How to get a Foreign Marriage recognised in the U.S?

[Eseskay 1]

Hi, Me &  @MachadoMercedess filed for a K-1 but it was revoked last year (see my past posts for reference). The USCIS never responded to us, they just sent me back my passport after it was in AP for around 7-8 months (with no notes whatsoever at all, just the passport in the envelop). We tried to reach the American Embassy and USCIS through the Sentor (Florida) but we still were never able to find out the reason for the denial. We were dishearten by all of this but our love didn't die, My Fiance and I decided to get Married here in Pakistan. It's been almost 2 months since then. I have all the legal documentation here in Pakistan for the Marriage (i.e Certificate etc). We've been together since 8 years, engaged for two years and married for 2 months now. This process is very frustrating because we have been denied for no apparent reason and it's just very confusing and we are looking for anyone who could help us out through this process. 
MY QUESTION is how do we get the Marriage recognised in the U.S so we could start applying for the CR-1?   

Edited December 16, 2020 by Eseskay

[Dashinka 24,846]

8 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

Hi, Me &  @MachadoMercedess filed for a K-1 but it was revoked last year (see my past posts for reference). The USCIS never responded to us, they just sent me back my passport after it was in AP for around 7-8 months (with no notes whatsoever at all, just the passport in the envelop). We tried to reach the American Embassy and USCIS through the Sentor (Florida) but we still were never able to find out the reason for the denial. We were dishearten by all of this happening but our love didn't die, My Fiance came twice to Pakistan after that happened. Later on we decided to get Married here. It's been almost 2 months since then. I have all the legal documentation here in Pakistan for the Marriage. 
MY QUESTION is how do we get the Marriage recognised in the U.S so we could start applying for the CR-1.  

If you are legally married in Pakistan, you should be just fine.

 

Good Luck!

 

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-our-marriage-in-pakistan-recognized-in-the-unit-2588101.html

[Crazy Cat 42,473]

11 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

Hi, Me &  @MachadoMercedess filed for a K-1 but it was revoked last year (see my past posts for reference). The USCIS never responded to us, they just sent me back my passport after it was in AP for around 7-8 months (with no notes whatsoever at all, just the passport in the envelop). We tried to reach the American Embassy and USCIS through the Sentor (Florida) but we still were never able to find out the reason for the denial. We were dishearten by all of this but our love didn't die, My Fiance and I decided to get Married here in Pakistan. It's been almost 2 months since then. I have all the legal documentation here in Pakistan for the Marriage (i.e Certificate etc). We've been together since 8 years, engaged for two years and married for 2 months now. This process is very frustrating because we have been denied for no apparent reason and it's just very confusing and we are looking for anyone who could help us out through this process. 
MY QUESTION is how do we get the Marriage recognised in the U.S so we could start applying for the CR-1?   

Agree with @Dashinka . There is no central registry for marriage in the US.  You need only a valid, legal marriage certificate issued by the proper authority in Pakistan.  

[ProbeGT 47]

If you are married in Pakistan per Pakistani law, then your marriage is recognized by the US.

If either one of you is Muslim, you will need a Nikah Nama in addition to your Marriage Registration Certificate

If you are both non-Muslims, then you can use just the Marriage Registration Certificate + your religious documentation (Church, Temple, etc)

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by ProbeGT
emphasis

[Eseskay 1]

Thank you all for the replies. So i shall be starting my CR-1 process shortly without a worry since the marriage is recognised in the U.S. Do i need any other documentation for the proof other than the Pakistani Marriage Certificate? there is no need for my Wife to do anything from the U.S right? like get any kind of documents?  Thank you. 
Also, another question, does the Embassy require a sponsorship in case of CR-1 as well? 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Eseskay

[HRQX 4,145]

3 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

Also, another question, does the Embassy require a sponsorship in case of CR-1 as well? 

Financial? Yes. I-864 is submitted later at NVC step.

[Crazy Cat 42,473]

6 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

Thank you all for the replies. So i shall be starting my CR-1 process shortly without a worry since the marriage is recognised in the U.S. Do i need any other documentation for the proof other than the Pakistani Marriage Certificate? there is no need for my Wife to do anything from the U.S right? like get any kind of documents?  Thank you. 
Also, another question, does the Embassy require a sponsorship in case of CR-1 as well? 

You and your wife need to study the guides here.  Yes, your wife has to start the process.  

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[JeanneAdil 6,677]

Read the list of documents needed and instructions for filing an CR1 petition

use the help here under guides (top of page) or USCIS page of instructions for what you need to do

and all documents need them in both your language and English translations

[Eseskay 1]

7 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Financial? Yes. I-864 is submitted later at NVC step.

can you share a link to that specific area of instructions?

[HRQX 4,145]

1 minute ago, Eseskay said:

can you share a link to that specific area of instructions?

It's after I-130 is approved: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-2-begin-nvc-processing.html

[Marieke H 2,523]

42 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

So i shall be starting my CR-1 process shortly without a worry since the marriage is recognised in the U.S.

 

42 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

there is no need for my Wife to do anything from the U.S right? like get any kind of documents?

Your US Citizen wife is the one who will have to file the petition, not you. Study the guides here and read all instructions on the USCIS website.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Marieke H

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

52 minutes ago, Eseskay said:

Thank you all for the replies. So i shall be starting my CR-1 process shortly without a worry since the marriage is recognised in the U.S. Do i need any other documentation for the proof other than the Pakistani Marriage Certificate? there is no need for my Wife to do anything from the U.S right? like get any kind of documents?  Thank you. 
Also, another question, does the Embassy require a sponsorship in case of CR-1 as well? 

You need to tell your wife to be proactive for the process, you don’t need to do anything until the i130 is approved and forwarded to Pakistan.

[JFH 12,191]

27 minutes ago, NancyNguyen said:

You need to tell your wife to be proactive for the process, you don’t need to do anything until the i130 is approved and forwarded to Pakistan.

Well, he can be involved at the NVC stage. After all, it will be his civil documents that will be required. 

[carmel34 3,657]

I remember your original post back in February, with many pages of discussion where you and your fiancée (now wife) were trying to understand why her I-129F petition was revoked.  It was an unusual case because of the circumstances--after many months in administrative processing, which is normal for Pakistan, the petition itself was revoked and sent back to USCIS to die.  The K-1 visa was not denied, but the petition was revoked.  You received many suggestions warning you that simply getting married and trying for a CR-1 visa, starting with the USC filing a new I-130 petition, may not solve your problem if the reason for the I-129F petition being revoked is not known, so if the same problem is there and is not fixed, the I-130 could also be denied.  Were you able to find out why the first petition was revoked?  Your case was strange because the petition is mostly focused on the USC petitioner, so something must have come up related to her and her petition when it was reviewed as part of AP at the Islamabad embassy.  Did she ever receive an explanation from USCIS why her I-129F petition was revoked?  Did she submit a FOIA request to try and find out what the reason was?  @MachadoMercedess can you shed any light here?  I'm saying all this because your chances for an I-130 approval would be much greater if you know the reason  for the revocation and can submit the new petition with this in mind.  A CR-1 petition and eventual visa application process is long and expensive, it could be 18 months or longer, so to avoid the same outcome after a long time of waiting, I would suggest that your fiancée do everything she can to know why the first petition was revoked before filing another one.  A marriage certificate may not be enough if an underlying problem still exists.  Good luck!

Edited December 16, 2020 by carmel34

[JeanneAdil 6,677]

41 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

I remember your original post back in February, with many pages of discussion where you and your fiancée (now wife) were trying to understand why her I-129F petition was revoked.  It was an unusual case because of the circumstances--after many months in administrative processing, which is normal for Pakistan, the petition itself was revoked and sent back to USCIS to die.  The K-1 visa was not denied, but the petition was revoked.  You received many suggestions warning you that simply getting married and trying for a CR-1 visa, starting with the USC filing a new I-130 petition, may not solve your problem if the reason for the I-129F petition being revoked is not known, so if the same problem is there and is not fixed, the I-130 could also be denied.  Were you able to find out why the first petition was revoked?  Your case was strange because the petition is mostly focused on the USC petitioner, so something must have come up related to her and her petition when it was reviewed as part of AP at the Islamabad embassy.  Did she ever receive an explanation from USCIS why her I-129F petition was revoked?  Did she submit a FOIA request to try and find out what the reason was?  @MachadoMercedess can you shed any light here?  I'm saying all this because your chances for an I-130 approval would be much greater if you know the reason  for the revocation and can submit the new petition with this in mind.  A CR-1 petition and eventual visa application process is long and expensive, it could be 18 months or longer, so to avoid the same outcome after a long time of waiting, I would suggest that your fiancée do everything she can to know why the first petition was revoked before filing another one.  A marriage certificate may not be enough if an underlying problem still exists.  Good luck!

If still waiting February for the K1 and then say Feb/March it was sent back,  how have you gotten together since then to marry with the covid restrictions and airlines shutting down March 17th?    Is this why you are asking if a marriage certificate will be honored here?   Are you truly married as the USA respects and accepts all countries laws on marriage / otherwise only american weddings would be official ones to us

How did you manage a marriage in this timeframe  when we haven't been able to travel and offices closed for the covid?

I am not understanding this timeframe (according to your posts) / it doesn't make sense