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

[Tanish 197]

  On 7/1/2019 at 5:35 PM, Margo2017777 said:

Thank you! I just got my K-1 VISA in hand and now i am bit paranoid even having a simple pre-wedding dinner with my family before leaving to U.S ))

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No need to be that much afraid (paranoid). You can have dinner with close family (I would suggest refraining from gathering too many people), just make sure that there are no traditional (or formal) ceremonies related to marriage/wedding involved.

Then again, if you can wait for longer to go back after receiving AP and EAD, that would be an ideal case scenario.

 

[Kyle&Ana 718]

Well, i did it after my interview! but it was nerve wrecking, i remember in my POE  I was so scared! likeThe reception was pretty private and i asked all the guests that dont upload pictures. that's savage and anyways a lot of them upload it! 

 

Anyways i woudnt recommed it...even though i did it ..... lI was so stressed,  to just realize that we could have it later...and would be much better.... because the procces and AOS and wedding left us tight!!! but if we would did it later instead! would be more relax, no nights without sleeping thinking about POE!!! etc!!!!

 

just my little opinion! like you can ruin the whole process.... 

[Wirbir&Maria 4]

  On 7/3/2019 at 6:40 PM, Kyle&Ana said:

Well, i did it after my interview! but it was nerve wrecking, i remember in my POE  I was so scared! likeThe reception was pretty private and i asked all the guests that dont upload pictures. that's savage and anyways a lot of them upload it! 

 

Anyways i woudnt recommed it...even though i did it ..... lI was so stressed,  to just realize that we could have it later...and would be much better.... because the procces and AOS and wedding left us tight!!! but if we would did it later instead! would be more relax, no nights without sleeping thinking about POE!!! etc!!!!

 

just my little opinion! like you can ruin the whole process.... 

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Thanks for sharing ur experience. I think I gonna have a engagement party instead a wedding celebration. I don’t want to ruin the process 

[geowrian 22,338]

I would not suggest that even an unofficial marriage "WILL" be okay. I also cannot say that it won't be okay. People absolutely have been denied the visa and/or denied entry for exactly that, and some others have not had an issue. How likely it is to be an issue is up for debate, but there certainly is a risk involved.

Having any sort of actual marriage that meets the local requirements for marriage would be fraudulent to then obtain or use a K-1 visa. A strict requirement of a K-1 is to be free to marry.

[Crazy Cat 42,759]

  On 7/4/2019 at 1:33 AM, poh said:

The marriage was made official back in the state.  You are just over thinking it.

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Incorrect.  If you were legally married before entering the US via a K-1, then fraud occurred. 

Edited July 4, 2019 by missileman

[NikLR 13,232]

If CBP caught it, youd be denied entry.  If USCIS catches it youll be denied AOS.  So Just Don't. If a cultural marriage is important then do the CR1 route.  End of story.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by NikLR

[geowrian 22,338]

  On 7/4/2019 at 1:33 AM, poh said:

Many folks in the Vietnames K-1 thread done what I have done.    Maybe they don''t do this in Philippines but they sure do it in Vietnam.  it was just a ceremony and a party to accommodate their cultural marriage practices..  The marriage was made official back in the state.  You are just over thinking it.  This post should be moved to the Vietnam K01 thread where more appropriate response can be offered.

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I can't speak to local customs, but because it wasn't an issue for some people does not mean it can't be an issue for others. Also, CBP officers are not familiar with local customs from every country, and they would be the ones to make that decision after the visa is granted.

[Ontarkie 14,665]

~~Two posts removed as requested bu the poster.~~

[HRQX 4,145]

  On 7/1/2019 at 4:33 PM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

getting a tourist visa for a young single Russian is very difficult

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Agreed, specially for the Schengen countries. I'm curious; did you consider the possibility of her getting a visit visa for Gibraltar?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

  On 7/5/2019 at 7:25 PM, HRQX said:

Agreed, specially for the Schengen countries. I'm curious; did you consider the possibility of her getting a visit visa for Gibraltar?

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I meant for the US; she did get a Schengen visa twice before coming here (hence meeting in Italy once, and again later in Latvia and continuing on together to Austria). 

[HRQX 4,145]

  On 7/5/2019 at 11:48 PM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

I meant for the US; she did get a Schengen visa twice before coming here (hence meeting in Italy once, and again later in Latvia and continuing on together to Austria). 

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My apologies. I incorrectly assumed the opposite when I read the following:

  On 7/1/2019 at 4:33 PM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

and for almost any third country it would have been reasonable to marry in she would have needed to get a visa

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With her Schengen visit visa could have married in:

• Iceland: https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/getting-married-in-iceland
• Denmark: https://familieretshuset.dk/en/your-life-situation/your-life-situation/international-marriages/if-you-wish-to-get-married-in-denmark

[Cathi 5,800]

This person was denied for doing the same.

 

 

[Hemutian 68]

Wow, am I glad I ran into this thread when I did.

My fiancee and I were planning to do the exact same thing.

First, pass the interview and get the K1. But before going to the US, holding an "unofficial" (i.e. purely ceremonial) wedding for her family and friends in China, not yet any legally binding marriage. 

Then enter the US, get legally registered married, hold US wedding ceremony, etc.

 

My fiancee had read in her WeChat groups that this is a common practice amongst K1 fiancees in China.

Never occurred to us that this would be problematic at all, since we assumed that a "ceremonial" wedding without legally binding marriage is NOT the same as being married.

 

Well, after reading all the answers on this thread, we now realize this is not okay, and need to call off the pre-US Chinese wedding, and go through the trouble of AP instead next year, planning the Chinese wedding from abroad.

What a bummer. Just glad I caught it before it was too late.

[Mindo2019 12]

  On 6/29/2019 at 6:47 AM, 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. 

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Hi There,

 

Me and my husband has our engagement (not legal marriage ceremony) party a week before my K1 interview date. As long as there is no legal paperwork explain that you do not get married in Vietnam you should be fine. Do not mention anything about it in the interview as it will give a flag. I got my K1 visa a week after the interview.

[DavidX 40]

Everybody says don't do it. I wonder how many have actual experience with it? (notwithstanding that example from Australia, I suppose it could be a problem for some though.)

 

We checked with our immigration attorney, and he said it's not a problem in Thailand and that the Bangkok embassy staff is very familiar with the difference between a family ceremony only and a legal marriage registered with the local Aumpur.

 

-David