Has anyone used WebWed Mobile for getting married for their CR-1/IR-1?

[payxibka 10,045]

6 hours ago, nics222 said:

Actually I'm not sure how true this is but I saw an article online about NY, apparently they signed an executive order some few months ago allowing couples to marry via the web. There's also a group on fb for long distance couples, a young lady did in fact get married lasy week via online wedweb, she published her story.. It's legit. 

But if you read the restrictions to the NY process you will discover it won't work for this situation, as both individuals to the marriage, MUST be physically present in the state of NY.

[JFH 12,190]

18 hours ago, designguy said:

For immigration purposes the marriage must be "consummated" to be considered legal. Having a zoom wedding and then filing for an immigration petition would not work without seeing each other

Not 100% correct. A proxy marriage has to be consummated. An in-person marriage can be unconsummated, which is how a death row inmate was able to petition for his wife despite having no conjugal visits with her. They got married in person. The marriage is unlikely ever to be consummated unless something dramatic happens with his case. 

[NikLR 13,227]

Even IF you did this, you couldn't send the petition without consummation (aka meeting in person) of the marriage so it's pointless. That's why people are saying you should wait.  If you can't send a petition before meeting in person again anyhow, you're not saving any time or money on this web marriage. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by NikLR

[JFH 12,190]

10 hours ago, kshoemoney said:

Due to the travel bans and that we are a same-sex couple, our only open options to get gay married right now are probably Mexico and the UK. Neither is a great options as, supposing we get thru a port of entry in one of those countries, there a few other hoops to get through before we could get married. So if there was a way as simple as getting married online, it could make sense to take it. That said, we don't want to risk wasting a year in processing only to find out they don't recognize our marriage. It is perhaps possible to use WebWed to get married and then use that to get me into visit Italy to consummate the marriage, then file the petition. But I think i need to talk to an attorney to figure out the best option.

 

Thanks for all your comments though, they were really helpful.

Unless you hold an EU passport you need a marriage visa for the UK and you would have to be in quarantine for 14 days in a private residence, not a hotel, upon arrival. That’s more hassle added to this. 
 

This situation is not permanent. It’s not as if you’re not going to be able to get married for years and years. Next year will be completely different. Just wait a few months and things will be fine. 

[cyanmavi 101]

If they got married online, and could only "be in each other's presence" six months later, do those 6 months count towards the 2-year mark where the OP could petition their spouse for a non-conditional GC?

[JFH 12,190]

6 hours ago, nics222 said:

Actually I'm not sure how true this is but I saw an article online about NY, apparently they signed an executive order some few months ago allowing couples to marry via the web. There's also a group on fb for long distance couples, a young lady did in fact get married lasy week via online wedweb, she published her story.. It's legit. 

You are missing the point we are all making. There is a difference between a marriage being legal and a marriage being acceptable for immigration. Whilst “cyber weddings” may be legal in some random parts of the world, the US government does not accept them for immigration purposes unless you have met subsequent to the “wedding” - which defeats the object anyway. 
 

Just as it may be legal in some parts of the world to have more than one wife at the same time, it’s not acceptable for US immigration. 
 

It’s a case of “their house, their rules”. 

[payxibka 10,045]

26 minutes ago, cyanmavi said:

If they got married online, and could only "be in each other's presence" six months later, do those 6 months count towards the 2-year mark where the OP could petition their spouse for a non-conditional GC?

No

[kshoemoney 4]

4 hours ago, Melc said:

 

Happily gay married in Gibraltar here. Can confirm it's entirely legal. 

 

@kshoemoney I don't think Gibraltar is barring entry to US citizens/residents. Just make sure to transfer in the UK when you do fly over. 

 

Just as an aside, getting married in the UK would be more difficult as you'd require a specific Visa to get married there, even if you normally do not require one as a tourist. This does not apply to Gibraltar. Gibraltar also does not require apostilles. 

Oh wow I didn't realize this. Gibraltar didn't show up on the list of legal places for gay marriage, nor do the travel website I have looked at have an entry for the travel restrictions in Gibraltar on their aggregated page. I will definitely look into this and may pm you for more info on how it works if that's okay.

[kshoemoney 4]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

Not 100% correct. A proxy marriage has to be consummated. An in-person marriage can be unconsummated, which is how a death row inmate was able to petition for his wife despite having no conjugal visits with her. They got married in person. The marriage is unlikely ever to be consummated unless something dramatic happens with his case. 

Well, we could do this marriage online, then meet up somewhere and consummate it. That would be pretty expensive for sure, but probably quicker than waiting until travel bans are over, which no one knows how long that will be but my guess is at least through the rest of this year, and maybe as long as the middle of next year. The reason you would do it is cuz it's easier to get married here and consummate elsewhere than getting gay married elsewhere at the moment, unless you plan to stay there for several weeks of months, which is also very expensive. You mentioned I should just wait till covid's over. Maybe so, but before I resign to up to an entire additional year to our prospects to be together, I think it's worth it to exhaust all available options and then choose the best one. There are no GOOD options here, so I figure I'll shake all the trees, turn over all the rocks, and then we'll decide (with the help of a lawyer probably).

[geowrian 22,337]

8 hours ago, nics222 said:

Actually I'm not sure how true this is but I saw an article online about NY, apparently they signed an executive order some few months ago allowing couples to marry via the web. There's also a group on fb for long distance couples, a young lady did in fact get married lasy week via online wedweb, she published her story.. It's legit. 

For somebody who is not going through any immigration process, it would probably be fine.

Just like I could go to a country that permitted marrying a relative, having  multiple wives, etc. The moment I try to bring that into an immigration context, that's when the problems would begin.

 

The NY process requires both individuals to be present in NY still.

[Melc 138]

9 minutes ago, kshoemoney said:

Oh wow I didn't realize this. Gibraltar didn't show up on the list of legal places for gay marriage, nor do the travel website I have looked at have an entry for the travel restrictions in Gibraltar on their aggregated page. I will definitely look into this and may pm you for more info on how it works if that's okay.

Feel free to PM! There's some wrong info online about them not conducting gay marriages, including on a US government resource. You can safely ignore that as these sources have not been updated. When we were in line for our licence there were more same-sex couples than opposite-sex couples getting married! Very friendly people at the Registrar's office and we had an amazing time, no issues at all. 

 

There's info here: 

https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/civil-status-registration-office/marriages-civil-partnerships

 

According to their website they're officiating since May. They've always been very helpful when we rang them on the phone or emailed; contact information should be on the website above. 😊 
But feel free to PM if you have any other questions. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by Melc

[JFH 12,190]

10 minutes ago, kshoemoney said:

Well, we could do this marriage online, then meet up somewhere and consummate it. That would be pretty expensive for sure, but probably quicker than waiting until travel bans are over, which no one knows how long that will be but my guess is at least through the rest of this year, and maybe as long as the middle of next year. The reason you would do it is cuz it's easier to get married here and consummate elsewhere than getting gay married elsewhere at the moment, unless you plan to stay there for several weeks of months, which is also very expensive. You mentioned I should just wait till covid's over. Maybe so, but before I resign to up to an entire additional year to our prospects to be together, I think it's worth it to exhaust all available options and then choose the best one. There are no GOOD options here, so I figure I'll shake all the trees, turn over all the rocks, and then we'll decide (with the help of a lawyer probably).

But if you have to wait for travel bans to be over to meet up to satisfy the official requirements, why not get married when you meet up? You can’t file your paperwork until you meet up so you do not gain any time with your plan. 
 

Is he an Italian citizen? If so, as soon as the bans are over have him come here on the VWP and get a quickie wedding in Vegas - @Loren Y can help with that, file the I-130, enjoy a vacation together and he goes back to Italy to wait for the process to be complete. Simple. Why make a stressful process any more difficult than it needs to be. 

[bobjennyhitched 99]

13 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Ridiculous as it may sound, it really is possible to be too married for a fiancee visa and not married enough for a spouse visa.  In a US immigration context, any such marriage will put you in that category until you have evidence you've been together in person BEFORE the I-130 is filed. Both otherwise "legal" and "non-legal" marriages can put a couple in this circumstance.

Yes I remember this from before we filed. We'd filed a K1 to marry in the US, but my Dad had a heart attack and couldn't travel. Someone suggested that we "just don't sign the certificate" but have the wedding. Thus the "too married". for a K1. We ended up withdrawing then refiling for the CR1 (got an IR1 due to all the delays!).

[Sarah_k92 112]

21 hours ago, kshoemoney said:

I came across this service last night called WebWed Mobile that offers 100% legal marriages online and given that my boyfriend are not able to see each other right now because of COVID (I am in NYC and he is in Italy), but we want to get married, I thought that if this is legit it would be a lifesaver. I am skeptical because I haven't heard much about it, but they have been operational since 2016 and they do not do proxy marriages, but instead specialize in cyber jurisdiction and you get a traditional marriage certificate. They say they do not offer immigration legal advice, as immigration approval is more complicated than just being married, but that customers of theirs have used marriage licenses through WebWed to get spousal visas.

 

I am wondering if anyone has used this service and can speak to whether it is acceptable to use for immigration purposes? I would think if it was legit that everyone would be raving about it, but it seems like no one has heard of it. Conversely, if it was a scam I would expect to find people saying that loudly as well, but there isn't really. There are many positive reviews on reviews.io but I would love to find someone that could speak to its legitimacy for immigration purposes. I don't want to do it if it will mean USCIS doesn't look at our marriage as legitimate, but if it does work, then it would be a no brainer to do, since we could get our petition rolling now, since the travel restrictions are likely to be in place for many months in the future anyway. Also, if we were married, they would let him in to visit during covid because they allow in Spouses of U.S. citizens, I believe.

 

Thanks for your help!

Head to Croatia! They opened boarders to US citizens and get married! 😂

[kshoemoney 4]

45 minutes ago, JFH said:

But if you have to wait for travel bans to be over to meet up to satisfy the official requirements, why not get married when you meet up? You can’t file your paperwork until you meet up so you do not gain any time with your plan. 
 

Is he an Italian citizen? If so, as soon as the bans are over have him come here on the VWP and get a quickie wedding in Vegas - @Loren Y can help with that, file the I-130, enjoy a vacation together and he goes back to Italy to wait for the process to be complete. Simple. Why make a stressful process any more difficult than it needs to be. 

I addressed this earlier, but getting gay married in a country (though I just found out Gibraltar is an option so maybe that is an exception) is much harder than consummating. Our only other options are Mexico and the UK and we would have to spend several weeks of longer in the country in order to get married, while if we did a marriage online, we could just find any country with the cheapest airfare that has open travel and both rendezvous there and consummate the marriage. I know it's not ideal, etc. etc., but neither is staying in London for six weeks to fulfill all their requirements to get married.

 

Edit: Again, I'm not saying we'll end up doing it, we're just trying to explore all the options.

 

9 minutes ago, Sarah_k92 said:

Head to Croatia! They opened boarders to US citizens and get married! 😂

I don't believe same-sex marriage is legal in Croatia, but I could be wrong.

Edited July 28, 2020 by kshoemoney