Wedding celebration on K1 Visa in a foreign country before filing for legal marriage in the US

[Mmorales710 1]

My fiancee and I are currently going through the K-1 process. I was advised that NVC just sent my paperwork to Vietnam on June 23, 2018. I already booked a trip to Vietnam for my our engagement party on July 11 before our interview inquiry. Our marriage celebration will be on October. We will be filing the marriage license in the U.S. if her interview goes well.

 

Our concern is that what if my fiancee fails the interview and the i-129f was completely thrown out AFTER our marriage celebration? We plan to file for cr1 if that happens but would it look bad for our case because we had a marriage celebration while still going through the k-1 process or would it not be a problem as long as we don't file the marriage license until my fiancee is in the US?

 

When filing the i-129f, we signed the promise that my fiancee and I would get married within 90 days upon arriving in the US. 

[geowrian 22,337]

DO NOT engage in any sort of marriage ceremony/celebration/whatever before entry into the US on the K-1 visa. The visa may be denied as a result, or you may be denied entry into the US, even if not legally recognized. If it is a legal marriage in any way under customary or statutory laws, it can be considered fraud to obtain or use a K-1 visa.

Just to clarify, a requirement of the K-1 visa is to marry within the US within 90 days from entry.

Edited June 29, 2019 by geowrian

[pushbrk 12,911]

2 hours ago, Mmorales710 said:

My fiancee and I are currently going through the K-1 process. I was advised that NVC just sent my paperwork to Vietnam on June 23, 2018. I already booked a trip to Vietnam for my our engagement party on July 11 before our interview inquiry. Our marriage celebration will be on October. We will be filing the marriage license in the U.S. if her interview goes well.

 

Our concern is that what if my fiancee fails the interview and the i-129f was completely thrown out AFTER our marriage celebration? We plan to file for cr1 if that happens but would it look bad for our case because we had a marriage celebration while still going through the k-1 process or would it not be a problem as long as we don't file the marriage license until my fiancee is in the US?

 

When filing the i-129f, we signed the promise that my fiancee and I would get married within 90 days upon arriving in the US. 

It won't just "look bad".  K1 is for a fiancee.  A married person cannot be issued a K-1 visa, so it doesn't matter a bit what it looks or smells like.  The visa MUST BE DENIED if you "marry".  Even if you marry outside the US before marrying in the US, that's immigration fraud that can get her deported EVEN  if discovered AFTER becoming a US Citizen.

 

Yes, even if not a legal marriage, there is such a thing as "too married" for a fiancee visa and "not married enough" for a spouse visa.  Engagement ceremonies in Vietnam are expected.  DO NOT plan for any marriage ceremony OUTSIDE the US until after legally and lawfully married INSIDE US, as required by the terms of the K-1 visa.

 

[Mmorales710 1]

Assuming my fiancee passes the interview and receives her visa. Can we have a wedding celebration in Vietnam before filing for a legal marriage in the US?

 

The reason for this is because I want her friends and family to be able to attend her "wedding celebration" before we file a legal marriage in the US, where she won't have any friends or family. 

[ClickityClackity 134]

Remember that the final decision lies at the POE. If he feels like you are already married he might deny you entry and strip of your visa.

But again there would be no way for him to know that, so I think it's a gray area. I hope some other more experienced members can shed some light. 

[Unlockable 7,314]

7 minutes ago, Mmorales710 said:

Assuming my fiancee passes the interview and receives her visa. Can we have a wedding celebration in Vietnam before filing for a legal marriage in the US?

 

The reason for this is because I want her friends and family to be able to attend her "wedding celebration" before we file a legal marriage in the US, where she won't have any friends or family. 

Not a good idea. It can be a risk. 

 

Quote

I want her friends and family to be able to attend her "wedding celebration" before we file a legal marriage in the US, where she won't have any friends or family. 

 

Honestly, this should have been taken into consideration when you were deciding which visa to choose. In this case, the spousal visa would have been better and you could have had the official marriage in her country.

 

Better solution:

You can certainly get married here in the US then once she receives her EAD/AP or Green Card, fly back and have a ceremony with her family.

[Canerican 242]

Just to give everyone a heads up, OP has a similar post here: 

I would suggest as others have, do not have a celebration of any sort before going for the K-1 interview or even after the interview as then if the Consulate or the officers at POE believe you are married that is a waste of your time and money. If this happens you start all over again and have to wait a good year to a year and a half as you would have to start from scratch and pay more money for the CR-1. 

[Crazy Cat 41,919]

1 hour ago, Mmorales710 said:

Assuming my fiancee passes the interview and receives her visa. Can we have a wedding celebration in Vietnam before filing for a legal marriage in the US?

 

The reason for this is because I want her friends and family to be able to attend her "wedding celebration" before we file a legal marriage in the US, where she won't have any friends or family. 

I would advise against having any kind of celebration which could appear to be some kind of traditional wedding.. Although unlikely, pictures on a cell phone could be inspected at POE.   Per the requirements of a K-1, your wedding must take place in the US.  A better plan to return to her country for a celebration a few months after marriage in the US.  

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

simple answer is no

big give away is both of you wear wedding rings

even taking them off can leave a no tan mark

[debbiedoo 2,339]

bad idea

 

very bad idea

[Boiler 45,581]

Marry and go the CR1 route.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

******* two threads on the same subject merged.  Please only ask your question once. *******

[Just Paul 4,595]

I thought it was going to be a quiet weekend.   A marriage ceremony will be interpreted as being married.  Let's say you do the ceremony and later after citizenship it is found out that you had a marriage celebration.   Guess who gets stripped of the citizenship and is deportable?  Why risk it?

 

[geowrian 22,337]

7 hours ago, Mmorales710 said:

Assuming my fiancee passes the interview and receives her visa. Can we have a wedding celebration in Vietnam before filing for a legal marriage in the US?

No. Married is married. If you are married and try to use a K-1 visa, that would be fraud.

If you have a ceremony but are not legally married, you can still be denied entry on the K-1 visa.

Best thing all around is to hold off on any sort of wedding ceremony/celebration until after marrying in the US. I get the friends & family wanting to be there sooner rather than later, but you need to focus on doing things right first. A ceremony can always come later. That's what most people have done.

[Pitaya 2,577]

This  very similar-themed question seems to come up every couple of weeks or so. A simple VJ Google search reveals  some of the recurring-themed answers. Here are just a few of the threads:

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/648985-k1-engagement-ceremony-vs-wedding-ceremony-will-having-them-affect-my-interview/

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/660758-two-questions-about-k1-visa-for-hcmc-consulate/

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/662187-beginning-k1-journey/

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/562682-can-i-have-a-civil-wedding-ceremony-with-my-fiance-who-i-will-start-sponsoring-this-week/

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/288888-engagement-ceremony-pictures/

 

I would suggest that you review some of these threads, there are some "pearls of wisdom" in several of the links. BTW,  the Google term I used was " Vietnam K1 wedding," if you want to read some of the numerous pages of similarly-themed thread responses.

 

Suggest that this country-specific topic be moved to the Vietnam Regional Forum.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.