Can we get a k-1 fiance visa if we are married outside the US?

[Egyptian Cotton 1]

I am an American citizen living in Egypt. I married my Egyptian husband here because we needed the paperwork to be able to legally live together, we never registered the marriage with the US embassy so as far as the US is concerned I am not married.

We want to have a small wedding in the US. My husband was denied a tourist visa about 8 months ago and has never visited the US.

Can we apply for a k-1 fiance visa since we are not married in the United States even though we were married in Egypt??

Thanks for your help

[VOL 425]

OF course you are considered legally married in USA

No K1 for you........

Edited July 23, 2015 by VOL

[Egyptian Cotton 1]

We are not considered married unless we get the Egyptian marriage certificate translated, authenticated and registered in the US. Right now I file my US taxes as "single" and there is no record of the marriage in the United States.

[racheal&david 108]

Married is married. Any ceremony in which you enter into marriage and receive a marriage certificate is in the eyes of the law, legal. The U.S. will recognise you as married. A K1 visa is no longer a valid option for you.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

We are not considered married unless we get the Egyptian marriage certificate translated, authenticated and registered in the US. Right now I file my US taxes as "single" and there is no record of the marriage in the United States.

Wrong. As others have said, married is married. You do not need it registered in the usa. You're filing your taxes fraudulently and should fix this asap.

[General Buhari 46]

Wrong. As others have said, married is married. You do not need it registered in the usa. You're filing your taxes fraudulently and should fix this asap.

And leaving money on the table also...

[Girl from Celebes 588]

We are not considered married unless we get the Egyptian marriage certificate translated, authenticated and registered in the US. Right now I file my US taxes as "single" and there is no record of the marriage in the United States.

You don't need to register your marriage at US Embassy in Cairo to get it recognized. The US recognized all forms of marriage even traditional or religious one. Bear in mind if they caught you doing so, not only your husband will get denied for the visa but also they can considered you as "misrepresentation". The result? Your husband could get ban for coming to the US.

[belinda63 2,981]

The US recognizes all marriages no matter where they happened as long as the marriage is legal in that country. There is no requirement nor even a method to "register" a marriage with the US government. You are married in Egypt and you are married in the US.

[Unidentified 2,930]

I am an American citizen living in Egypt. I married my Egyptian husband here because we needed the paperwork to be able to legally live together, we never registered the marriage with the US embassy so as far as the US is concerned I am not married.

We want to have a small wedding in the US. My husband was denied a tourist visa about 8 months ago and has never visited the US.

Can we apply for a k-1 fiance visa since we are not married in the United States even though we were married in Egypt??

Thanks for your help

No, you are married an therefor no longer fiances. The K1 is only for fiance's. Your marriage is still recognized by the US even though it happened in Egypt. You will have to go the spousal visa route. And you might want to stop filing your taxes as single because you're not single anymore...

You can still have a ceremony in the US though, just not get officially married because you are already married.

[Pekan 11]

and tell me what you would do when the CO wants to see your husband's marital background..whether or not he has ever been married.. I know they ask that question. and one might have to prove it with an official paper stating all the marital history.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Pekan

[Egyptian Cotton 1]

OK.

1. We were not planning on lying about the marriage in Egypt. In the state of Illinois (where I am from) you can still register for and receive a marriage license even if you are married in another state or in a foreign country. We had every intention of being forthright about our Egyptian marital status but wondered if being that we are doing a full legal wedding ceremony in the US we could possibly qualify for the K-1.

2. You have all made it abundantly clear that this is not a possibility. I thank you for your replies but maybe some of you could have read the responses already made before repeating the exact same information 10 times.

3. As for taxes, I have been married under one year and my tax lawyer (who I use since I file from overseas) assured me that it is not necessary to file as a married couple since I am only reporting on one income. I am not trying to evade taxes or swindle the US government, our marriage was just very close to the filing date and it wasn't necessary.

Thank you all for your prompt replies.

[belinda63 2,981]

Married for tax purposes is married on Dec. 31 of the year being filed for, not caring if you are married when you file.

Understand that immigration is a slow process. For a spousal visa you are looking at a year or more before the visa is issued, if he receives one.

[dilip 187]

You are married and KI visa is not for you. Do not try to do anything sounds illegal, it will be uncovered.

[Egyptian Cotton 1]

We are not looking for him to be able to immigrate. I understand it is a slow process and if that was what we wanted to we would be more than happy to patiently wait for it. We want to go to the US for 11 days. 11 days. That's it. We are going to have a wedding, then a reception, then come back to Egypt. Where we live and work and want to be.

As I mentioned previously we have no intention of doing anything illegal...that is why I posed the question to begin with. I have also sent an email to the Consulate here in Egypt asking the same question.

Please, unless you are going to tell me something useful, I don't need to see the same responses again.

[Ontarkie 13,904]

~~Moved to Tourist Visas, from K1 P&P - As the OP has no intentions of having her husband immigrate. The only available option is a Tourist Visa.~~

Edited July 23, 2015 by Ontarkie