K1 visa (merged)

[aa= 0]

Hey. My Fiancé (petitioner) have applied for K1 visa for USA. We are first cousins. My fiancé lives in a state that doesn't allow cousin marriage. We have signed an affidavit that states that we are planning to get marry in a State that allows cousin marriages and won't break any law. Has anyone gone through same situation and still got the visa? Or do you know some 

one else how faced same situation like us. Any suggestion or advise will be appreciated. Thank you

[Chancy 6,243]

*** Moved from K1 Progress Reports to K1 Process & Procedures ***

 

10 minutes ago, aa= said:

My fiancé lives in a state that doesn't allow cousin marriage. We have signed an affidavit that states that we are planning to get marry in a State that allows cousin marriages and won't break any law.

 

Your fiance should move to a state that does allow 1st cousin marriages.  Your affidavit will be next to useless to the consulate.

 

[slavaskii 886]

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

*** Moved from K1 Progress Reports to K1 Process & Procedures ***

 

 

Your fiance should move to a state that does allow 1st cousin marriages.  Your affidavit will be next to useless to the consulate.

 

Tangential point, but won't the I-129F be automatically denied because the marriage won't be legal in the Petitioner's current state? I can't imagine that's an inquiry solely for the consulate and not USCIS. 

[aa= 0]

My sister also married first cousin living in Texas but they applied for spouse visa like 8 years ago. It got accepted but they had to go to nearby state to get married. So my question why they give spouse visa but not Fiancé visa? Maybe we should get married and apply for spouse visa?

but I will still want to wait for positive or negative response from USCIS as its  been 11 months since we applied K1 .

Edited October 5, 2022 by aa=

[aa= 0]

I know few people that applied for spouse visa for their first cousins. It got accepted from the US States that don't allow cousin marriages. But yes after approval They had to go to another State ( that allow cousin marriages) to get registered as married couple or you can say to do an American wedding in order to get Marriage certificate. So my question is why can't it work for K1 (Fiancé) visa?

Why can't Petitioner take his/ her fiancé to another state to get marry if their home state doesn't allow it. Thank you 

[Mike E 11,742]

Varies by state.  Some states have laws that don’t recognize a cousin marriage by a resident who gets married in another state. USCIS is aware of these laws and so it could deny I-129F

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2022 by Mike E

[JeanneAdil 6,606]

you could marry in another state but your AOS interview will be in Texas if your cousin still lives there

plus ,  after marriage cousin will not be able to add u to any state run plans (even our insurance laws are state to state)

 

So, be ready to hire a good lawyer , pay thru the nose ,  and go thru a lengthy legal battle if your cousin continues to live (with u ) in Texas as the following shows

 

Matter of Balodis, 17 I&N Dec. 428 (Reg. Comm. 1980)

 

 At issue was a K fiancée petition filed by a U.S. citizen petitioner on behalf of his first cousin. The petition was initially denied because the state of the petitioner's domicile, Michigan, prohibited marriages between first cousins. However, the INS regional commissioner reversed that decision because Michigan recognized marriages between first cousins when they were lawfully entered into outside of the state. Because the regional commissioner concluded that the petitioner and beneficiary could legally marry outside of Michigan, he reversed the denial of the K visa petition on that basis.

[Ontarkie 14,379]

~~Duplicate threads merged. Do Not start more than one thread for the same or related topic.~~

[Ontarkie 14,379]

In order to get any visa,  spousal or fiance you must be living in a state that is legal. Getting married in a state where it is legal and then moving back to Texas will not work. In Texas they will not recognize the marriage and it will still be illegal.  

[Chancy 6,243]

On 10/4/2022 at 1:22 PM, slavaskii said:

Tangential point, but won't the I-129F be automatically denied because the marriage won't be legal in the Petitioner's current state? I can't imagine that's an inquiry solely for the consulate and not USCIS. 

 

It's possible that USCIS may deny the petition, but I could not find any official USCIS policy stating that a self-affidavit would not be enough to address the issue.  On the other hand, there is clear DOS policy about K1 visa ineligibility for this situation -- https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030205.html#M302_5_4_B_3

9 FAM 302.5-4(B)(3)  (U) Applicants Whose Marriage Violates State Law

[...]

Additionally, if an applicant intends to marry another individual in the United States in a state where such marriage would be legal but will then reside in another state where such marriage may violate that state’s laws, the applicant may be ineligible under INA 212(a)(3)(A)(ii).