K1 Photoshoot

[SalishSea 17,829]

2 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

That's funny! New Zealand is close to Asian. Yes bud, just a little way up the road. When you get to the water's edge be sure to put your little ducky swim gear on because you are not yet in Asia. Get your map out and see where it is. It will surprise you. Oy Vey!

Geography is hard.

[Mjc331 0]

1 hour ago, usmsbow said:

Unless you're from a high risk* country such as Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, India, or Pakistan, you're probably OK. My wife and I had pre-wedding photos done like you described. I don't remember if she brought them to the K-1 interview, but she did bring engagement party photos. No problems at all. Ditto with another friend of hers. This was in Indonesia (low risk country)... 

 

Edited to add: why bring them anyway? Or are you just worried that they'll see the pics on social media? 

 

*High risk=large # of rejections, not in terms of personal safety or security. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the comment. This would be in Korea. And we were thinking of actually sending copies of it with the packet. The reasoning behind it was to strengthen the evidence of our relationship as well as evidence that we do intend to get married.

 

Side note: is that letter from each of us stating that we will marry one another once arriving sufficient? Not sure if we will have any other evidence of wedding prep since the timeline is so fluid...

 

Thanks.

[Mjc331 0]

1 hour ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

What's in the photo shoot? We did one in my husband's country but it was nothing at all like a wedding. He was wearing jeans and a button down shirt and I had a floral blue and white dress walking in a beach setting holding hands basically. Nothing from that could be misconstrued as a wedding. I wouldn't risk wearing a wedding dress in a photo shoot, for example. We didn't bring those to any interviews either.

Thanks. I think if you google "Korean wedding photoshoot", it would show some typical attires and backgrounds (granted many of em are wearing tux Nd dress though haha). It would probably be in line with what you described. 

 

Would sending it in with the package be too much?

 

Thanks.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

Hello,

 

I would recommend against including the photo shoot in your application package.   I would recommend against even having the photo shoot.

 

Someone mentioned earlier that it would be a sign of a bona fide relationship.   That could be interpreted two ways - bona fide dating/intent to marry, or bona fide proof of marriage.  One of the suggested evidence to present for a CR-1 visa is wedding photos.  I know this is for an engagement photo shoot, but in the eyes of the USCIS and consular officer I am not sure how they will interpret it.  There are stories here of denials for minor things that got interpreted as a marriage, even from countries like UK and Australia.  Let's say for every 100 marriage parties and photo shoots that pass the K1 process, there is 1 denial.  Good odds, but I would not suggest that 1% risk to anyone here.  

 

Better evidence to present are chats, vacation photos together (non professional) and travel receipts.

 

In the end though, it is your decision.  If the photo shoot is that important to do now rather than after the civil marriage for the K-1, then go ahead?  Life will not end if you do it later, but it may feel that way.  It may feel like it's wrong not to do it, because of tradition or expectations of your wedding process.  Just be prepared for CR-1, to lessen the impact if the K-1 gets denied.

[SalishSea 17,829]

2 hours ago, Mjc331 said:

Side note: is that letter from each of us stating that we will marry one another once arriving sufficient? Not sure if we will have any other evidence of wedding prep since the timeline is so fluid...

 

No wedding preparations are necessary for petition approval.  The only requirement related to that is the letter of intent from both beneficiary and petitioner stating that they are legally able and willing to marry each other within the 90 days.

 

That's it.  The "bonafide relationship" is not something USCIS looks into at the fiancee visa petition stage.  

[Greenbaum 12,259]

The interview session will last about 5 min. The decision to approve your case and issue a visa has already been reached to a conclusion. The interview is the time for the CO to cross her "T's" and dot her "I's". Her questions will be based on your case file and her "gut" feeling about the relationship. That's all. Don't add anything that can be sidetrack this interview. "Keep it simple stupid" is so true at the interview. Why muddy the waters if you don't have to as it could lead you down the wrong road?

 

Read the experiences of others to draw your own conclusion. I still stick to my original post and not submit tuxedo and wedding dress photos.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=South Korea

 

Just my experience.

[JFH 12,190]

You do not need evidence of a “bona fide relationship” for the petition. You must demonstrate only that:

 

- the petitioner is a USC (birth certificate/passport or certificate of Naturalisation suffices)

- you are both able to marry (all previous marriages have been terminated legally through death or divorce, you are of legal age to marry and you are not related to each in such a way that marriage would be illegal)

- you have met face-to-face once in the last 2 years (boarding pass, passport stamps, photos, etc)

- you agree to marry within 90 days of arrival (letter of intent is all that’s required - wedding invites, dress patterns, menus, guest lists, honeymoon plans, etc are all NOT needed)

 

USCIS will also run a criminal record check to make sure the USC petitioner does not fall into the group of people who are unable to bring fiancés into the country. 
 

Nothing else needed. 
 

USCIS are strictly instructed not to consider whether you “make a good couple”, whether they think the relationship will last, whether they think you are a good match. They focus purely on the legal requirements being met.

[Mjc331 0]

On 4/19/2020 at 8:47 AM, JFH said:

You do not need evidence of a “bona fide relationship” for the petition. You must demonstrate only that:

 

- the petitioner is a USC (birth certificate/passport or certificate of Naturalisation suffices)

- you are both able to marry (all previous marriages have been terminated legally through death or divorce, you are of legal age to marry and you are not related to each in such a way that marriage would be illegal)

- you have met face-to-face once in the last 2 years (boarding pass, passport stamps, photos, etc)

- you agree to marry within 90 days of arrival (letter of intent is all that’s required - wedding invites, dress patterns, menus, guest lists, honeymoon plans, etc are all NOT needed)

 

USCIS will also run a criminal record check to make sure the USC petitioner does not fall into the group of people who are unable to bring fiancés into the country. 
 

Nothing else needed. 
 

USCIS are strictly instructed not to consider whether you “make a good couple”, whether they think the relationship will last, whether they think you are a good match. They focus purely on the legal requirements being met.

Thank you everyone for your opinions. Will just not do it for the risk involved, as the benefits don't outweigh the potential of what can happen.

[NikLR 13,227]

16 minutes ago, Mjc331 said:

Thank you everyone for your opinions. Will just not do it for the risk involved, as the benefits don't outweigh the potential of what can happen.

You can do it for yourselves. Engagement, couples, and family photos are pretty normal. My cousin is a pro photographer and doing "front porch" family shots right now due to social distancing.  Just dont send anything in that could possibly be misleading as being married. 

[SmallTownPA 72]

On 4/18/2020 at 7:53 PM, Jorgedig said:

New Zealand is kinda close to almost nothing.  Even Australia is a 3 hour flight away.

 

My point is this:  having read VJ for the past many years, I have seen multiple threads of members complaining that their K-1s were denied due to something about their petition/application and supporting info creating the appearance to the IO that they were already married.

 

You, the OP, and everyone else is free as always, to ignore this and do as you wish.

Get a map.  Find the USA, find New Zealand.  Pick a random Asian country.  Draw a line from both the US and NZ to that random Asian country.  Measure that line.  Tell me which country is closer to said random Asain country.  Repeat as necessary.

 

Well, Greenbaum posted two links to K1 denied for 'photos'.  It turned out, IN BOTH CASES the photos were not the problem, the fact that they had a WEDDING CEREMONY was.  Apples and oranges.

 

The fact is that many countries have a custom (different than a tradition) of having pre-wedding photos, in wedding attire, and its 100000% not an issue.   The fact that you can easily google it is proof.

 

As a word of advice, never take VJ posts at face value.  You only get one side of the story and never the full story.  Again , the post above.. people said they were denied because of engagement photos.  No, they were denied for having a marriage ceremony and presented photographic evidence of it.

Edited April 20, 2020 by SmallTownPA

[Greenbaum 12,259]

5 minutes ago, SmallTownPA said:

Get a map.  Find the USA, find New Zealand.  Pick a random Asian country.  Draw a line from both the US and NZ.  Measure that line.  Tell me which country is closer to said random Asain country.  Repeat as necessary until you realize that you are incorrect.

 

Well, Greenbaum posted two links to K1 denied for 'photos'.  It turned out, IN BOTH CASES the photos were not the problem, the fact that they had a WEDDING CEREMONY was.  Apples and oranges.

 

The fact is that many countries have a custom (different than a tradition) of having pre-wedding photos, in wedding attire, and its 100000% not an issue.   The fact that you can easily google it is proof.

 

As a word of advice, never take VJ posts at face value.  You only get one side of the story and never the full story.  Again , the post above.. people said they were denied because of engagement photos.  No, they were denied for having a marriage ceremony and presented photographic evidence of it.

I'm not incredibly good at reading between the lines, but nowhere in your original post did you say pull out a string. You're missing the entire point of this exercise. There is evidence that this did not go well for others. I'll add some more links as the "search" key is not working. 

 

There have been may cases that what you see as a "party" to what the CO sees as a possible "wedding". Why should the OP give the CO "ammunition" to use against them in ways they never thought possible? I'll give you an example and from there they'll need to make their own decision. If you want more information than in the upper right corner of this page is a search box. Use the words "marriage ceremony" and you will have more examples. See if it is working again. 

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/641345-k-1-visa-wedding-ceremony/

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/690759-k1-interview-denial/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/690759-k1-interview-denial/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/665760-221g-confusion-where-is-my-fiances-case/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/639695-k-1-visa-denied-what-now-appeal/

 

[SalishSea 17,829]

2 hours ago, SmallTownPA said:

Get a map.  Find the USA, find New Zealand.  Pick a random Asian country.  Draw a line from both the US and NZ to that random Asian country.  Measure that line.  Tell me which country is closer to said random Asain country.  Repeat as necessary.

 

Well, Greenbaum posted two links to K1 denied for 'photos'.  It turned out, IN BOTH CASES the photos were not the problem, the fact that they had a WEDDING CEREMONY was.  Apples and oranges.

 

The fact is that many countries have a custom (different than a tradition) of having pre-wedding photos, in wedding attire, and its 100000% not an issue.   The fact that you can easily google it is proof.

 

As a word of advice, never take VJ posts at face value.  You only get one side of the story and never the full story.  Again , the post above.. people said they were denied because of engagement photos.  No, they were denied for having a marriage ceremony and presented photographic evidence of it.

LOL.  You’re a flat-earther I gather?

 

That’s not how distance works, due to the shape of the earth.   LOLOL.

 

I suggest you look at flight times from NZ to your ‘random’ Asian countries.  Maybe you’re thinking of Australia?  NZ is much further south than you seem to think.  

12, 14, 16 hours.  Same as flight time from the west coast of North America. ☺️

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Jorgedig

[APA 44]

OP, I’m in the “no photoshoot” camp also. If you guys want to do this for your own sake or for memories, then that’s one thing. But you absolutely should not include that in your petition or even bring it up to anyone in immigration.

Photos aren’t technically required but they help to bolster proof of legitimacy in some cases. These photos should be casual, spontaneous, and authentic and definitely not staged or professional. Listen to what the most established members (i.e., @Greenbaum) of this forum are telling you and read the links that they provided. People have had significant issues up to and including denial, specifically because of this. Any risk at all that this will lead to suspicion, delay, or denial is not worth it. The adjudicator and IO are looking for signs of an authentic and genuine relationship prior to marriage - staged/professional pictures are not appropriate or helpful for this, rather they are detrimental because they look like you’re fabricating evidence.

My fiancé and I have been to several countries together - we included a few normal, spontaneous pics in front of major attractions that showed us having a good time and traveling together. If you’re going to submit pics, anything but this type is going to hurt your chances. 

[SmallTownPA 72]

18 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

I'm not incredibly good at reading between the lines, but nowhere in your original post did you say pull out a string. You're missing the entire point of this exercise. There is evidence that this did not go well for others. I'll add some more links as the "search" key is not working. 

 

There have been may cases that what you see as a "party" to what the CO sees as a possible "wedding". Why should the OP give the CO "ammunition" to use against them in ways they never thought possible? I'll give you an example and from there they'll need to make their own decision. If you want more information than in the upper right corner of this page is a search box. Use the words "marriage ceremony" and you will have more examples. See if it is working again. 

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/641345-k-1-visa-wedding-ceremony/

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/690759-k1-interview-denial/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/690759-k1-interview-denial/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/665760-221g-confusion-where-is-my-fiances-case/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/639695-k-1-visa-denied-what-now-appeal/

 

Dude (or dudette) I picked one of your links AT RANDOM AND READ IT.

 

You did not, did you???

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/690759-k1-interview-denial/

 

"Finally, I proposed to her and we had a social ceremony with all the bells and whistles. It was not religious nor civil, but we did have a ceremony,"

 

They had a WEDDING CEREMONY and submitted photographic evidence of it.  APPLES and ORANGES.

 

Now, tell me how two people standing next to each other in a tux and dress is indication of any sort of CEREMONY.

 

I will 1000000% believe you that YES, if you had a CEREMONY, the CO will have all sorts of red flags.  But the photos are not what got those K1 denied.  THE CEREMONY did.

 

Please read them first before you hold them up as proof.

 

I took engagement photos (in full garb) and also had an engagement party (in regular clothes).  There is no way you can look at the engagement party and think 'that's a ceremony'.  It was a bunch of people eating.  Ditto for the tux and dress photos.  We were on a beach.  With no one around.  And a park, and a temple (aka tourist trap). 

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by SmallTownPA