Approximating when to file K-1.

[Brad and Vika 130]

Cix and mox, I made the ceremony comments on purpose.

As I understood your comment, you believed he was talking about a legal marriage in Russia, in which case you would be right, the K1 would be invalidated. But to be clear, having a ceremony without registering the marriage doesn't void the K1, and this is what he's talking about.

Be careful here mox. I think that a valid church wedding (anywhere) makes you legally wed here for the purposes of a K-1. There are a bunch of posts from folks here who married in the FSU (only in a church) and used a K-3. Maybe you won't get caught - no civil marriage = no problem with the government checks and forms, but the spirit of the K-1 is that you are single, no? The best clue to that is that we recognize a church wedding as valid for almost anything here.

[Brad and Vika 130]

Be careful here mox. I think that a valid church wedding (anywhere) makes you legally wed here for the purposes of a K-1. There are a bunch of posts from folks here who married in the FSU (only in a church) and used a K-3. Maybe you won't get caught - no civil marriage = no problem with the government checks and forms, but the spirit of the K-1 is that you are single, no? The best clue to that is that we recognize a church wedding as valid for almost anything here.

Hmmmm. I know the government recognizes common law marriages, so I guess the question would be "does a 'church wedding' without actually signing anything qualify as a common law marriage?" I would think not, but of course IANAL so maybe. It seems to me that having a church wedding without signing anything would certainly be within the spirit of the K-1, but then again we are talking about the gubmit.

I agree that care needs to be taken. I would not volunteer this information to the interviewer or POE. I would not carry wedding pics, wear wedding rings, or in any other way give the impression I had participated in a wedding. Not because I think there's anything wrong with it, but because interviewers and USCIS officials tend to act in idiotic ways. If it were to come down to proving to the POE dude that you are NOT married, that's certainly a losing proposition.

One thing I noticed when looking back over the OP, is that he said they are planning on having an "unofficial wedding." The OP might want to clarify if this will be a church wedding, because many Russian weddings are not church weddings. So if they're going to just go through all the celebrations and wear suits and wedding dresses, I have a hard time believing that this could be considered official without registration. If it will be a "church wedding," maybe the OP should talk to someone who knows a thing or two about how the government sees that from a legal perspective.

Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness rambling...bottom line I think is that IMHO the OP should go through with his plans, but just make sure his fiancee is smart about it when she hits POE. If you're entering the country together, either just email yourself the photos beforehand, or if you only have printed photos then either mail them or criminy why the hell don't you have a digital camera? Same with rings and anything else that would imply you are married. If the OP is coming back before her, then it's easy. He should carry all the wedding stuff himself.

Good points Brad.

As are yours mox. Perhaps I was concerned a bit about just picking the correct visa for the situation too, but I don't know that a church wedding certificate (whatever that looks like) will get them past some of the proofs in Russia either. Hmmm.... I am also concerned about issues in the future, where the OP could have civil penalties here (annulment, polygamy) because of a previously unrecognized marraige there, aside from visa fraud concerns - potentially because in civil matters we do in most states recognize a church wedding as legit, and most churches recognize a civil marraige. Over-thinking no doubt. Also, living here in the bible belt, there is a school of thought that unofficially married is a little like unofficially pregnant

[Cixelsyd 1]

Sorry, I was being all quiet and everything lately. Again, I blame work.

Anyway, to answer one question that has been talked about. We are not planning on having an unofficial church ceremony. We actually did consider doing this at first until we found out the churches require a letter from the Zags before they will do any sort of ceremony.

Also, as far as the ceremony itself goes it would occur after the k-1 visa is approved. So the only potential problem would occur at the POE. Which, while I could be wrong, I would suspect that would be an unlikely place to get denied. That is of course provided you aren't doing something like wearing wedding rings etc... Even then, let's be honest, how much do the people watching the gate know about all this stuff. Personally, with my experience coming back into the US after a visit to Russia, the only thing they cared about was what I was bringing back with me.

Technically this whole situation isn't illegal. I don't think there should be any problems in the future, as this would not be a visa fraud. All the rules would be followed; officially married in the U.S. The slight difference is we would be having a celebration for the two of us (so what if she's wearing a white dress and I'm wearing a tux).

I do like hearing about other peoples thoughts on this matter though. So please continue with ideas and questions.

[Neonred 3,962]

Coming back to the US after a visit to Russia is one thing but entering the US with a Russian passport and a K-1 visa (depending on POE) can be a whole other matter. For us it was a 3+ hour ordeal in Atlanta. It was just crazy. I watched as our packet with passports (they took mine also) and large envelope from the embassy finally got some attention. I heard the young guy when he opened our documents and said " Oh $hit, a K-1. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" He looked to one of the other guys and asked how many days does a K-1 get? Another half hour later they called us up and started asking questions and reminded us about getting married in 90 days. I am sure other POE's differ but the point is that there is much more involved the asking what are you bringing in and then waving you through.

A nice "pre-wedding" ceremony should be a great time. Enjoy.

[Cixelsyd 1]

I'm surprised to hear that it took that long as well. Not that I have anything to compare it to. I would have just figured it didn't take that long. I know that they inform the SO about things they will need to do etc... But still, I wouldn't have thought it would need to take 3 hours. I do suppose part of the delay could have been the guy that didn't know what to do with your packet.

So now I'm just curious and have to ask. Ever hear of someone getting turned around at the POE? I'm sure it's happened before, although I suspect not very often.

[Brad and Vika 130]

Neon, I'm simply amazed that the dude didn't know what to do with a K-1. If you were flying into Denver, I'd understand it. But Atlanta? That's a HUGE international hub. Bizarre.

Read my review of our POE experience. Not harassment, but definitely long and dull. I mean the wait was long and the immigration guys, well.....

[Neonred 3,962]

Brad, I see you came in through Atlanta too. Of course for us it was three years ago, but it seems not much has changed. When we arrived it was a busy time and there were a lot of people waiting to be processed. There were three to four people "working" while we waited, but they seemed to be more interested in what the plans were for their dinner, and what they would be doing on the weekend. Very little work being done at any one time. Very frustrating for me as a US citizen to sit there and watch and listen to their BS.

They were very rude to people with connecting flights that were asking about the delays. They did announce several times that the standard processing time through Atlanta is between 2 and 4 hours so please sit down and don't bother us by asking questions. It's not our problem if you miss your connecting flight.

I will say that while I waited I did see and hear at least one case where a guy left the country without turning in his I-94. They made him sweat for a while, then scolded him, and then let him enter.

[Brad and Vika 130]

I will say that while I waited I did see and hear at least one case where a guy left the country without turning in his I-94. They made him sweat for a while, then scolded him, and then let him enter.

Gotta love small people with power. Or...wait. No you don't.

Right. It is tough to have a sense of humor about the poor service after another transatlantic flight-a-thon. We made our connection by minutes, so alls well that ends well.

[KGSodie 0]

We also flew through Atlanta last March, and when we got to the designated POE area, it was completely empty save for one family ahead of us. The vertical file on top of the officer's desk was also empty, except for our packet and the packet of the family in front of us. "Fabulous", I thought, since we had about 3 hours before our connecting flight. And still we were there waiting for 2.5 hours, as more and more people arrived and packets started stacking up. Just insane, though we did make our flight.

[russ 1]

On that note, she's wasting her time finishing up Uni in Russia. Get her over here ASAP, get whatever credits she can get transferred over and have her graduate from an American school. Remember, she'll be living in America, after all. Not that a Russian uni degree is worthless, but she'll still have to jump through a bunch of hoops to make it work in the States. Might as well save all that hoop jumping and apply it directly to an American degree, no hoops required. There are several highly-educated Russian women here on VJ and they can tell you how much "worth" their degree was when they got here. It's not like they can step off the plane and start their dental practice the next day. "Russian law degree? That's cool.

I wouldn't say the Russian degree is totally useless. My wife had hers certified, and it was enough to start a Masters degree here (which will finally be finished in 2 weeks). The US Masters degree is useful for getting a job here - the Russian one, not so much. One exception - a Russian degree in Mathematics, Engineering or Physics will be both very useful and well-recognized in the US.

As for waiting to file the K-1, don't wait. You can always ask them to extend it, which they will do almost automatically for another 6 months. I would just get married sooner though, and then have the ceremony whenever you want it. If you want to get married in FL, I'll marry you twice for free. I'm a FL notary, but I have yet to marry anyone. I'll even do the ceremony in Russian and English, if you like

[Cixelsyd 1]

As for waiting to file the K-1, don't wait. You can always ask them to extend it, which they will do almost automatically for another 6 months.

So how hard and or what do you do to extend it? Just curious since we may need to do that.

I would just get married sooner though, and then have the ceremony whenever you want it. If you want to get married in FL, I'll marry you twice for free. I'm a FL notary, but I have yet to marry anyone. I'll even do the ceremony in Russian and English, if you like smile.gif

When to get married is just timing. Being married sooner doesn't change when she would come to live here. It's a case of six vs half a dozen.

Although it would be fun to get married in FL. I often think I would love to live there. But the other half would kill me because she likes having a winter.

[Cixelsyd 1]

It's quite easy. When they schedule her interview, send an email to the Moscow embassy, asking them to please extend out the interview. Give them the target date you have in mind, and also the NVC case number, her full name, and her birth date. They won't be able to guarantee that exact date, but they'll get it close. The email address is ConsulMo@state.gov.

That's a lot easier than I thought it would be. I figured it would be some sort of nightmare with interviews; considering how much they like both paperwork and interviews.

[Brad and Vika 130]

We also flew through Atlanta last March, and when we got to the designated POE area, it was completely empty save for one family ahead of us. The vertical file on top of the officer's desk was also empty, except for our packet and the packet of the family in front of us. "Fabulous", I thought, since we had about 3 hours before our connecting flight. And still we were there waiting for 2.5 hours, as more and more people arrived and packets started stacking up. Just insane, though we did make our flight.

I have read similar stuff here, especially about Atlanta. The staff there are apparently the poster-children for government work.

[Cixelsyd 1]

Just pinging this thread to let Russ know I sent him a message.

I'll be making a more interesting thread in a second.