedding with their friends and family, but let them think this is the first one. 

From the government's standpoint, they are doing absolutely nothing illegal. Please do not accuse them of doing so.

[SashaSC 16]

7 hours ago, Kali4nia58 said:

Not sure if this is the right forum, but...my fiancee is Russian and I was originally thinking we would get married outside the US since we have met up in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus. I now understand that on the K1 Visa that is not possible. We will have to get married in the US. That being said, I am thinking that would make it near impossible for her family to come for the wedding since it takes forever to get a Visa from Russia. Curious how others have handled this (doesn't have to be with Russian fiancee). Is there a quick process to get tourists visas for family for the purpose of the wedding? Did you have a courthouse ceremony and then get married abroad (if so, how much time in between ceremonies)? Other ideas?

 

Cheers!

This might not work for your case, but have you thouht of having the wedding in Mexico? Not too far for the US side of family to travel to and a very simple visa process for Russians... Plus it's beautiful. 

 

[dazed'nconfused 14]

7 hours ago, Kali4nia58 said:

I hear that takes even longer. Plus, I can't imagine living for a year or more away from my wife. It's enough to say goodbye to my fiancee. 

12-14 months as opposed to 10-12. 

 

That said, the benefits FAR outweigh the extra 1-2 months according to many - ie: ability to work, drive, and travel right away rather than then waiting another 5-6 months (on average, there are some who have been waiting 8+ months) for EAD.   

I'm sure you've looked into the benefits of all of them and are aware if you can afford to support 2 people on 1 income for anywhere up to a year (or more) whilst waiting for her EAD and if she struggles to find an appropriate job - if that's the case, I'd certainly say go the K-1 as it's faster.  If money/independance (for her) is a concern, I'd suggest looking at the CR-1 since that one does mean that she can look for work and get a drivers licence right away.

Edited May 21, 2018 by dazed'nconfused

[Coco8 1,042]

3 hours ago, SashaSC said:

This might not work for your case, but have you thouht of having the wedding in Mexico? Not too far for the US side of family to travel to and a very simple visa process for Russians... Plus it's beautiful. 

 

For a K1 they have to marry inside the US. If they are having a 2nd wedding, they might as well wait and one in Russia.