Bringing my 16 year old fiancée

[Chopper1 3]

I have a distant relative in Syria, she is 16 and me and my family always had her in mind for marriage. I want to ask for her hand in marriage but I need to make sure I can bring her to the US. I am a born US citizen. I read about the K1 visa, but I don't have pics, email, phone calls between me and her as of yet. She was too young to talk about these things. I also can't show that I went to see her in the past two years because the situation is Syria is dangerous, I'm sure they are willing to work with me on that specific requirement. Can a 16 year old get the visa and marry me here? Or should I go the CR1 route?

[kouky 1]

how old are you ?

[Chopper1 3]

how old are you ?

Sorry I forgot to put that in. Im 22

[rade2rising 205]

not sure about it man but I always wanted to marry a 16yr old girl sadly it never happened

Is her age an issue in syria for marriage? I am thinking its not. Then you should get married and file I130 petition. That is high fraud place and 16 yr old girl who is distant relative doesnt stand a great chance getting fiance visa anyways.

[Chopper1 3]

not sure about it man but I always wanted to marry a 16yr old girl sadly it never happened

Is her age an issue in syria for marriage? I am thinking its not. Then you should get married and file I130 petition. That is high fraud place and 16 yr old girl who is distant relative doesnt stand a great chance getting fiance visa anyways.

Her age is allowed to marry in Syria. What do you mean by its hard to get fiance visa bc it's high fraud? Is it easier to bring a closer relative as a fiancée ?

[Tintin and Mike 127]

According to this site, she's not legal to marry as of yet until she turns 17

http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/syria.htm

Marriage Age: minimum marriage age is 18 years for males and 17 for females; judicial discretion for males of 15 years and females of 13 years; judge may withhold permission for marriage if court finds incompatibility in age between betrothed parties

Marriage Guardianship: under age of full capacity, both parties need permission of wali; wali�s objection to marriage of girl under 17 years may be overruled by judge

Good luck!

[Lynkali 163]

I know this is a huge can of worms to open, but I can't avoid it.

You mention that you want to bring her here. Has anyone asked her what SHE wants? Your post is full of me, me, my family, me.

Quite apart from any legal considerations of age, etc ... the K-1 visa requires declarations of intent from BOTH parties. She will be the one interviewed at the consulate (assuming you even get that far). Maybe she does want to marry you ... but maybe she would like to finish school, or even go to college, or make her own choices in the world. Have you asked her?

[QueenE 173]

Either route you need to establish a relationship...which doesnt sound like you do.maybe start working on it and file when she is old enough to marry in the US.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

For a fiancee visa it must be legal for her to marry in the state where you intend to marry. The laws of Syria are irrelevant.

For a spousal visa the marriage must be recognized in both the country where the marriage took place, and in the state where the petitioner and foreign spouse intend to live, and also by the United States. The US does not recognize same sex marriages or polygamous marriages. Some other types of marriage may be a problem, depending on the circumstances and the state where the married couple intends to reside. Examples of these include transsexual marriages, common law marriages, and incestuous (i.e., close relatives) marriages.

The bottom line in your case is likely to be whether you will face a potential criminal penalty in your state for having a 16 year old wife. In some states you can be arrested for having an underage spouse, even if the marriage was legal in the state where it was obtained. You need to check your state's laws.

[pieroot 43]

Can't you wait until she can legally consent to the marriage? What's the rush, she's only 16. She may not want to marry someone she has never met.

[USA-ALG 63]

She is not old enough.

E

[canadian_wife 1,791]

From your original post, I am pretty sure they are also not going to over look the aspect that you have not met in the past 2 years, that is a requirement for filing the I129F

good luck

Edited November 18, 2012 by canadian_wife

[Rob & Monika 87]

As Jim said, you both must be legally eligible to marry in the state you plan to get married in at the time you file the K-1. Many states that do allow 16 yr old marriages need notarized consent from the parents. Check with your state of residence.

Edited November 18, 2012 by Rob & Monika

[jaycali 415]

I have a distant relative in Syria, she is 16 and me and my family always had her in mind for marriage. I want to ask for her hand in marriage but I need to make sure I can bring her to the US. I am a born US citizen. I read about the K1 visa, but I don't have pics, email, phone calls between me and her as of yet. She was too young to talk about these things. I also can't show that I went to see her in the past two years because the situation is Syria is dangerous, I'm sure they are willing to work with me on that specific requirement. Can a 16 year old get the visa and marry me here? Or should I go the CR1 route?

There is no specific age requirement for filing. You both have to be legal to marry in the jurisdiction where the marriage will occur. It does not matter if it's legal or not in Syria. Also be aware that in some jurisdictions in the US, you can actually be arrested for being married to a 16 year old.

The two year requirement will not be waived. If she can't visit the US and you can't visit Syria, is there a way you can meet in a 3rd country? Turkey for example?

Edited November 18, 2012 by Jay Jay

[Miew-Miew 9]

There are many Countries and many US States that allow marriage to a 16 year old, especially with parental consent. Personal opinions aside, I would suggest posters do the research before making claims of it being "ridiculous and wrong, let alone illegal" or that the OP is a pedophilie.

Just doing a very quick search, I saw Oregon and Nebraska as the only states that do not allow 16 year olds to marry (even with parental/judicial/guardenship consent) Just about every other state allows it with either the Parental consent or a guardiaanship or judge approval. I May have missed a few as it was a quick search, but bottom line is it's perfectlly legal in the majority of our states and around the world.

The bigger worry is in the application, that they haven't met in the last two years. Sanctimonious opionions really don't matter when there is absolutely nothing wrong with what the OP is trying to do in the legal sense (assuming he will have consent where needed) but the requirements of the K1 are another thing completely.