K1 visa denied, next course of action?

[Cathi 5,755]

The moment you signed the Nikah you were married under Islamic law and in the eyes of USCIS. Your only option is a spousal visa. Id anyone tells you anything different they don't know what they're talking about. I was married in Jordan, the moment I signed the Nikah I was married. Period. End of story. It does not matter that custom is that you are not "officially married" until you have a wedding party. The Nikah is a legal marriage contact.

[AKR 6]

6 minutes ago, jakejon said:

Oh this gets worse! So you filed AFTER your Nikah?? So you basically filed for a Fiancé visa when you knew you were already married?! 

 

 

Yes you got it right. And our nikah was merely a religious commitment that we will get married. Say a religious agreement. And k1 was suggested by the stupid attorney. He put us on the wrong track

[jakejon 1,197]

Just now, K A R said:

Yes you got it right. And our nikah was merely a religious commitment that we will get married. Say a religious agreement. And k1 was suggested by the stupid attorney. He put us on the wrong track

Did you report your Nikah to your local authorities? I'm looking at how the UK view Nikah. They say if a couple has had a Nikah ceremony without registering at their local council, in UK law it is not counted as legal marriage 

[AKR 6]

Just now, Cathi said:

The moment you signed the Nikah you were married under Islamic law and in the eyes of USCIS. Your only option is a spousal visa. Id anyone tells you anything different they don't know what they're talking about. I was married in Jordan, the moment I signed the Nikah I was married. Period. End of story. It does not matter that custom is that you are not "officially married" until you have a wedding party. The Nikah is a legal marriage contact.

Fine , i am not even considering to apply a k1 anymore or even file an appeal. 

I will apply cr1 but my concern is to get away with MISPRESENTATION. Because even in cr1 they are gonna charge me that i lied in k1 application none of you has offered a solution to this.

Just now, jakejon said:

Did you report your Nikah to your local authorities? I'm looking at how the UK view Nikah. They say if a couple has had a Nikah ceremony without registering at their local council, in UK law it is not counted as legal marriage 

Yes we got it registered right then n there. Which would make it legal . 

[paro 30]

32 minutes ago, K A R said:

The nikah document has date of january and my i129f was filed in february. Legal marriage in pakistan is also based on nikah papers which needs to be registered. N that was done in january

Is the Nikah registered with NADRA? 

[Boiler 45,525]

4 minutes ago, jakejon said:

Did you report your Nikah to your local authorities? I'm looking at how the UK view Nikah. They say if a couple has had a Nikah ceremony without registering at their local council, in UK law it is not counted as legal marriage 

Probably the best UK comparison is a CofE  wedding but on steroids. Religion and Law are pretty indistinguishable in Pakistan.

 

So the process will be:

 

Cr1, well I1 by the time everything goes through.

 

If otherwise approved I 601 for the Misrep.

 

And then of course Additional Processing.

 

For those who did not partake there were a lot of posts yesterday but they seem to have been deleted as it was on another thread.

[AKR 6]

5 minutes ago, paro said:

Is the Nikah registered with NADRA? 

Yes paro,it is registered. 

Nikah was done as registered in january (as u know how nikah without rukhsati are done)

Then attorney suggested us k1 (#######), we filed it. And we did rukhsati(actual wedding ceremony) in march. Ds160 was filed in july and in that we hided the fact we were married. Now what is the solution to all this. Even if i apply cr1,i get charged with visa fraud. Solution?

[mich923 23]

1 hour ago, K A R said:

I am based in pakistan and my fiancee resides in NY, we started talking last year and developed liking for each other. upon her first visit to my city, we got committed in islamic relation called Nikah, let me make it clear that for us, its just a religious contract that we will marry each other. Their attorney in US suggested k1 visa(as we didnt know much about visas so for initial petition we hired the attorney). After k1 was filed, my fiancee along with her family visited pakistan and we got married (it was a sudden plan) and honestly we didnt even know its consequences until i was refused. Like every other couple, we kept waiting for the long procedure which lasted 9 months in total. In my interview everything went well but the pictures part got me in trouble. I added one picture of us on stage, dressed very nicely (not in red though which is considered wedding costume here).

So the CO rightfully denied my visa by saying he is sending my case to nvc and cant give me visa , and i should apply for cr1/ir1 depending on the exact date of my marriage (quoting his words).

 

Now people who would label me for visa fraud, misrepresentation etc. Kindly do understand that a genuine couple not knowing consequence of wedding during this process should do what? Keep in mind that CO's decision was merely on the basis of photos i provided in the interview(i didnt even know if i shouldnt have shown such photos). So it wasnt a deliberate visa fraud etc.. 

And he also has no proofs to prove us married thus far. Because we never referred each other as husband and wife and even the nikah thing wasnt disclosed to him. Please advise the right course of action if experts are available here;

1-Can we file an appeal making a stance that we'd just thrown a big engagement party for my relatives in pakistan as they wont be attending my wedding in usa. 

2-If we apply for CR1, wouldnt they refuse it and charge me for visa fraud because this will provide them documentary evidence that we were married and didnt withdraw our k1 petition?

3- shall we do a court marriage (legal marriage only) in recent dates and then apply for CR1? But we wont be able to proof a big wedding or many people in that (which is culture of my country) and also it would be very hard for my fiancee to come in pakistan as she already took 3 trips this year.

4- any other possible and best course of action? 

Please avoid hurtful remarks and just give me guidance. Already too depressed.

 

Edit: our status in both countries , pakistan and usa , is single.. 

There is no documentary proof against us that even we did nikah.

My fiance is also from Pakistan and are waiting for the interview for  a K1 visa. Immigration sees the nikah as being religiously married, therefore you are already married. I would go and file the Nikah to get your marriage license and apply for the spousal visa. 

[abum 324]

9 minutes ago, jakejon said:

Ah gotcha! So does NIKAH always have to be reported to the authorities for it to be legally binding as a legal marriage? Sorry, just fascinated! 

depends on the country - some country, the authority themselves conduct the NIKAH ceremony (so all the paperworks would be signed at the end of the ceremony - and the couple would be considered husband and wife there and then). though since it is a religious thing, people can do it in secret - but from the eyes of the religion , you are already married.

[abum 324]

11 minutes ago, K A R said:

Yes you got it right. And our nikah was merely a religious commitment that we will get married. Say a religious agreement. And k1 was suggested by the stupid attorney. He put us on the wrong track

why have it then if you feel it is just a commitment (and not really  a marriage)? for muslims, NIKAH is a legally bound agreement that carries a lot of responsibilities, in terms of inheritance and other issues. 

[JJ89 13]

7 minutes ago, K A R said:

Fine , i am not even considering to apply a k1 anymore or even file an appeal. 

I will apply cr1 but my concern is to get away with MISPRESENTATION. Because even in cr1 they are gonna charge me that i lied in k1 application none of you has offered a solution to this.

The issue here is the ambiguity of your marriage. No one knows, or has not said, how U.S. law looks at Nikah. There is a cultural barrier here. Western marriage seems to be different from the act that you engaged in. It all depends on how Nikah is seen to uscis or the consulate. Is it legal marriage to them, or is it symbolical? I am not sure how to answer your questions with a definitive yes or not. I'd try to get in contact with the people who make the decision if its fraud or not if I was you. 

[AKR 6]

14 minutes ago, jakejon said:

Ah gotcha! So does NIKAH always have to be reported to the authorities for it to be legally binding as a legal marriage? Sorry, just fascinated! 

Yes. If it is not registered, you can use it to clean your glass windows. but religiously it has all the weightage when it is done n signed by you two.

[Pengunista 221]

Okay let me get this straight. You guys filled the K1 and then did the Nikah, and then got married. And then you had the interview? 

[Boiler 45,525]

1 minute ago, JJ89 said:

The issue here is the ambiguity of your marriage. No one knows, or has not said, how U.S. law looks at Nikah. There is a cultural barrier here. Western marriage seems to be different from the act that you engaged in. It all depends on how Nikah is seen to uscis or the consulate. Is it legal marriage to them, or is it symbolical? I am not sure how to answer your questions with a definitive yes or not. I'd try to get in contact with the people who make the decision if its fraud or not if I was you. 

That question was answered, see first post.

[abum 324]

2 minutes ago, K A R said:

Yes paro,it is registered. 

Nikah was done as registered in january (as u know how nikah without rukhsati are done)

Then attorney suggested us k1 (#######), we filed it. And we did rukhsati(actual wedding ceremony) in march. Ds160 was filed in july and in that we hided the fact we were married. Now what is the solution to all this. Even if i apply cr1,i get charged with visa fraud. Solution?

if you are so concerned about being charged with visa fraud, you should get a good lawyer. the way i see it, you got bad advice, and that you should have never applied for K1. though it could be a common thing as rejection like this seemed to be popping up here and there in this forum (too married to file K1 but not yet legally married)