What counts as "marry"

[Shauneg 762]

1 hour 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?

Most states only allow you 30 days to use your license then you must reapply for another license.....

[EM_Vandaveer 2,364]

Why can't she come in April or May? Then the church ceremony would also be the legal wedding, if that's important for you.

personal story:

I got married 3 times:

1) courthouse wedding

2) ceremony with friends & family 

3) a couple of years later:

Jewish wedding after we converted to Judaism

 

Legally, only the first counts. All three were meaningful to me.

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 hour 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?

Why would you allow her to be at risk?  Is your plan worth the risk?  That's for you to decide.  I would not put the person that I love at risk if I can prevent it.

[caliliving 606]

it means get MARRIED so you need to have a cermony.

get the license, and have a courthouse wedding for legal purposes you and her. dont tell anyone you are married, dont even exhange rings, then have the ceremony after.. immigration means you have to do things u dont always want to do. you should be happy to be together, that is the main thing.

or have her leave her country later (when does her K1 to enter the country expire???) 

dont make this overly complicated for yourself.. just make sure you are LEGALLY married before the 90 days are up, whether you have to go to a court house or do your wedding earlier or drive to vegas and have elvis marry you.. whatever works for you. the most important aspect of a k1 is to marry in 90 days. 

[Scandi 3,970]

2 hours ago, Shauneg said:

Most states only allow you 30 days to use your license then you must reapply for another license.....

I think s/he is in California, the license is valid for 90 days.

[AstroCanada 206]

16 hours 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.

 

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?

Just to completely clarify.  The marriage license has absolutely nothing to do with immigration.  Any questions about obtaining/using/expiration of the license are purely the responsibility of the issuing body either on a state of local level.  The marriage licenses usually expire some number of days after getting them, but for immigration purposes the government doesn't care.

 

The timeline you care about is when you get married relative to when you enter the country on the K1.  You have 90 days from when you enter on the K1 to get married.  Depending on where you get married the certificate may take some amount of time longer to receive and once you have that you can file for AOS.  Not legally marrying within 90 days of entry can only complicate your situation and is best avoided.

 

Finally, it is not uncommon for people to have a civil ceremony in advance of a religious ceremony.  You just have to check with your officiant.  There's no real need to even tell your guests.  The civil marriage is the only thing that government cares about.