What counts as "marry"

[tqa62 0]

The rule for the k1 visa states that you must "marry" within 90 days of entry into the US.  Does "marry" mean get the license, or does it mean both the license and the actual ceremony?

 

In case it depends on my location, I live in San Francisco, California.

Edited January 4, 2017 by tqa62

[EM_Vandaveer 2,364]

It means getting legally married, as in having the ceremony.

getting a marriage license does NOT make you married. You could get it and never use it.

[hasheesha 45]

I think the OP meant marriage certificate rather than a marriage license. If that is the case then the certificate should be enough. You could go to court, get married and get a certificate and hold a ceremony later.

[tqa62 0]

1 minute ago, hasheesha said:

I think the OP meant marriage certificate rather than a marriage license. If that is the case then the certificate should be enough. You could go to court, get married and get a certificate and hold a ceremony later.

Is there a difference between certificate and license?

[hasheesha 45]

1 minute ago, tqa62 said:

Is there a difference between certificate and license?

Yup A marriage license is a piece of paper that authorizes you to get married and a marriage certificate is a document that proves you are married.
Typically, couples obtain a marriage license, hold the wedding ceremony, and then have the person who performed the ceremony file a marriage certificate in the appropriate county office within a few days. (This may be the office of the county clerk, recorder or registrar, depending on where you live.) The married couple will be sent a certified copy of the marriage certificate within a few weeks after the marriage ceremony.

[tqa62 0]

1 minute ago, hasheesha said:

Yup A marriage license is a piece of paper that authorizes you to get married and a marriage certificate is a document that proves you are married.
Typically, couples obtain a marriage license, hold the wedding ceremony, and then have the person who performed the ceremony file a marriage certificate in the appropriate county office within a few days. (This may be the office of the county clerk, recorder or registrar, depending on where you live.) The married couple will be sent a certified copy of the marriage certificate within a few weeks after the marriage ceremony.

So our plan was for her to arrive in the US in Feb, get our license from city hall in March, and have a traditional church wedding (pastor, organist, etc...) in June...but based on what you're saying, that wouldn't work because June would be more than the 90 days of her original entry, right?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Correct.

 

If you proceed with your plan, your fiancee will be out of status after 90 days and is deportable until you marry and file for AOS.  Furthermore, you would need to pay for the I-130 to file for her AOS.

Edited January 4, 2017 by aaron2020

[hasheesha 45]

12 minutes ago, tqa62 said:

So our plan was for her to arrive in the US in Feb, get our license from city hall in March, and have a traditional church wedding (pastor, organist, etc...) in June...but based on what you're saying, that wouldn't work because June would be more than the 90 days of her original entry, right?

Yeah that would not work. You could have her come in March/April instead and do the traditional wedding come June. Or you could get married in court March/April and do a traditional Church ceremony in June.

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by hasheesha

[tqa62 0]

10 minutes ago, hasheesha said:

Yeah that would not work. You could have her come in March/April instead and do the traditional wedding come June. Or you could get married in court March/April and do a traditional Church ceremony in June.

 

If I were to go with the latter, would the church ceremony just be for show since technically we already got married in court?  And if so, do churches typically mind if they're wedding a couple that's already married?

[tqa62 0]

17 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Correct.

 

If you proceed with your plan, your fiancee will be out of status after 90 days and is deportable until you marry and file for AOS.  Furthermore, you would need to pay for the I-130 to file for her AOS.

Wait...so does that mean it's technically possible as long as she's not deported?  Or even if we were to attempt to submit the certificate she would be rejected?

[hasheesha 45]

6 minutes ago, tqa62 said:

If I were to go with the latter, would the church ceremony just be for show since technically we already got married in court?  And if so, do churches typically mind if they're wedding a couple that's already married?

It depends on what you mean by "for show". Legally speaking, yes it will be. Religiously speaking, that is up to you. 

 

Churches do these things all the time so you should not have a problem there. You can talk to the churches pastor to clear things up now.

 

[tqa62 0]

6 minutes ago, hasheesha said:

It depends on what you mean by "for show". Legally speaking, yes it will be. Religiously speaking, that is up to you. 

 

Churches do these things all the time so you should not have a problem there. You can talk to the churches pastor to clear things up now.

 

Yeah, by show I just mean since we'd already be married the pastor isn't really wedding us, therefore making the ceremony more of a formality with friends/families rather than the actual day we got married.

Edited January 4, 2017 by tqa62

[geowrian 22,335]

26 minutes ago, tqa62 said:

Wait...so does that mean it's technically possible as long as she's not deported?  Or even if we were to attempt to submit the certificate she would be rejected?

Are you willing to risk being deported and probably never being able to be together in the US just to save a few months of a wedding ceremony? Or her not being allowed to work for that long until EAD is approved (~3 months after AOS filing)? Or Even then, being out of status can affect the AOS application.

[tqa62 0]

One last question 

 

The "Expiration Date" on the K-1 visa, is that the date she must enter the US by, or is that the date we need to get the marriage certificate by?  I'm asking because we'd like to get married in June but her visa expires in May.

 

Edit

 

Second last question 

 

How much time do we have to get the certificate after receiving the marriage license?  Is it 90 days?  I.e., could we get the license in March and have the ceremony in June?

Edited January 4, 2017 by tqa62

[hasheesha 45]

3 minutes ago, tqa62 said:

One last question 

 

The "Expiration Date" on the K-1 visa, is that the date she must enter the US by, or is that the date we need to get the marriage certificate by?  I'm asking because we'd like to get married in June but her visa expires in May.

The expiration on the visa is the date she must enter the US by. Once she is in the US, her 90 day clock starts (unrelated to the K1 expiry date). So you would be fine with her coming in April and you getting married in June.