Location of marriage? Where to get married? Is anything legally wrong with getting married in America on a visit?

[mark_adders 0]

Hi All, 

 

Wondering the pros and cons of where to get married, country wise? Seen recently flags against getting married in USA, then seeking CR1. Seeking to establish the truths of the matter, as this seems odd to me.

 

My fiance and I want to get married and do the CR1 visa process. I live in Canada, she lives in America (citizen). To marry I would be in america on a visitor visa. Same for her in Canada.

-Is there pros and cons of the place of marriage? 

-Does an american wedding work against the visa process? Is it all legal?

-How do the USA visa centers view a marraige in america?

-Can I continue to visit?

-what kind of marriage certificate or otherwise do the US Gov want to see? Has anyone had authenticity issues?

 

I've had a port of entry officer and other resources make me second guess this so any information of this would be great. 

 

What I know is its quicker in USA, you can do a 'wedding' it in one day and get the certificate in a week. 

Canada you need a registration from service bc, then organise a commissioner, then wait up to 1 month on certificate .

 

Any comments would be appreciated, 

 

Mark

[Boiler 45,486]

Either is fine

 

Marriage Certificate issuance in the US varies significantly

[pushbrk 12,882]

34 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Either is fine

 

Marriage Certificate issuance in the US varies significantly

Yeah, the biggest difference is in the time to get your hands on a "Certified Copy" of the marriage certificate.  Usually fast in the US, but varies by state.  Ontario is notoriously slow.  Otherwise, no pros or cons really.  Remember to indicate you are coming for a visit, not coming to get married.  Both are true, but one will likely raise additional questions.

[SalishSea 17,827]

2 hours ago, mark_adders said:

Hi All, 

 

Wondering the pros and cons of where to get married, country wise? Seen recently flags against getting married in USA, then seeking CR1. Seeking to establish the truths of the matter, as this seems odd to me.

 

My fiance and I want to get married and do the CR1 visa process. I live in Canada, she lives in America (citizen). To marry I would be in america on a visitor visa. Same for her in Canada.

-Is there pros and cons of the place of marriage? 

-Does an american wedding work against the visa process? Is it all legal?

-How do the USA visa centers view a marraige in america?

-Can I continue to visit?

-what kind of marriage certificate or otherwise do the US Gov want to see? Has anyone had authenticity issues?

 

I've had a port of entry officer and other resources make me second guess this so any information of this would be great. 

 

What I know is its quicker in USA, you can do a 'wedding' it in one day and get the certificate in a week. 

Canada you need a registration from service bc, then organise a commissioner, then wait up to 1 month on certificate .

 

Any comments would be appreciated, 

 

Mark

I believe this was answered in your previous thread.

[Daphne . 1,853]

Nothing illegal about getting married in the US, just leave after your visit. I got married in the US, returned to my home country a few days after the wedding and we started the CR1 process.
 

I was able to visit while my CR1 was processing, I had a stable job/life in the NL and only had short visits (1-2 weeks per visit) because of those strong ties to my home country. Never had issues visiting. 

[mark_adders 0]

22 hours ago, SalishSea said:

I believe this was answered in your previous thread.

Feel free to point out where that information is I am curious why you think that

18 hours ago, Daphne . said:

Nothing illegal about getting married in the US, just leave after your visit. I got married in the US, returned to my home country a few days after the wedding and we started the CR1 process.
 

I was able to visit while my CR1 was processing, I had a stable job/life in the NL and only had short visits (1-2 weeks per visit) because of those strong ties to my home country. Never had issues visiting. 

Ok good to know! Thank you. When did you get married?

[mark_adders 0]

On 10/11/2023 at 8:23 PM, pushbrk said:

Yeah, the biggest difference is in the time to get your hands on a "Certified Copy" of the marriage certificate.  Usually fast in the US, but varies by state.  Ontario is notoriously slow.  Otherwise, no pros or cons really.  Remember to indicate you are coming for a visit, not coming to get married.  Both are true, but one will likely raise additional questions.

Thanks for the reassuring comment. We will be in Montana and I believe it's fairly efficient.

[SalishSea 17,827]

1 hour ago, mark_adders said:

Feel free to point out where that information is I am curious why you think that

Ok good to know! Thank you. When did you get married?

Happy to.  The entire process was thoroughly explained in your previous thread.

Edited October 13, 2023 by SalishSea

[Daphne . 1,853]

5 hours ago, mark_adders said:

Ok good to know! Thank you. When did you get married?

In 2018

[mark_adders 0]

On 10/12/2023 at 10:25 PM, SalishSea said:

Happy to.  The entire process was thoroughly explained in your previous thread.

Well done for being so quick and consistent with your comments.

However you have missed the nuance of our question. Can you contribute something helpful to answer the specific question of this seperate thread? 

 

We are doing the CR1 process. We need to know if getting married in america, on a visitors visa, then me leaving again, to start working on our CR1, will work against our CR1 visa application in any way. We want some hard data or information that helps us understand. There is information online that is worded and suggests that this is uncommon or possible wrong. But we cannot ascertain anything legally wrong with it.

[Boiler 45,486]

1 hour ago, mark_adders said:

Well done for being so quick and consistent with your comments.

However you have missed the nuance of our question. Can you contribute something helpful to answer the specific question of this seperate thread? 

 

We are doing the CR1 process. We need to know if getting married in america, on a visitors visa, then me leaving again, to start working on our CR1, will work against our CR1 visa application in any way. We want some hard data or information that helps us understand. There is information online that is worded and suggests that this is uncommon or possible wrong. But we cannot ascertain anything legally wrong with it.

Not an issue

[Lil bear 4,201]

4 hours ago, mark_adders said:

 

 

We are doing the CR1 process. We need to know if getting married in america, on a visitors visa, then me leaving again, to start working on our CR1, will work against our CR1 visa application in any way. We want some hard data or information that helps us understand. There is information online that is worded and suggests that this is uncommon or possible wrong. But we cannot ascertain anything legally wrong with it.

This is a common.. legal.. and appropriate process for the situation you have described to us 

[TiffAndMike 54]

My husband and I got married a couple of months ago in Las Vegas. We paid the chapel an extra fee and had our marriage certificate back the next day. 

 

He was on VWP when we got married.  He went back to his country a month later and then I filed the petition.  Nothing illegal about this as he went home and we are going through consular processing. 

 

I talked to several lawyers before doing this and there is no law against it. 

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

1 hour ago, TiffAndMike said:

My husband and I got married a couple of months ago in Las Vegas.

For anyone else interested, I think @Loren Y still offers free marriage service in Las Vegas for Visa Journey members.  Hopefully, he will clarify this here.  

Edited November 8, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Loren Y 2,755]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

For anyone else interested, I think @Loren Y still offers free marriage service in Las Vegas for Visa Journey members.  Hopefully, he will clarify this here.  

Yes, I am still doing the Free service for anyone who wants to get married in Vegas. We can have the whole process done with certificate in hand in about an hour here in Las Vegas,NV. Probably the fastest place to get married in the US. Feel free to message me if you need more information.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Loren Y