After the K-1

[Gallowglass 0]

If a civil marriage certificate exists anywhere with their names on it, they're married as far as US law is concerned.

And here's the link for what USCs have to do if marrying in Ecuador:

http://ecuador.usembassy.gov/service/livin...nformation.html

[Gallowglass 0]

The all important information being:

"Marriage of American citizens in Ecuador must be performed in accordance with Ecuadorian law. A marriage that is valid under Ecuadorian law is generally valid in any state of the United States. "

He needs to get an attorney ASAP.

[Matt and Sarah 0]

Ya'll correct me if I'm wrong, but one more major issue to deal with is that your wife will have to go back to Ecuador as you apply for a K3. She will not be able to stay in the US.

[DaFifthLetter175 0]

It was religious.... I spoke to an attorney here and he said that doesn't count. I also reached out to a family member that's a lawyer in Ecuador and he said it doesn't have any validity.

[Gallowglass 0]

[DaFifthLetter175 0]

Thanks for your help, I was ready to have a heart attack with all the fraud talks.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If it was a religious ceremony and not legally binding, then you need to get married now in the US before you can apply for AOS. If you apply as married using the Ecudoran religious ceremony the application will be denied either because a) they will decide that your fiance was married when she entered on a K-1 Visa and then applied for AOS, which is considered visa fraud, or B) your fiance is still your fiance because you have not yet had a legally binding marriage and you need to be legally married before filing for AOS. Are you still within the 90 day validity period of the K-1 I-94? If so, marry asap and use that marriage as the basis for the AOS. If not, then marry but you will have no longer be able to use the K-1 as the eligibility for AOS - you will need to co file an I-130 as well. Be very, very sure that you were not legally married when your wife entered the country. If you were, you cannot apply for AOS now. She would have to leave the country and you would have to start to process all over again as a K-3 or a CR-1. You would then have to convince the Consulate staff that you had no idea she was committing visa fraud by entering on the K-1 but when you found out, you immediately left the country to pursue the correct visa - and hope they are understanding! If this is the true situation, you should definitely seek legal counsel.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Kathryn41