Living with your fiancé while your K1 visa is being processed

[W199 351]

3 hours ago, DELTAFOXTROT said:

OP states is he living in Philippines. 

 

If he does Utah online, then he can encounter problems getting a 13a visa in Philippines.  

 

They would just laugh at you if you tried to get 13a visa in Philippines to stay there if you bring a Utah online marriage to them, works for US immigration but not for living in Philippines.

 

13a visa requires a PSA marriage certificate.  There was a short period of time that the Philippines didn't accept Utah marriges. But now the Philippines courts ruled on Utah marries a couple of years ago, so I don't think that is true anymore.  People are doing Utah marriages all the time now, and the Philippine embassies accept it as proof for the ROM.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for them, nor am I  a fan of them except in very special cases. 

 

Hence, whether you have a Utah marriage or just a normal foreign marriage, the embassies accept it for the ROM, and the subsequent PSA is not an issue. 

 

Getting married in the Philippines is such a huge hassle, and the 3-9 month delay of getting a PSA marriage certificate to being able to file for the CR1 seems to rule it out for most people. If you are not in any rush to get the CR1, as in years, and want to have a huge traditional wedding in the Philippines with hundreds of family members, the whole Barangay coming to get free food, slaughtered pigs and very little gifts, then a local wedding would be very nice. For myself, I hate big weddings.

Edited Sunday at 11:06 PM by W199

[Crazy Cat 42,159]

24 minutes ago, W199 said:

13a visa requires a PSA marriage certificate.  There was a short period of time that the Philippines didn't accept Utah marriges. But now the Philippines courts ruled on Utah marries a couple of years ago, so I don't think that is true anymore.  People are doing Utah marriages all the time now, and the Philippine embassies accept it as proof for the ROM.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for them, nor am I  a fan of them except in very special cases. 

 

Hence, whether you have a Utah marriage or just a normal foreign marriage, the embassies accept it for the ROM, and the subsequent PSA is not an issue. 

 

Getting married in the Philippines is such a huge hassle, and the 3-9 month delay of getting a PSA marriage certificate to being able to file for the CR1 seems to rule it out for most people. If you are not in any rush to get the CR1, as in years, and want to have a huge traditional wedding in the Philippines with hundreds of family members, the whole Barangay coming to get free food, slaughtered pigs and very little gifts, then a local wedding would be very nice. For myself, I hate big weddings.

Thank you for that information.  That eliminates one of the supposed obstacles. 

[Edward and Jaycel 458]

5 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Thank you for that information.  That eliminates one of the supposed obstacles. 

 

Just be aware, the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco requires the Utah Online Marriage Certificate to be apostilled by the Lt. Governor of Utah in order to file the ROM

[SalishSea 18,106]

On 1/17/2025 at 11:22 PM, Golfnut said:

if we do the CR-1 visa, that clock would start 6 to 12 months later than doing a K1 visa.

How do you figure that?  Maybe you don't realize that the clock only starts when the GC is issued, which could be a year after arrival to the US?