Unofficial wedding in September

[khoamythovn 1]

Has anyone did an unofficial wedding while during a K1 Visa petition? I have already made plans to have a wedding in September that will not be documented. Will this have any affect on the K1 Visa or the interview process? I have only stated in the I-129F file I have made plans to visit VN in September. Included the flight info with the I-129F submission. I included this information as a way to show of my ongoing relationship evidence. No mention of wedding or any indications of it.

[lindal24 1]

I recall a few VJ members who stated that the went forward with a full blown out wedding (except they didn't file papers with the justice center)...hopefully those members will chime in once they scan the forums...

[O & C 3]

Has anyone did an unofficial wedding while during a K1 Visa petition? I have already made plans to have a wedding in September that will not be documented. Will this have any affect on the K1 Visa or the interview process? I have only stated in the I-129F file I have made plans to visit VN in September. Included the flight info with the I-129F submission. I included this information as a way to show of my ongoing relationship evidence. No mention of wedding or any indications of it.

My friends did the unofficial wedding, then the official marriage later. Everything went well for them. They got their NOA2 about a month after the unofficial wedding. I wish you the best..

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Has anyone did an unofficial wedding while during a K1 Visa petition? I have already made plans to have a wedding in September that will not be documented. Will this have any affect on the K1 Visa or the interview process? I have only stated in the I-129F file I have made plans to visit VN in September. Included the flight info with the I-129F submission. I included this information as a way to show of my ongoing relationship evidence. No mention of wedding or any indications of it.

My personal opinion, for what it's worth, is that it would have been better to have the unofficial wedding before the petition was submitted, and to include evidence of the ceremony with the petition. This would have given you a chance to explain that the ceremony was not a legally binding wedding, and would have eliminated it as a potential reason for the consulate to deny the visa. If it comes up at the interview then the CO doesn't have to accept any explanations. The CO's in HCMC don't play fair. They can look for evidence they can use as a basis for denial, and refuse to accept any evidence that contradicts their conclusions.

Anyway, several members here have had a wedding ceremony, and they still got approved. Bernie and Doan did this. He'll probably come along to give his opinion.

[BinhJerome 14]

We had the full blown Vietnamese wedding without the paperwork; it gave her family the wedding ceremony that would have taken place in America that they would not have been able to attend. We were denied, but it was not because of the wedding ceremony, and this never came up at the interview. We even hired a professional photographer that took photos of the alter, us together, us exchanging the traditional gifts and so on, ALL of these photos were at the interview and the CO was able to see them. Quite frankly our answer to any question about it that the CO would have asked would have been simply “Our real wedding is going to be in America, my fiancé knew that my family would not be able to attend, so we had the ceremony here for my family out of respect to them” How could a CO have anything else to say after that? To have a wedding ceremony without the paperwork does not make it a real wedding, it is what it is a way for you to show respect to their culture and her family. My CO coffee buddy here in HCMC feels the same, and has said that it does not matter to him as long as no documents are signed, and he has seen many people that have done it, and understands why a person would do it. But again this is only my view on the matter and on one CO’s point of view on the matter. I think you will be fine, and I also think that it will make your fiancée happier for you to do it, and it will even gain more respect from her family for you for doing it. Maybe Jim is right about having it done before you file, as we did, but as long as you make sure your fiancée understands to tell the CO that it was only a ceremony, not an actual wedding if asked you should be fine. On another related note, after our ceremony Binh always referred to me as her husband, and it was confusing to my family, she knew it was not legal, but she felt like it was, at the interview she knew not to refer to me in that way and she never did, so keep that in mind as well, just make sure she knows not to ever refer to you as her husband during an interview. Jerome