Casual Engagement Party

[ClioNicole 60]

Hello everyone. I'm the beneficiary and I'm doing everything because my fiance hates paperworks. lol Anyway. Our petition is in the mail but I just learned about the dreaded engagement party denials which got me worried because  we sent picture of our engagement party. It was very casual as we did it in t-shirts and daisy dukes. I thought it was a good evidence of bonafide relationship since we were with my friends.

 

Here are some of the things I'm hoping will help my case.

 

1. I have Cenomar (Certificate of No Marriage)

2. I'm trans and we cannot legally wed in the Philippines. 

3. The picture was casual with my friends and we were eating rice and fried chicken, we had a banner saying "bride to be" and it was done in an alleyway in Manila. 

 

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

[Ryan H 3,828]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

We had a traditional Bisayan Pamalaye, the food, dressed up, bride to be posters, karaoke the works we had no issues, hopefully you are fine . Actually the engagement party was bigger then the wedding

[ClioNicole 60]

2 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

We had a traditional Bisayan Pamalaye, the food, dressed up, bride to be posters, karaoke the works we had no issues, hopefully you are fine . Actually the engagement party was bigger then the wedding

oh wow. hahahah sounds fun. Have you tried danggit and lechon?

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

1 hour ago, ClioNicole said:

oh wow. hahahah sounds fun. Have you tried danggit and lechon?

Lol not a fan of dried fish, the pork is ok but I prefer adobo or pancit

[geowrian 22,338]

I don't encourage engagement parties for anybody going through US immigration...but it doesn't sound like you are likely to hit any problems here. It's not a set of circumstances where a CO is likely to wonder if you are already married or doubt intent to marry.

[Mollie09 1,543]

We warn against parties that look like weddings (and "traditional"/religious weddings) that people sometimes like to do for family that can't be there for the "real" wedding. That usually involves dresses, rings, vows, or the regional equivalent. Sounds like not what you did!

 

Good luck!

[ClioNicole 60]

14 hours ago, Randyandyuni said:

Lol not a fan of dried fish, the pork is ok but I prefer adobo or pancit

love those. my fiance loves lumping shanghai =spring rolls= so much that he tried to make it when he got back. He says it's good but mine was alot better. I need to learn how to make the wrapper from scratch. lol

[ClioNicole 60]

8 hours ago, geowrian said:

I don't encourage engagement parties for anybody going through US immigration...but it doesn't sound like you are likely to hit any problems here. It's not a set of circumstances where a CO is likely to wonder if you are already married or doubt intent to marry.

Yeah Im no longer worried. I panicked when i read about the engagement party threads dating as far back as 2016. I was busy reading all about the I-129F form and the K1 and didn't bother other posts until we sent the package, yikes*

 

Thanks for your input though. I really appreciate it. 

 

*Im eating sisig*

[ClioNicole 60]

20 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

We warn against parties that look like weddings (and "traditional"/religious weddings) that people sometimes like to do for family that can't be there for the "real" wedding. That usually involves dresses, rings, vows, or the regional equivalent. Sounds like not what you did!

 

Good luck!

bwahahahah, yeah we were in cotton t-shirts and shorts because manila is humid all year round. We set up a table next to an unpainted concrete wall and had potluck. Hardly official looking. lol

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

18 minutes ago, ClioNicole said:

love those. my fiance loves lumping shanghai =spring rolls= so much that he tried to make it when he got back. He says it's good but mine was alot better. I need to learn how to make the wrapper from scratch. lol

Depending on where you will be living the availability of wrappers and noodles and stuff can be amazing. There are maybe 1/2 dozen asian groceries around us (2 actually are Filipino only stocked), some fairly large and my wife can find exactly what she's looking for when she wants it and raves about the authenticity. You'll find the stores when you get here and meet others

[ClioNicole 60]

Just now, Randyandyuni said:

Depending on where you will be living the availability of wrappers and noodles and stuff can be amazing. There are maybe 1/2 dozen asian groceries around us (2 actually are Filipino only stocked), some fairly large and my wife can find exactly what she's looking for when she wants it and raves about the authenticity. You'll find the stores when you get here and meet others

Ill be near Denver CO. He says there's an asian market near him but can't distinguish which asian lol. Plus im sure imma be converting USD to PHP in my head and will say "damn" all the time. I know im not suppose to but I can't help it. lol 

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

Just now, ClioNicole said:

Ill be near Denver CO. He says there's an asian market near him but can't distinguish which asian lol. Plus im sure imma be converting USD to PHP in my head and will say "damn" all the time. I know im not suppose to but I can't help it. lol 

it's ok to spend USD when you earn USD it's only expensive when you compare 

[ClioNicole 60]

3 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

it's ok to spend USD when you earn USD it's only expensive when you compare 

bwahahah i know, i know.lol

[Dashinka 24,767]

1 hour ago, ClioNicole said:

Yeah Im no longer worried. I panicked when i read about the engagement party threads dating as far back as 2016. I was busy reading all about the I-129F form and the K1 and didn't bother other posts until we sent the package, yikes*

 

Thanks for your input though. I really appreciate it. 

 

*Im eating sisig*

As others have said, usually the advice given is to avoid the elaborate engagement parties, but I agree what you described doesn't sound like it will be an issue.  Most of the issues I see are with religious ceremonies that look a lot like an actual wedding minus the legal signatures.

 

Good Luck!

Edited September 23, 2019 by Bill & Katya