K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?

[Dave&Roza 748]

Thank you very much for understanding!

I honestly did not set out to commit visa fraud or anything. My fiance and I considered the K-1 visa because it supposedly takes less time then CR1, and then thought we would do the wedding ceremony in India where most of our family members were. At this point, we had no clue this was against K-1 visa rules because we assumed this was not a legal marriage. But after reading some threads on VJ, I came to know that this may cause us to lose the visa. That's why I posted my original post to get clarification.

And overwhelmingly, everyone has been against this idea. I personally agree with Billious' logic because even I am of the same opinion. But then again, there is the risk and who knows what the visa officers will construe a family celebration as. May get lucky and they'll agree it was only a family celebration. Or they may not . Main conclusion I've gotten from this thread is that the risk isn't worth it, and might as well wait for the wedding ceremony until after the visa is issued.

The problem you have is that you are depending on a single individual to decide your fate--despite what Billious states, there are SOME employees that work for the DOS that like to play god with people's loves. We can state our opinion all day long, but the person that matters is the one that will be looking at your case. They MAY follow all of those documents Billious referenced which they are suppose to, but then again they may not. I agree with Billious that there are a set of rules to be followed and the employees at the Consulate or Embassy should follow them. However, having stated that, there have been many cases reported here on VJ where that is not always the case. Now did we get the whole story--who knows.

Here is what happened to my wife when she applied for her first tourist visa to come visit me in the US: She arrived at the Consulate in Almaty with employment letter, documents showing she had property in Almaty, documents showing she had family in Almaty and the young woman interviewing her denied the visa. Two weeks later she goes back after paying the visa fee again and a middle-aged gentleman interviewed her and she was approved. What was the difference? Same evidence. Same applicant. IMHO it came down to the fact that the man knew where she worked and that her salary was above the typically salary for someone in Almaty. The woman did not know this and was basing her decision on the fact that my wife did not make very much money--which compared to the US it is not a lot. So if the IO knows about Indian tradition, they may see this as a legal wedding and deny the visa. Or the CBP person sees several pictures of your party and concludes that it was a wedding and you are married and thus not allowed entry to the US on a K-1. In a perfect world you could have your ceremony in India and no harm no foul, but you must remember that these are government workers that hold the fate of you future in their hands.

I think you are making a wise choice.

Dave

[Billious 32]

I think you are making a wise choice.

Dave

For the record, I would say that in India, you are making a wise choice as well. Making a personal marital commitment there creates a legal commitment as well, which creates an ineligibility for a K1 visa there. Good luck!

[TBoneTX 46,885]

The problem you have is that you are depending on a single individual to decide your fate--despite what Billious states, there are SOME employees that work for the DOS that like to play god with people's loves. We can state our opinion all day long, but the person that matters is the one that will be looking at your case. They MAY follow all of those documents Billious referenced which they are suppose to, but then again they may not. I agree with Billious that there are a set of rules to be followed and the employees at the Consulate or Embassy should follow them. However, having stated that, there have been many cases reported here on VJ where that is not always the case. Now did we get the whole story--who knows.

Furthermore, consulates can operate under a certain protocol until a new Section Chief of the Immigrant Visa Unit is transferred in, whereupon changes can occur overnight and unannounced. Consuls have 100% power over your future, and this should always be kept foremost in mind.

You're making a wise decision to avoid taking risks in this matter.

[ellli 8]

My fiancé and I made that mistake so I wouldn't recommend anyone to follow us. We had religious ceremony I now we worried about that a lot. I send email asking them about our situation and got response that Immigration law of US doesn't recognize this like legal merriage.But as we all know that isn't always the true.

Edited May 28, 2013 by ellli

[dwheels76 5,484]

I know many want a beautiful ceremony and this dragging process makes it near to impossible to plan anything. But please just be prudent and don't do anything that may "Look like" anything other than what it is.

We have all seen too many times people who have been denied on what a CO "Thinks" or "Feels". Ask one of the VJer's here who the CO told her and her fiance' that she (The CO) had a gut feeling they didn't have what it takes to make it work.

Imagine that no law sited, no rule broken but some human who probably was having a bad day and made a judgement.

Yes India and African culture ceremonies are scrutinized and a engagement party to them looks like a wedding or some did do a traditional and no papers and were denied and told go get married. Well if you think we are married why are you telling us to get married. ughhhh anyway

[duraaraa 203]

I think the most common excuse given to those denied in India is, "we think you're already married."

I would say it's actually much easier, from what I've read, to get a CR-1 than a K-1 in India, because they seem to deny many K-1s. I read they deny close to half.

If you did file recently, you can try to do the K-1 process, but do not do anything even remotely resembling a wedding. If they are given a reason to deny you, they'll do it. The safest way would be to just get married there, and switch to CR-1.

[Billious 32]

Split hairs all you want about "it's OK in this country, but not that country," but realize that this is purely theoretical when it comes to the nuts and bolts of convincing a CO to grant a visa. Just try playing it your way and arguing your point in front of an accusatory CO who has 100% power to continue or wreck your relationship plans. Even worse, just imagine trying to explain your reasoning to a couple who accepts your advice and gets royally hosed at the consulate.

For the record, Ceilla received her approval with full disclosure on this topic. I stand by the notion that if anyone is considering doing this, simply contact the embassy in question beforehand and get their approval. No reason for stress or keeping secrets. If you make your inquiry by email, print the response and take it with you when you have your interview.

[sara..... 371]

i think what has to happen is people that ask questions either take the advise of someone that has not been here long or they take advise from the people that are veterans of vj......and give advise based on the many many times we have seen something happen to people that ends up a nightmare to try to get out of.....

if it was a perfect world everything would be black and white and you could call the embassies and expect to be told exactly what will or will not happen if you do this or that........but its not a perfect world and their job is to look for people that are using the wrong visas or are trying to use marriage as only a way to immigrate.......

every once in a while people get lucky and there is no problem doing what the op whats to do but it does not mean that it turns out that way for everyone.......when dealing with immigration its always best to do everything you can to not make confusion for the person that is doing the interview.........

sara