Utah County Proxy (Zoom) wedding

[John & Rose 7,239]

We are going to go for it.  My step son's fiancee is due in October and we decided that we will try the Utah Zoom wedding before his scheduled trip.  I've done a bit of research and so far it seems that it is a viable option.  They will get married via Zoom.  It will take a week or so for the marriage certificate and once he has it he will file both ROM and CR-1.  If all works out she will have a PSA marriage certificate before her interview and dreaded CFO seminar.  CFO scares me more than any other part of this.  His son will be born with two married parents and his wife will get her passport in the married name.  It works on paper and the fact that he has a 2 month visit planned after the wedding will help with the consummation requirement.  This is my second "no guts no glory" post here today!

 

[Chancy 6,243]

28 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

 It will take a week or so for the marriage certificate and once he has it he will file both ROM and CR-1.

 

He can't file the I-130 petition until after they've been physically together again after the Zoom wedding.  He must include evidence of that in-person meeting -- entry stamp to the PH, boarding passes.  That would be all that's needed for the USCIS requirement for marriage consummation.

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Chancy
added example evidence

[John & Rose 7,239]

That still works and puts their filing back to early October. Still not bad considering they probably couldn’t file until January or February if they married in Manila. Those 3 to 4 months may make a difference on the back end. Thanks for the clarification. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

31 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

We are going to go for it.  My step son's fiancee is due in October and we decided that we will try the Utah Zoom wedding before his scheduled trip.  I've done a bit of research and so far it seems that it is a viable option.  They will get married via Zoom.  It will take a week or so for the marriage certificate and once he has it he will file both ROM and CR-1.  If all works out she will have a PSA marriage certificate before her interview and dreaded CFO seminar.  CFO scares me more than any other part of this.  His son will be born with two married parents and his wife will get her passport in the married name.  It works on paper and the fact that he has a 2 month visit planned after the wedding will help with the consummation requirement.  This is my second "no guts no glory" post here today!

 

Dont worry too much on the CFO part.  It seems the ones that have more complications are the ones who are not yet married and get a difficult counselor.  I havent really seen too many married couples struggle for this requirement.  In fact, its been known for the CFO Counselors to ask why certain K1 applicants did not marry earlier.

[Chancy 6,243]

2 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

That still works and puts their filing back to early October. Still not bad considering they probably couldn’t file until January or February if they married in Manila.

 

Plus no need to attend marriage seminar and no need to get CENOMARs before the wedding.

 

[John & Rose 7,239]

Just now, flicks1998 said:

Dont worry too much on the CFO part.  It seems the ones that have more complications are the ones who are not yet married and get a difficult counselor.  I havent really seen too many married couples struggle for this requirement.  In fact, its been known for the CFO Counselors to ask why certain K1 applicants did not marry earlier.

My wife had it easy when she did it during our K-1.  My step kids did it with their CR-2s and it was awful.  They learned things like Americans only bathe once a week and since their step father was old they would get social security money.  Oh, and I only petitioned my wife so someone would take care of me.  Luckily they already knew me well but other kids in the peer counseling were crying at the end and were afraid to leave the Philippines.

[John & Rose 7,239]

3 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Plus no need to attend marriage seminar and no need to get CENOMARs before the wedding.

 

I think that brought the biggest smile to AJ's face!!!  LOL  No family planning seminar!  Worth it!

[John & Rose 7,239]

13 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

He can't file the I-130 petition until after they've been physically together again after the Zoom wedding.  He must include evidence of that in-person meeting -- entry stamp to the PH, boarding passes.  That would be all that's needed for the USCIS requirement for marriage consummation.

 

I just found this... just to add to the confusion.  This says you can file before consummation and the valid date off the proxy wedding will be the filing validity date.  We will still probably error on the side of safety but 9 FAM says you can file as long as you consummate prior to the interview for the marriage to be valid for filing.

 

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by John & Rose

[flicks1998 1,044]

7 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

My wife had it easy when she did it during our K-1.  My step kids did it with their CR-2s and it was awful.  They learned things like Americans only bathe once a week and since their step father was old they would get social security money.  Oh, and I only petitioned my wife so someone would take care of me.  Luckily they already knew me well but other kids in the peer counseling were crying at the end and were afraid to leave the Philippines.

  Yeah I have heard similar stories when they were still doing in-person seminars.  Some of them were doozies.   I would imagine the remote over the phone CFO seminar will continue for quite a long time which I believe they should have an easier time when that part of the process comes.

[Adventine 3,201]

Good luck and let us know how it all works out!

[John & Rose 7,239]

1 minute ago, Adventine said:

Good luck and let us know how it all works out!

I definitely will report back.  I can imagine others are or will be interested in whether or not this works as time goes by.  We may be in a long run with Covid and locked down countries.

[Joe Kano 327]

15 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

My wife had it easy when she did it during our K-1.  My step kids did it with their CR-2s and it was awful.  They learned things like Americans only bathe once a week and since their step father was old they would get social security money.  Oh, and I only petitioned my wife so someone would take care of me.  Luckily they already knew me well but other kids in the peer counseling were crying at the end and were afraid to leave the Philippines.

Really? What are they jealous they are stuck in Philippines and other are able to escape? That's a dirty trick to pull on kids and make them cry and scared. 

[John & Rose 7,239]

5 minutes ago, Joe Kano said:

Really? What are they jealous they are stuck in Philippines and other are able to escape? That's a dirty trick to pull on kids and make them cry and scared. 

When I heard what happened I got the impression that the people doing the seminar were upset that all these other people get to leave.  It did seem like jealousy and spitefulness.  In my wife's seminar before the K-1 the "teacher" did pick on some students and gave the weaker and more timid people a much harder time.  The ones who defended themselves or pushed back from the abuse were left alone.  If you knew my wife, you would see why they left her alone.  She wouldn't take that kind of abuse from anyone.

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by John & Rose

[Chancy 6,243]

35 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

I just found this...

 

I expect both USCIS and the embassy will verify dates on the evidence of consummation.  As long as the dates are before filing and after the wedding, they should be fine.

 

The significance of that provision in the DOS FAM is in determining the length of the marriage at visa issuance.  Hopefully your son's case won't take too long, but if they are not so lucky and can only get an interview late 2023, the case should be upgraded to non-conditional F2A based on the Utah marriage date, not the date on the evidence of consummation.

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Chancy

[payxibka 10,047]

1 hour ago, John & Rose said:

We are going to go for it.  My step son's fiancee is due in October and we decided that we will try the Utah Zoom wedding before his scheduled trip.  I've done a bit of research and so far it seems that it is a viable option.  They will get married via Zoom.  It will take a week or so for the marriage certificate and once he has it he will file both ROM and CR-1.  If all works out she will have a PSA marriage certificate before her interview and dreaded CFO seminar.  CFO scares me more than any other part of this.  His son will be born with two married parents and his wife will get her passport in the married name.  It works on paper and the fact that he has a 2 month visit planned after the wedding will help with the consummation requirement.  This is my second "no guts no glory" post here today!

 

It's a proven viable option.