Can you file a I-129F and marry the person while waiting?

[john_and_marlene 162]

Reza - if it's free of the legal part THEN STOP SAYING YOU GOT MARRIED.

You had a wedding. Big deal. You aren't breaking new ground with this strategy, but what you are doing is casually swapping out one term for another when, to a less educated VJ reader, a mistake could spell a 10 year ban or worse.

Be careful with your words. A WEDDING does not a legal marriage make. And the difference between the two is absolutely vital in the K1 process.

There was a K1 here on VJ last year. He referred to his "wife" to CBP and was refused entry unless he could prove he wasn't married. He couldn't and was put into detention until he could be sent back. Too bad there wasn't a notary around.

[TimsDaisy 0]

I work for a large bank and I am a notary..... when I sign and seal a document for a client I am confirming that I have verified their ID and have witnessed them sign the document.... nothing more... the content of the document could be total lies...

Kez

I'd insert the nodding smiley here, but it wouldn't be nodding assertively enough . . .

A notary is attesting the identity of the person who signed the document - the authenticity of the signature. A notary has no ability to verify the truth of the substance within the document.

Like on the I-134. The notary isn't affirming that you make the right amount of money, only that you are swearing that you make the right amount of money. HUGE difference there.

[Fandango 1,439]

Either Reza isn't married & is complicating his case tenfold because they had a party, or Reza IS married, and is in the midst of putting his wife at risk of deportation, should they even GET approved....and that's with committing visa fraud as well.

[payxibka 10,045]

A notary is attesting the identity of the person who signed the document - the authenticity of the signature. A notary has no ability to verify the truth of the substance within the document.

Like on the I-134. The notary isn't affirming that you make the right amount of money, only that you are swearing that you make the right amount of money. HUGE difference there.

The oath or affirmation on the I-134 has nothing to do with the "right amount of money". The Oath or affirmation says "signed by me and that the statements are true and correct". However, whether "true and correct" or the "right amount of money", the notrary isn't affirming anything other than the "signed by me" part.

[Sinergy 3]

Well, I married, but I don't have proof of my marriage! if you don't have proof of your marriage you can file I-129f as a fiancé which is I did.. I married in sharia.. and i couldn't married by that country law! and another point I had to make a quick decision because my fiancé she well have no family in state and she well be disappointed and depressed so I did weeding ceremony to make her happy while we were there....! Which I explain the situation in my I-129f files!

You can be married without evidence of proof of married by certain country and rules! you can be married and still not married by religions!

as muslim I am married my wife but it still it be a fiance , i cant proof that with any type of doc which we are married!

so sample!

Lets wait and see the result of your actions before you go recomending them to others..... It is very easy to prove you are married but it is very hard to prove you are not.... lets hope your interviewing officer understand what you have done and that you have some form of proof to show them that you are not married....

Kez

as I said, nor do I or my Fiance have any doc says we are married! but we married and I send them the weeding pics, and I explain and I said, if you going to say you married I can't proof my marriage with any type of doc! those are just a ceremoney!

I know it well be fine and I spoke with my friend which is a attorney of law and he says right, people have a different culter and religions... ect.. if you married proof of your marriage if not go with I-129f no matter what as long you don't have a doc to shows that you are married

Do you just mean you had a WEDDING but didn't get legally MARRIED?

A stern warning to all who read this thread: until we know the legal details of what constitutes marriage in Reza's country, then it would be STUPID for anyone to follow that advice. If Reza had a WEDDING, but not a legal MARRIAGE, then that's a different kettle of fish.

Language is everything in this process. Certain words are magic and earn you a visa or earn you a long stay in AP or a denial.

Reza, if you had a WEDDING - a party or cultural celebration but free of the legal component - then you're probably fine. But if that's the case DO NOT go around saying you "got married" as a way of telling others that marrying will have no effect on a FIANCE visa.

exactly free of the legal component! I didnt said marriage and aplly for Finace visa, I said if your satiuation is like mines.. your are fine!

Just talk to your attorney... ignore the forums and other ... just talk to your attorney..

for the bolded part: to the OP, dont ignore the forums, this forum has helped more ppl than all the immigration lawyers out there could. and dont take advice from this guy. the k1 visa is for FIANCE. if you get married then youve become a SPOUSE and the k1 is no longer good to use. stick with it, dont get married until you are approved , interview passed and your fiance is here in the US with you

You had a CEREMONY, bit deal, that doesnt make you married unless it was signed by the person who married you and filed with the state or government where you got married. if it was, then your SOL. meaning USCIS can track that.

Edited July 26, 2007 by Ionescu

[YuAndDan 153]

Well, I married, but I don't have proof of my marriage! if you don't have proof of your marriage you can file I-129f as a fiancé which is I did.. I married in sharia.. and i couldn’t married by that country law! and another point I had to make a quick decision because my fiancé she well have no family in state and she well be disappointed and depressed so I did weeding ceremony to make her happy while we were there....! Which I explain the situation in my I-129f files!

You can be married without evidence of proof of married by certain country and rules! you can be married and still not married by religions!

as muslim I am married my wife but it still it be a fiance , i cant proof that with any type of doc which we are married!

so sample!

This is a case where in the eyes of both governments you are not legally married, so with regards to the immigrations process you are still considered to be fiancees. Once entering the country you need to do a legal marriage to then file for AOS.

Many do have "marriage" ceremonies but without the legal paperwork, and have no problems with the visa, you are not married in the legal sense.

In my case we had a engagement party for family in China before traveling home using the K-1.

In this case "Do not refer to each other as "Husband" or "Wife" at the visa interview, and at the POE.

[Reza 0]

right dan seam as I, lot of i rod allot of posts..! too many thinks too many words... but any way, how ever just share your story with high Professional attorney

Well, I married, but I don't have proof of my marriage! if you don't have proof of your marriage you can file I-129f as a fiancé which is I did.. I married in sharia.. and i couldn’t married by that country law! and another point I had to make a quick decision because my fiancé she well have no family in state and she well be disappointed and depressed so I did weeding ceremony to make her happy while we were there....! Which I explain the situation in my I-129f files!

You can be married without evidence of proof of married by certain country and rules! you can be married and still not married by religions!

as muslim I am married my wife but it still it be a fiance , i cant proof that with any type of doc which we are married!

so sample!

This is a case where in the eyes of both governments you are not legally married, so with regards to the immigrations process you are still considered to be fiancees. Once entering the country you need to do a legal marriage to then file for AOS.

Many do have "marriage" ceremonies but without the legal paperwork, and have no problems with the visa, you are not married in the legal sense.

In my case we had a engagement party for family in China before traveling home using the K-1.

In this case "Do not refer to each other as "Husband" or "Wife" at the visa interview, and at the POE.

[nane1104 146]

[GaryC 7]

I will add my voice to the rest of those that are warning people about "getting married" or "having a wedding" before the K-1 visa is finished. I have seen many K-1 visas get denied because of things like this. Remember that it isn't up to the CO to prove you are married, it is up to you to prove you are not! If the CO has even the slightest idea that you may be married you will at minimum buy yourself many months of AR and very possibly a lifetime ban for visa fraud. Even if you "get away with it" when you try to adjust during the AOS and they find out about it you can still be deported. Visa fraud is taken very seriously by the USCIS and they can rule any way they want despite what YOU think is right. They make the rules and they will nail you if they find out.

The best advice I can give is to ALWAYS play by the rules, be patient and don't try to skirt the law with ill-advised advice like Reza is giving. Stay single, put off any ceremony that could even slightly be thought of as a marriage and wait for it.

[~Nini~ 2]

as I said, nor do I or my Fiance have any doc says we are married! but we married and I send them the weeding pics, and I explain and I said, if you going to say you married I can't proof my marriage with any type of doc! those are just a ceremoney!

Pictures say a thousand words, notarized or not.

To add - anyone who deduces from this that they can get legally married and withhold the documentation from USCIS is only looking for a lot of trouble.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Reza - if it's free of the legal part THEN STOP SAYING YOU GOT MARRIED.

You had a wedding. Big deal. You aren't breaking new ground with this strategy, but what you are doing is casually swapping out one term for another when, to a less educated VJ reader, a mistake could spell a 10 year ban or worse.

Be careful with your words. A WEDDING does not a legal marriage make. And the difference between the two is absolutely vital in the K1 process.

Checking Reza's timeline, I would say they may be in for some trouble. Describing what you did is one thing but it hasn't resulted in a visa or successful entry to the USA yet.

Definitely stop referring to the person applying for a fiance visa as a wife.

[nane1104 146]

He is calling her his fiancee...and he said they don't have any documents which I read as they had a non-legal ceremony like many others.

Now I am not sure if he really doesn't have any documents stating they got really married or if he is just withholding them to USCIS, but I Do believe, submitting the wedding pictures, legal or non-legal ceremony, wasn't the smartest one could have done!

If I was a CO, that would definitley rise some red flags...

[caybee 21]

As others have said, you can make it through USCIS and the consulate, get the K-1 visa, get the plane ticket, and still get turned back at the POE because a couple of human beings there are suspicious. It has happened. Have a ceremony, sure. But the words married, wife and husband need to be out of the vocabulary until the beneficiary is safely through the POE, especially if they are going through alone, especially if English is not their first language. Just because an attorney says the law is on your side, why wave words and pictures around needlessly and risk planting suspicion in the mind of a human being who has the power to make your life miserable for months or years? Why take that chance, and why advise anyone else to do so? Be honest, play the game, don't muddy the waters needlessly, and get your loved one here with you with as little hassle as possible. That's the point of all of this, not claiming that the law is on your side and challenging others to prove otherwise. This is not a chess game.

[rebeccajo 14]

Just for the record.........

There's a difference between a 'party' and a 'wedding' - the word itself implies marriage.

And never take advice from someone on a forum who can't even construct a sentence.

[Missy1 0]

I totally agree...I had to learn not to use the those words.