K-1 Engagement proof included Fire ritual photos. Problem?

[junk 5]

Just now, Mike E said:

Assuming they are like me and do not post photos to social media, that’s good.

 

Yes, they are 70+ year olds, not very social media savvy, and anyone familiar enough with Indian traditions would associate those photos to a regular 'havan' as a part of regular service, and NOT a wedding ceremony anyway.

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, jmayam said:

anyone familiar enough with Indian traditions would associate those photos to a regular 'havan' as a part of regular service, and NOT a wedding ceremony anyway.

One might infer you think a CBP officer is familiar with those traditions.  To be clear, I do not believe that is the case.

 

The beneficiary and  travel companions should also scrub their devices of these photos.

[junk 5]

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

One might infer you think a CBP officer is familiar with those traditions.  To be clear, I do not believe that is the case.

 

The beneficiary and  travel companions should also scrub their devices of these photos.

 

OK. Thanks for the suggestion. 

[SalishSea 17,797]

2 hours ago, Mike E said:

Assuming they are like me and do not post photos to social media, that’s good.

Kind of moot since they included them all in the K-1 packet.

[SalishSea 17,797]

OP, your biggest issue will be with the consular interview (vs CBP).  India has a history of misuse/fraud for the K-1, precisely because historically it was much faster, so married people tried to go that route to "be together asap."

 

As in every aspect of US immigration, we are impacted by the actions of our fellow countrymen who went before us.

 

Since you can't prove a negative (i.e that you are not married), it could go either way at the interview, IMHO.

[Mike E 11,739]

8 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

Kind of moot since they included them all in the K-1 packet.

This assumes CBP will do an exhaustive examination of the file. IME it does not always. Source: me, standing with my fiancee at SFO after he opened the sealed packet.

 

And with that, I’ve contributed all I can, and I don’t wish to argue or bicker, so I won’t post more in this thread. 

[pc09 35]

If it was an engagement, post it on social media with photos stating as such. 

For the interview and port of entry, carry photos showing how an actual marriage happens in your family/culture. This way you can help educate and convince others, who are rightfully unaware of your family traditions, that this was indeed an engagement.

 

As a reference on my side, my fiancée in India, in a solo photo, looks like she is dressed for marriage even though she was attending a “haldi” of her cousin.

 

Considering that your NOA2 is expected any day now, IMO, this is your best bet. 

 

Best of luck. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by pc09

[junk 5]

1 hour ago, SalishSea said:

OP, your biggest issue will be with the consular interview (vs CBP).  India has a history of misuse/fraud for the K-1, precisely because historically it was much faster, so married people tried to go that route to "be together asap."

 

As in every aspect of US immigration, we are impacted by the actions of our fellow countrymen who went before us.

 

Since you can't prove a negative (i.e that you are not married), it could go either way at the interview, IMHO.

Thanks.

 

That was my primary question: What can we do in our interview preparation to demonstrate/explain/prove/clarify to the CO that the couple of ‘fire’ photos included in the Supporting affidavit were clearly from a regular Puja (routine worship service) and not from a wedding ceremony (which they were not), in the unfortunate case that the CO brings it up.

 

Would an extra affidavit help from my finace’s parents and/or the relative who provided the original affidavit with 2 fire photos, asserting/confirming that the photos were from a simple, routine puja attended by just their immediate family, and NOT from a wedding which would typically be more high profile and attended by dozens/hundreds of people?

 

Any other ideas to proactively prepare for tje possible confusion/questioning from the CO?

[junk 5]

8 minutes ago, pc09 said:

If it was an engagement, post it on social media with photos stating as such. 

For the interview and port of entry, carry photos showing how an actual marriage happens in your family/culture. This way you can help educate and convince others, who are rightfully unaware of your family traditions, that this was indeed an engagement.

 

As a reference on my side, my fiancée in India, in a solo photo, looks like she is dressed for marriage even though she was attending a “haldi” of her cousin.

 

Considering that your NOA2 is expected any day now, IMO, this is your best bet. 

 

Best of luck. 

Thanks! Great suggestions!

 

We both were relatively recently divorced back when we got engaged last year, and hence did not feel comfortable posting the photos on social media.

 

Afraid it may be a bit too late to post them now, a year later after the engagement, and risk looking like it was a deliberate/desperate attempt to create provability, no?

[pc09 35]

Fair point about posting engagement photos on social media. Probably skip it.

I am in a similar boat...both me and my fiancée are somewhat reserved so don't do social media. Can't speak for my relatives, especially the younger ones who may very well have posted something on social media. 

 

 

Also, like you, I went thru a phase of "what if they consider us too married for K1". Reality is they can. In which case, the onus really falls on me.

The simplest way is to just do a compare/contrast "this is what a typical wedding looks like in my family/culture via wedding pics of cousins/siblings/etc." and "this is what an engagement looks like of mine".

At the interview, keep the photos with you and if questions start to come up around "you look too married", then just show the photos and hope for the best. Any amount of discussion or other documents (affidavits) is unlike to help, IMO.

 

What matters is conviction while staying pleasant and calm during the interview. Easier said than done, that's why thank God my finacée has to face the interview. She is more 'steady hands' than I am .

 

Have faith. You will do just fine.

[junk 5]

6 minutes ago, pc09 said:

Fair point about posting engagement photos on social media. Probably skip it.

I am in a similar boat...both me and my fiancée are somewhat reserved so don't do social media. Can't speak for my relatives, especially the younger ones who may very well have posted something on social media. 

 

 

Also, like you, I went thru a phase of "what if they consider us too married for K1". Reality is they can. In which case, the onus really falls on me.

The simplest way is to just do a compare/contrast "this is what a typical wedding looks like in my family/culture via wedding pics of cousins/siblings/etc." and "this is what an engagement looks like of mine".

At the interview, keep the photos with you and if questions start to come up around "you look too married", then just show the photos and hope for the best. Any amount of discussion or other documents (affidavits) is unlike to help, IMO.

 

What matters is conviction while staying pleasant and calm during the interview. Easier said than done, that's why thank God my finacée has to face the interview. She is more 'steady hands' than I am .

 

Have faith. You will do just fine.

 

Thanks so much for the ideas and support!

 

My Engagement photos themselves are pretty clear since they have a Western style ‘kneel down’ proposal, etc.

 

It’s only 2 photos from a later post engagement puja, formalizing the engagement religiously that may tend to be questioned because of the presence of a fire pit in them, and might need to be defended/explained if need be, especially if the CO gets confused by the presence of a fire pit/havan if/since (s)he may not be familiar with typical wedding ceremonies which are way more elaborate vs regular puja which is way toned down.

[pc09 35]

Just thought of this, since my fiancée wants us to get married in a very typical Indian (maharashtrian) attire in India, maybe take pictures of those clothes with you as well for the interview 

Here's what my fiancée has in mind ... a stock photo from google.

[junk 5]

8 minutes ago, pc09 said:

Just thought of this, since my fiancée wants us to get married in a very typical Indian (maharashtrian) attire in India, maybe take pictures of those clothes with you as well for the interview 

Here's what my fiancée has in mind ... a stock photo from google.

 

Thx. We have something similar in mind as well for the wedding -  traditional South Indian style (stock photo samples below). Our regular puja photos included in tje K1 application are nowhere cllose to these, don’t have us wearing any garlands, etc that are typically worn at a wedding, etc and hopefully ithe contrast/differences are obvious to the CO, despite the presence of a havan fire pit in 2 of the dozens of photos submitted.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by jmayam