Is K-1 the best way for us?

[Dereklee003 2]

Here is my situation. I currently live in Korea, but will be going home in August. My gf and I plan to be married in about a year or so. She is Korean and will stay here when I go home in August. The plan is for me to come back to get married here in Korea, and then move to the U.S. and have a second wedding for my family there. Is K-1 the best/quickest way for us?

[Inky 1,111]

Nope the K-1 is not an option for you. You cannot marry in Korea on a K-1. You are REQUIRED to marry in the USA on a K-1 visa.

If you want to marry in Korea you must file a spousal visa I-130 after your marriage.

[rayandmel 39]

If you marry in Korea, you will have to file for a spousal visa and your spouse will have to wait in Korea for the time it takes for it to be approved which equals being married and being apart. IF you want to go the K1 route, like Inky stated, you MUST get married in the US. You can NOT have a wedding in Korea first. Keep in mind waiting time for both is on average 6 months just for the petition (give or take a month or two) so you need to plan accordingly.

Edited May 12, 2012 by rayandmelissa

[rayandmel 39]

Please read the info on this site, it will answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[Dereklee003 2]

How will the U.S. know I was married in Korea already? They check with the korean govt records? In that case, I could just have a wedding ceremony without being "legally married" in Korea couldn't I?

And no, I'm not trying to "trick" or "cheat" the system, so spare me the lectures and judgement please.

[Harpa Timsah 13,260]

They will check Korean records and your future wife can be banned from the US for life for misrepresentation. Yes, it has happened.

[Inky 1,111]

How will the U.S. know I was married in Korea already? They check with the korean govt records? In that case, I could just have a wedding ceremony without being "legally married" in Korea couldn't I?

And no, I'm not trying to "trick" or "cheat" the system, so spare me the lectures and judgement please.

You have to file for AOS when in the USA and you cannot use a Korean marriage certificate. It must be a US one, and if you lie then its misrepresentation. Removal of status and deportation and ban.

Do not marry in Korea before entering on a K-1, registered or not.

[Dereklee003 2]

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I meant what if I was to:

1)Fly back to Korea, have a wedding (without being legally married/no korean marriage license/cert), basically for show for her family

2) Fly back to U.S. and have legally binding wedding

We would then still qualify for a K1 visa, would we not? If no legal record was made in Korea of being married, it was just a group of people getting together for an event.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

You're making this harder than it has to be.

Go ahead and marry in Korea, especially if it means that much to her family.

Then return home and file for a CR-1 spousal visa. It only takes a couple of months longer than the K1; she doesn't have to adjust her status once she is here; she will get a social security number a few weeks after landing; and she can work almost right away.

It's really the better visa.

[Dereklee003 2]

No matter what, we plan to have a wedding in both countries. A wedding doesn't have to be recognized by any gov't to be a wedding.

Also, I want to avoid being apart immediately after getting married as much as possible. That's why I think my plan is good. Can someone tell me why it wouldn't work?

[L+T 71]

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I meant what if I was to:

1)Fly back to Korea, have a wedding (without being legally married/no korean marriage license/cert), basically for show for her family

2) Fly back to U.S. and have legally binding wedding

We would then still qualify for a K1 visa, would we not? If no legal record was made in Korea of being married, it was just a group of people getting together for an event.

Yes, you can do this, but call it an engagement, not wedding or ceremony. This way you could have the visa process complete, or almost complete during the engagement.

[gyselle 4]

I was in a similar situation.

My husband and I had a non-legal ceremony in Thailand, which was really for the family and friends. We did the whole wedding dress, walking down the aisle etc etc. We flew to the USA 2 weeks later and got legally married in City Hall. I was on a K-1 visa.

No issue at all, even during my green card interview, we showed the interview the photos (and he kept it) and made it write something like, "non-legal ceremony" (cant remember the exact words used, but we didnt use the words non-legal). I have my green card now. so. No issues.

However, please check the laws of Korea very carefully, in some countries, a religious ceremony is seen as a legal ceremony (i think thats the case for Indonesia)

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

No matter what, we plan to have a wedding in both countries. A wedding doesn't have to be recognized by any gov't to be a wedding.

Also, I want to avoid being apart immediately after getting married as much as possible. That's why I think my plan is good. Can someone tell me why it wouldn't work?

Dereklee - Whether or not your plan will work depends on several things. Not the least of which is marital law in Korea. I have no idea whether you can have a ceremony in Korea and it NOT be legal. It would also depend on cultural customs in Korea. For instance, is an engagement ceremony a cultural custom over there? If it is, you should have one because the consulate will be looking for it. If it's not normal, and you have some other sort of ceremony that looks and smells like a wedding, it could go against you.

So yes, a government can say what type of ceremonies constitute legal marriage. In this case, you have two governments looking at you.

Edited May 12, 2012 by Rebecca Jo

[L+T 71]

I was in a similar situation.

My husband and I had a non-legal ceremony in Thailand, which was really for the family and friends. We did the whole wedding dress, walking down the aisle etc etc. We flew to the USA 2 weeks later and got legally married in City Hall. I was on a K-1 visa.

No issue at all, even during my green card interview, we showed the interview the photos (and he kept it) and made it write something like, "non-legal ceremony" (cant remember the exact words used, but we didnt use the words non-legal). I have my green card now. so. No issues.

However, please check the laws of Korea very carefully, in some countries, a religious ceremony is seen as a legal ceremony (i think thats the case for Indonesia)

Yes, that is true, also in india, if you have the ceremony, you are legally married in india... only purpose to file is when moving out of the country... but the consulate would consider you married in india per indian law and require the spouse visa.

[Dereklee003 2]

Yes, that is true, also in india, if you have the ceremony, you are legally married in india... only purpose to file is when moving out of the country... but the consulate would consider you married in india per indian law and require the spouse visa.

I just did some asking around, and I guess a marriage ceremony here isn't recognized legally. You have to do the civil registered marriage to have it be legal. So, I think my plan should work out fine.