K1 if already married in foreign country?

[carmel34 3,654]

16 hours ago, Mohammad0991 said:

Yes exactly.

If you file an I-130 petition after only one visit, to get married, it is highly unlikely that you'll be approved.  This is because of the extreme scrutiny your case will receive with all the fraudulent cases going through Morocco and other locations.  This is why I recommend one or more additional visits with evidence of such, after marriage and before submitting the I-130 petition, along with financial co-mingling evidence, so you can front-load the I-130 package with lots of documentation.  The plan you seem to be set on, to marry on the first visit and then immediately file, will likely fail as others from Morocco have discovered.  Good luck!

[kubda89 10]

8 hours ago, carmel34 said:

If you file an I-130 petition after only one visit, to get married, it is highly unlikely that you'll be approved.  This is because of the extreme scrutiny your case will receive with all the fraudulent cases going through Morocco and other locations.  This is why I recommend one or more additional visits with evidence of such, after marriage and before submitting the I-130 petition, along with financial co-mingling evidence, so you can front-load the I-130 package with lots of documentation.  The plan you seem to be set on, to marry on the first visit and then immediately file, will likely fail as others from Morocco have discovered.  Good luck!

Thank you for your concern carmel. Can I ask why you say it is highly unlikely we will be approved after only one visit? I remember reading that one of the advantages of the CR1 over the K1, is that despite the longer process, it's not as scrutinized as the K1, and has something like a 97% approval rate.

 

Not that I mind the scrutiny. We met online, and got to know each other to see if we were compatible for spending our lives together. There hasn't been a day where we haven't spoke, and I have tons of texts where we discuss our values, our life plans, marriage life, and even recorded video calls with us and our parents agreeing to the marriage (although most of it is in Arabic). Of course when I visit we'll have a small ceremony and take lots of photos together for further validation.

 

Do you really think an extra trip or two would make that much difference? It's only one extra visit where we'd be doing the same things, and taking the same photos. Not that I don't believe you are right, but if it takes me an extra 6 months to 1 year to make extra trips and wait to file the I-130, wouldn't I just be better off filing as soon as I get back and get my Moroccan marriage certificate, even if the lack of extra visits causes a longer processing time?

 

In other words:

I visit several times over the next year, file my I-130 next year, it takes maybe 1 year for approval from that point.

 

OR

 

I visit once, get married, file the I-130, maybe it takes 1.5 to 2 years for approval given the lack of visits.

 

Obviously it's unpredictable, but it seems like the timelines would be similar. Or am I missing something?

 

Will certainly attempt to show some financial co-mingling in either case.

[Crazy Cat 42,212]

Just now, Mohammad0991 said:

I remember reading that one of the advantages of the CR1 over the K1, is that despite the longer process, it's not as scrutinized as the K1, and has something like a 97% approval rate.

That is not true.  But It is a fact that more time together is seen as the best evidence you can provide as to showing a bona fide relationship.  This is especially true for high fraud countries.

[JP_VN 5]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:37 AM, Mohammad0991 said:

Sure, I was planning on starting once I get back from visiting. It's just that you suggested not to even start until I visited 2-3 times, which would take really long, and so I was wondering what the benefit of that would be.

Maybe it's just me, but how could you make a commitment to marry someone you've never met in-person? It's not the 18th Century.

[Chancy 6,243]

3 hours ago, JP_VN said:

Maybe it's just me, but how could you make a commitment to marry someone you've never met in-person? It's not the 18th Century.

 

In certain cultures, arranged marriage continues to be a valid or even preferred approach to finding a marriage partner.  US immigration agencies understand this.  Even so, the challenge remains for the couple to convince immigration officials that the marriage is bona fide and not arranged for immigration benefits.

 

[JP_VN 5]

27 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

In certain cultures, arranged marriage continues to be a valid or even preferred approach to finding a marriage partner.  US immigration agencies understand this.  Even so, the challenge remains for the couple to convince immigration officials that the marriage is bona fide and not arranged for immigration benefits.

 

Understood, thanks. BUT... the families in those cultures have usually met each other, right? I'm not judging, just curious.

[Chancy 6,243]

2 minutes ago, JP_VN said:

Understood, thanks. BUT... the families in those cultures have usually met each other, right? I'm not judging, just curious.

 

It's possible that they haven't, as there are online services now that facilitate parent-arranged marriages.  In any case, it's not relevant for US immigration.  What matters for immigration is whether the couple themselves have actually met in person.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

7 hours ago, JP_VN said:

Understood, thanks. BUT... the families in those cultures have usually met each other, right? I'm not judging, just curious.

You haven’t spent much time on VJ I’m assuming, even apart from arranged marriages, the number of people who meet online and conduct online relationships and marry after meeting just once is quite surprising. (And yes we have people posting that they intend to marry their fiancé who they’ve never met in person, so I t’s not spur of the moment stuff.)

 

 

[kubda89 10]

6 hours ago, JP_VN said:

Understood, thanks. BUT... the families in those cultures have usually met each other, right? I'm not judging, just curious.

Thanks for asking, I may as well attempt to answer in case they ask me in the future lol

 

As the other poster mentioned, in some cultures, a more "arranged" marriage can be preferable, although I wouldn't call my marriage arranged.

 

We met on an app, and made it clear from the beginning that we wanted to get to know each other to see if we're compatible for marriage. We weren't looking to date, be friends, or waste time, we were specifically looking for a life partner, so I feel our intentions at the very beginning were important in making it work. Over the course of months, we discussed every topic imaginable. We discussed what type of lives we want to live, how we want to raise our children, what we enjoy, what we'd do if X, Y, or Z happened, how we feel about certain things, etc.. After months of talking everyday over text and skype, we decided we are perfect for each other, and informed our parents who met, who were all on the same page, and gave us their blessing.

 

I can understand how some people find this strange, and even some of my own friends have asked me the same question. She is a gem of a human being and is everything I ever dreamed about in a wife. I feel like I've known her my entire life, we just get along incredibly well. Also, we've spoke over video call many times, I know exactly what to expect, and I don't know what benefit physically meeting in person would do in terms of discovering more about her.

 

Lastly, somebody will always bring up that they might just be looking for a greencard, but I don't see it. For one, she was hesitant to leave her family and country to move here until I convinced her. For two, if you wanted to scam someone, there are much easier ways to do it haha. I can't see someone who wanted to scam someone sharing the type of emotions and deep conversations we've had, not to mentioned talking all the time, and sharing family photos and effort put into our relationship. Usually from the stories I've heard, the scammer is very eager to get the US and do everything quickly, doesn't take much interest in the person they are trying to scam, and tries to control the entire process. None of that happened here, and I'd be lying if I said it never crossed my mind when we first met, but it's out of my mind now.

 

So to summarize, just think of it as meeting and falling in love with any other person you met, except it's been all digital instead of physical lol. We're dying to see each other, and I'm hoping to make it over the next month or so, have a small ceremony and do lots of activities, then return and file the petition.

[kubda89 10]

15 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

You haven’t spent much time on VJ I’m assuming, even apart from arranged marriages, the number of people who meet online and conduct online relationships and marry after meeting just once is quite surprising. (And yes we have people posting that they intend to marry their fiancé who they’ve never met in person, so I t’s not spur of the moment stuff.)

 

 

Yes exactly! I would also add, that in most cultures, young people all have the goal of getting married as soon as they're able to. It's nothing like hooking up on Tinder with strangers you have no intention to committing to. So many cultures (Arabs, Asians, Hispanics, Africans, Eastern Europeans) are very family oriented, and when a young man/woman has finished school and started working, the next logical conclusion is to marry and start a family.

 

Given that, and given how complicated the world is today (especially with covid and travel difficulties), I'm not surprised when I hear about two strangers from different countries falling in love and marrying.

[JP_VN 5]

9 hours ago, Mohammad0991 said:

Thanks for asking, I may as well attempt to answer in case they ask me in the future lol

 

As the other poster mentioned, in some cultures, a more "arranged" marriage can be preferable, although I wouldn't call my marriage arranged.

 

We met on an app, and made it clear from the beginning that we wanted to get to know each other to see if we're compatible for marriage. We weren't looking to date, be friends, or waste time, we were specifically looking for a life partner, so I feel our intentions at the very beginning were important in making it work. Over the course of months, we discussed every topic imaginable. We discussed what type of lives we want to live, how we want to raise our children, what we enjoy, what we'd do if X, Y, or Z happened, how we feel about certain things, etc.. After months of talking everyday over text and skype, we decided we are perfect for each other, and informed our parents who met, who were all on the same page, and gave us their blessing.

 

I can understand how some people find this strange, and even some of my own friends have asked me the same question. She is a gem of a human being and is everything I ever dreamed about in a wife. I feel like I've known her my entire life, we just get along incredibly well. Also, we've spoke over video call many times, I know exactly what to expect, and I don't know what benefit physically meeting in person would do in terms of discovering more about her.

 

Lastly, somebody will always bring up that they might just be looking for a greencard, but I don't see it. For one, she was hesitant to leave her family and country to move here until I convinced her. For two, if you wanted to scam someone, there are much easier ways to do it haha. I can't see someone who wanted to scam someone sharing the type of emotions and deep conversations we've had, not to mentioned talking all the time, and sharing family photos and effort put into our relationship. Usually from the stories I've heard, the scammer is very eager to get the US and do everything quickly, doesn't take much interest in the person they are trying to scam, and tries to control the entire process. None of that happened here, and I'd be lying if I said it never crossed my mind when we first met, but it's out of my mind now.

 

So to summarize, just think of it as meeting and falling in love with any other person you met, except it's been all digital instead of physical lol. We're dying to see each other, and I'm hoping to make it over the next month or so, have a small ceremony and do lots of activities, then return and file the petition.

Thank you for your very thoughtful answer. You are a lucky man and I wish you and your bride many decades of happiness.

[kubda89 10]

4 hours ago, JP_VN said:

Thank you for your very thoughtful answer. You are a lucky man and I wish you and your bride many decades of happiness.

Thank you sincerely kind stranger and best of luck to you!!