K1 Visa & Church ceremony

[JeanneAdil 6,610]

3 minutes ago, metuchen said:

It's something we had planned for last year but because of Pandemic restrictions couldn't do it. So at least was thinking to do a small party before she leaves given Pandemic situation is better. 

Everyone is saying "don't do it"

[hopefulfor2021 31]

Just now, metuchen said:

It's something we had planned for last year but because of Pandemic restrictions couldn't do it. So at least was thinking to do a small party before she leaves given Pandemic situation is better. 

I understand. It must be frustrating that even engagement parties have been postponed. But pandemic situation is not better. It will get better, but not anytime soon. Don’t risk both of your health over something that could jeopardize not only your petition, but your plans for life. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

9 hours ago, Adventine said:

Engagement parties are tricky. The idea is to avoid anything that could even be remotely misconstrued as a marriage.

 

A goodbye party (small number of invitees, no formal outfits, no formal participation of a pastor or other religious officiant) seems like a much safer plan.

 

 

This is basically an engagement party. Well, at least what my engagement party was. It was more about my family meeting him. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

5 hours ago, Unlockable said:

 

You are not understanding the complexity of US immigration. If the interviewing officer has any inclination that some sort of union ceremony has occurred, they may deny the K1. Reason being, how do you prove that the ceremony was NOT a real wedding event. This is where the challenges of multicultural differences wrecks havoc on immigration. You have one side that wants to stick their cultural norms but it may also jeopardize their immigration case. I ceremony or celebration with a large number of people, dressed in their best, and celebrating a coupes union can easily be misinterpreted as a marriage. We have seen it. Here are a number of examples...

 

 

Look at O&GForever's reply in this thread about their K1 being denied for engagement party...

 

 

That is only a small sample from the search I did on here. As you can see, people were denied because the officer believed they were "too married" for a K1 visa. There should be absolutely no indication of any type of marital union of the two. We even have a longtime member here who almost got denied because her and her fiance attended a friend's wedding. The officer saw pictures of them at the wedding and questioned if the wedding was actually theirs.

 

The big point is that it is not a question on legality or not. It is that the officer has the power to deny if there is even the slightest speculation of any official union. You will not have time to argue a point. So to answer your question, DO NOT have any type of ceremony or celebration. If it is that big of a deal to you then a marriage in her country and a spousal visa should have been the option.

In some countries, you can get a marital status certificate (it's required for the interview) and you can see there if any legal marriage has occurred in the same country. Still not recommending for OP to do that 

[Adventine 3,206]

7 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

This is basically an engagement party. Well, at least what my engagement party was. It was more about my family meeting him. 

 

To me, an "engagement party" is something much more formal and elaborate than introducing the fiancé to the family.  A simple introduction  can done with any ordinary family dinner, for example.

 

I'm glad your party worked out for you but it's not something I would encourage others to do, especially as OP's original question was about a church ceremony. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Adventine

[Orangesapples 1,954]

1 minute ago, Adventine said:

 

To me, an "engagement party" is something much more formal and elaborate than introducing the fiancé to the family. That can be done with any ordinary familg dinner, for example.

 

I'm glad your party worked out for you but it's not something I would encourage others to do, especially as OP's original question was about a church ceremony. 

I mean my extended family that had to travel to meet him. They all stayed overnight and we had lunch at a local restaurant, organized by my mom. 

[Adventine 3,206]

5 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

I mean my extended family that had to travel to meet him. They all stayed overnight and we had lunch at a local restaurant, organized by my mom. 

 

Engagement parties really are tricky. There's so much subjectivity involved. Different people can look at the same event and interpret it differently. Best for OP to play it safe.

[Daisy.Chain 317]

You could get married in the US, wait for the travel permit, then head back to her home country to throw whatever party you'd like, free of "are they married or not" scrutiny. You'd have to want for it to process, but by the time it does you two might be ready for a visit back anyway.

[PWB 213]

Don't see a time line for you and do not know where your visa will be processed, but like the others are trying to tell you, use caution on all ceremonies.  We held an engagement party in the Philippines and made the event ever so clear that it was not a wedding ceremony.  We also held a going away party for the family and no one could ever interpret these events as being a wedding.  Use caution on how you dress and the exchange of any rings, to include an engagement ring.  Above all else enjoy each other.

[SalishSea 18,087]

1 hour ago, PWB said:

Don't see a time line for you and do not know where your visa will be processed, but like the others are trying to tell you, use caution on all ceremonies.  We held an engagement party in the Philippines and made the event ever so clear that it was not a wedding ceremony.  We also held a going away party for the family and no one could ever interpret these events as being a wedding.  Use caution on how you dress and the exchange of any rings, to include an engagement ring.  Above all else enjoy each other.

In another post, OP was inquiring about the intent to marry letters, so I'm assuming he hasn't filed the petition yet.  If it were me, and a church wedding/engagement ceremony/party at home was this important, I'd seriously consider doing a CR-1 instead.

 

Especially since there is no longer a measurable difference in processing times between the two visas, and the CR-1 has many, many clear advantages.

[Orangesapples 1,954]

11 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

In another post, OP was inquiring about the intent to marry letters, so I'm assuming he hasn't filed the petition yet.  If it were me, and a church wedding/engagement ceremony/party at home was this important, I'd seriously consider doing a CR-1 instead.

 

Especially since there is no longer a measurable difference in processing times between the two visas, and the CR-1 has many, many clear advantages.

True, but during covid times traveling to get married might be an issue. But if OP hasn't even filed, then a CR1 is the better option all around. 

 

OP, if you can get married now, file for CR1, and then go back to her country at any time while waiting for the visa or after it has been issued to have the celebration you want, that would be best. I arrived on a K1 and I don't recommend it 

[Mike E 11,742]

2 hours ago, PWB said:

Don't see a time line for you and do not know where your visa will be processed, but like the others are trying to tell you, use caution on all ceremonies.  We held an engagement party in the Philippines and made the event ever so clear that it was not a wedding ceremony.  We also held a going away party for the family and no one could ever interpret these events as being a wedding.  Use caution on how you dress and the exchange of any rings, to include an engagement ring.  Above all else enjoy each other.

Completely agree. 

 

My fiancee wanted a couple engagement parties before we left her country. I was neo-fascist on things like:

 

* dress. While I wore a business jacket to one party, I refused to wear a tie.  The second party was business casual.

 

* poses the photographer wanted.  For example, the photog wanted us to pose with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.That was a hard no.I then painted a picture for her of point of entry in SFO a few weeks later, CBP rifling through her phone, and denying entry. She didn't touch a flower the entire night.

That's me: kill joy.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

3 hours ago, Mike E said:

Completely agree. 

 

My fiancee wanted a couple engagement parties before we left her country. I was neo-fascist on things like:

 

* dress. While I wore a business jacket to one party, I refused to wear a tie.  The second party was business casual.

 

* poses the photographer wanted.  For example, the photog wanted us to pose with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.That was a hard no.I then painted a picture for her of point of entry in SFO a few weeks later, CBP rifling through her phone, and denying entry. She didn't touch a flower the entire night.

That's me: kill joy.

Haha but you saved yourselves from a serious situation! 

 

@metuchen As everyone has pointed out, having a religious ceremony before entering the US with a K-1 visa is playing with fire. It's up to you and your fiance(e) though if you really wanna risk being denied the visa or entry into the US over a small party that isn't even your actual wedding.

[NandV 87]

12 hours ago, AishaniA93 said:

This is what we are doing as well. Our wedding in Sydney has had some deposits paid for but we are going to have to end up pushing it another year to makes sure AOS is complete. Didn't want to risk anything! 😕 

That stinks  We were originally going to go down the CR1 route but I'm not allowed into India right now. Thankfully we were able to get back most of our deposits (~80%)

[stag 51]

Thank you all for the advice. FYI, we haven't filed anything yet, I'm still in the research/preparation phase before filing, that is why I am asking several questions in this forum. All of this definitely will guide us to do things differently - namely saving the religious ceremony for after the legal marriage in the US. It would be nice if after legally marrying in the US, we could travel back to home country for religious marriage quickly, but from what I read it can take up to 6-8 months to get the green card to be able to exit the country.  In any case, it is what it is, we will plan accordingly.