Parental support and inter-religious marriages

[kitthekat 1,317]

Does parental support/awareness (beneficiary's parents) of a relationship play any role in the approval/denial decision-making for K1?

I did a brief search of a forum and a few threads came up where it was mentioned that it might matter, and the embassy may choose to verify the relationship with family members, friends, etc but these were mostly pertaining to I-130s. What are the chances of this happening for K1 applications, and how important is it to have family members acknowledge and support the relationship/future marriage?

Basically, I haven't informed my family (and don't plan on doing so) that I'm planning on a) getting married and b) leaving the country for good. They were not supportive of our relationship when I first tried to broach the subject a year ago and are under the impression that we ended it.

Secondly, we are from different religions (Atheist/Muslim) and neither of us sees the need to renounce/convert. I understand that this might be an issue in certain countries. I can't imagine it being one in Singapore - but has anyone heard differently?

Lastly - to allay this awful anxiety of mine - does any of the mail from the US embassy that reaches the beneficiary indicate that it is with regard to a fiance visa?

[baron555 934]

No, unless it is a country specific / cultural thing. You both are adults and only your decisions to agree to become married are all that matters, immigration-wise.

[tool 3]

I think the answer to your question depends on a number of factors that have nothing to do with religion - namely the duration and nature of your relationship with your fiancee. With regards to your other questions, there are some countries where - regardless of your age - your parents are in a position to prevent you from leaving etc. You are in a better position to judge what it is like in Singapore.

Once your visa is under process, you might receive snail mail, email and/or telephone correspondence from the US embassy depending on how the K1 visa is processed there.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Kitthekat,

It is no big deal for couple with different religions/faiths to get married in Singapore.

In fact, it is getting more common, right? According to the shitty times newspaper

Remember that Singapore is secular country, not a muslim country. I am sure that US consulate is familiar with the social norms of Singapore culture.

And you are getting married in US, not under ROMM (Registry of Muslim Marriages) in Singapore.

During my interview, religion or parental support topics never came up at all.

They are more interested in the bona fide relationship with your fiance.

The mails sent from the US consulate will not indicate anything on the envelope that it is for K1 visa but it will have the US consulate Singapore title and address on it.

As for informing your family about leaving Singapore and getting married, you probably should have a heart to heart talk with them after getting the visa.

It is always nice to have your own family to fall back on, should anything happens in US.. (Touchwood! )

Edited August 22, 2013 by Merrytooth

[kitthekat 1,317]

Thanks everyone for your replies and assurance!

Merry, unfortunately, there are no restrictions on civil marriages in Singapore except for Muslim marriages. I made an inquiry at ROM a while back to find out more about registering a marriage between a Muslim and non-Muslim and they referred me to ROMM (who of course said no can do, not without a conversion).

[Merrytooth 5,748]

I found this on ROM website:

http://app.rom.gov.sg/reg_info/rom_other.asp

9. Can 1 Muslim and 1 non-Muslim marry at the ROM?
Yes, under Civil Marriage Law.

I did read from some Singapore forums, that it is possible for muslim and non-muslim to get marry at ROM (maybe they didn't declare their reglion in the application form).

They referred you to ROMM probably because they want you to consult your religion organization, make sure that you understand the issues your non-muslim husband-to-be would face with your muslim family and to convince him to convert.

Oh well, you are applying for K1 visa, it would be better for both of you to get married in US, less scrutiny, and pressure from family about religion conversion.

[dwinge 34]

Does parental support/awareness (beneficiary's parents) of a relationship play any role in the approval/denial decision-making for K1?

I did a brief search of a forum and a few threads came up where it was mentioned that it might matter, and the embassy may choose to verify the relationship with family members, friends, etc but these were mostly pertaining to I-130s. What are the chances of this happening for K1 applications, and how important is it to have family members acknowledge and support the relationship/future marriage?

Basically, I haven't informed my family (and don't plan on doing so) that I'm planning on a) getting married and b) leaving the country for good. They were not supportive of our relationship when I first tried to broach the subject a year ago and are under the impression that we ended it.

Secondly, we are from different religions (Atheist/Muslim) and neither of us sees the need to renounce/convert. I understand that this might be an issue in certain countries. I can't imagine it being one in Singapore - but has anyone heard differently?

Lastly - to allay this awful anxiety of mine - does any of the mail from the US embassy that reaches the beneficiary indicate that it is with regard to a fiance visa?

You should get snail mail from the embassy that says "United States of America official business consular section"

[kitthekat 1,317]

You should get snail mail from the embassy that says "United States of America official business consular section"

Thanks, that sounds pretty generic, yay!