Civil Ceremony Before K1 is approved?

[Jasmine&Eric 0]

Hi......I was just wondering...is it possible to do a civil ceremony in the petitioners country before the K1 visa is approved? I'm going to visit my fiancé at the end of august and we were thinking it would be nice to do a civil ceremony for his family there. Of course we wouldn't want to mess up the processing of our K1, so if it would we definitely wouldn't do it. We are already planning our big wedding ceremony for next year august, but since we'd have to do a civil wedding before that when he initial gets here....we thought why not in France too!

[Rohini 0]

Anything that is seen as a "wedding" can make you have to start all over if the U.S. Consulate/Embassy finds out about it. Then they will tell you to file for some other benefit such as K3. An engagment party or ceremony might be a better choice. Good luck and happy journey to you both!

[TBoneTX 43,038]

Anything that is seen as a "wedding" can make you have to start all over if the U.S. Consulate/Embassy finds out about it. Then they will tell you to file for some other benefit such as K3. An engagment party or ceremony might be a better choice. Good luck and happy journey to you both!

This is true -- and be very careful that any photos or evidence of this event that you provide to the consulate at the interview will NOT even remotely appear to be a wedding. This has gotten people into big trouble in other countries.

[amykathleen2005 441]

If you will be married at the end of it then you are no longer a fiance and no longer qualify for the visa, simple as that.

[JlovesA 109]

Basically...you can do anything that doesn't cause you to be married legally. However, if the consulate/embassy finds out about it (through pictures or mentioning it in the interview, for example), they may be suspicious that it was a real wedding and deny the visa application.

Whether you choose to take the risk is up to you. Personally, I would probably do it if that was my plan and make sure all photos and evidence of it were kept to a minimum and private.

[ryna 132]

Hi......I was just wondering...is it possible to do a civil ceremony in the petitioners country before the K1 visa is approved? I'm going to visit my fiancé at the end of august and we were thinking it would be nice to do a civil ceremony for his family there. Of course we wouldn't want to mess up the processing of our K1, so if it would we definitely wouldn't do it. We are already planning our big wedding ceremony for next year august, but since we'd have to do a civil wedding before that when he initial gets here....we thought why not in France too!

Don't do it!

A civil ceremony in France most certainly creates a legal marriage that is automatically recognized by the U.S. (sometimes, in some countries, there's a "grey area" regarding religious ceremonies.) This will automatically void any K-1 in process and you'll be required to start again using the CR-1(?) process (married < 2 years.) Even if it worked, and you had no problems at the POE, you don't want any immigration troubles later, even years later, based upon violating the conditions of the K-1. To me, it wouldn't be worth the risk..

Isn't France a Visa Waiver Country? It would be far safer (and, if it is a VWP country, relatively easy) for his family to travel to the US for the "big" ceremony.

[Jasmine&Eric 0]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We're not even going to risk it, it was just an idea to keep the families involved in every aspect. His family in France will be here for the ceremony next year anyway so it's not a big deal. We would rather move forward and not have to start the process allover again. Thanks again for the speedy replies.