K-1 Interview after Wedding What do I do?

[Cathi 5,828]

You have 2 choices, cancel,the wedding or withdraw the k1 and file for a cr1 after you are married. Just know that if you choose the cr1 route you can get married in the US, but you must return home while the petition and visa are being processed , you cannot stay and adjust status.

[Jo Së 200]

You can still have a wedding ceremony but just don't get legally married, you can do that once you've entered the US with the K1. A have read about other couples from countries, which due to their culture, that have had weddings prior to the K1 being approved.

[Al422 221]

You must be married to nobody, even to the petitioner, at the time you enter the United States. You really have to put this wedding off. I wish I had better advice for you, but I don't. If you proceed with the wedding you will have to withdraw the K-1 and re-file for a marriage visa, starting from the beginning.

[Jon York 156]

Delay the wedding. If you get married, you'd have to withdraw the K-1, wait for that to become official and then file for a CR-1 and wait another year. Doesn't make sense..especially if you're planning to live together.

Oops! Sorry, I misread the OP.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Jaybolo

[djv-tco 29]

Work visas are not just handed out like Halloween candy, so unless you already have an employer lined up who is willing to sponsor you, I'd say no.

I would also beware of entering the USA on a work visa with the INTENT of getting married and staying. You definitely cannot do that on a tourist visa, but I don't know if work visas are dual-intent or not. Be very very careful, you don't want to deal with any possible visa fraud charges, especially since you've already got an approved I-129F.

I say: Change the wedding to a big party -- people still come, you can celebrate any way you like, but do NOT get legally married, no certificates, no legal ceremony. Then you can have a small courthouse marriage once you've arrived in the US.

I agree with Lynkali, just make it a big party, a celebration of your being together. Do not get a marriage license and do not get a certificate. Do all of that after the beneficiary enters the US under the K-1 visa. You've already put in so much time, effort, and money into this. I don't think you'd want all of that for naught.

Good luck on your journey!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Most churches won't do fake weddings If you proceed with the wedding you are looking at an additional year before you get a visa.

[NikLR 13,232]

Do not even do a fake wedding. If it looked like a wedding, smelled like a wedding or acted like a wedding the CBP can deny the K1 visa holder entry. That includes if they decide to search your computer when you enter, or if they look at your facebook or something.. who knows, but they can and have done it. Don't call each other husband and wife until you ACTUALLY are either.

As for the OP, yes move your wedding. Also keep checking back to see if you can move your interview date up, that can and does happen where there is an opening and you might get in a month or two or three sooner. You've waited this long, I'm not sure why you'd want to throw away all the time and effort to wait another year or so for the CR1.

Edited December 12, 2013 by NLR

[calvm 10]

The wedding is pretty concrete unfortunately with people coming from everywhere to attend. Would getting a workers visa from an employer in the US while filing for the spousal be a good route?

The work visa is a good option - Since they are dual intent visas there are no issues. However the H1 visa does have numerical limitation. Since you are from Canada TN1 should be relatively easy. The O1 visa has no numerical limits but a very high threshold. For each of these though you need a job offer or a prospective employer. You might also try L1 if you can get an intra-company transfer from where you work in Canada - assuming its an MNC. Again all these visas are dual intent unlike student and visitor visa - so you have no conflict with immigration intent etc..!!

But the easiest will be still K1 route - since you are almost there..!!

Good luck..!!

Edited December 12, 2013 by calvm

[raven52 234]

I have been a member here about 2 years, if you throw away an almost done K-1, just to impress alot of people coming to your wedding, and then you will have to stop the K-1, and file an I-130!!!

READ, the pain of the I-130 people on this site, if you get through the I-130 in 2 years, you will be lucky, with the way things are going.

By a person who spent 10 months and 4 days, just on a K-1, try an I-130.,.,.,.,,.maybe 8 months, maybe 3 years!

I agree, have a party, even a ceremony without a license and no official people involved, ""JUST NO OFFICAL WEDDING""

Edited December 13, 2013 by Kathryn41
too remove TOS violation - personal attack

[Pitaya 2,577]

We just received our interview opportunity for the k-1 in Montreal but its 2 and a half months after our wedding. Should we still go ahead with the fiancee visa or just get married and file for the spousal?

To get married and attempt to get a K-1 fiancee visa is immigration fraud. If you get married, file for a spousal visa.

[CraigC 3]

A similar thing happened with my wife and I. We arranged wedding in the US and filed the K1. Unfortunately the wedding came just before receiving the letter to arrange medical and interview. We already spent a fortune in a US wedding, had family coming from all over the world and we simply couldn't cancel, postpone or turn it in to a party ceremony with the intention of getting married in a court room at a later date as it wasn't fair on anybody (especially those who booked flights, hotels etc from afar) to go all the way across the world to a wedding which, well might not even be an official wedding!! I mean if I travelled across the world for somebody's wedding... Spending a fortune I don't think I'd be too happy if I found out it was just basically a party and not even an official ceremony.

We got married, sent a cancellation letter to uscis and filed for the I-130 and are currently waiting all over again!

Very painful after being so close to getting the k1 but that's the way it is unfortunately. At least my conscience is clear

Edited December 12, 2013 by CraigC

[AleGwi 11]

The wedding is pretty concrete unfortunately with people coming from everywhere to attend. Would getting a workers visa from an employer in the US while filing for the spousal be a good route?

All the ideas about just having a big party are perfect! You can still do all the trimmings, dress, cake, venue, whatever you have got going on. Just don't get the license and paperwork, certificate etc.. And probably have the person officiating tweak what is said a bit.

Sort of what we are doing but the other way around.

When I get there, we are gonna have a small legal wedding so we will be married, and then next August we are having a big wedding like ceremony and reception (even though we will already be married) Just so all my family can fly in and we can actually plan a proper wedding, which you really can't do in 90 days! Specially when you need to get married ASAP to adjust your status.

Also, none of your guests really have to know that you technically wouldn't be legally married until after the K1 process. Only my immediate family know that we will be already married in August. It's better keeping information from your guest (who will just be happy whatever) than keeping information from the US government. You already KNOW how difficult they make it for us all in the first place, can you imagine if you start fiddling with the system a bit. It's like asking for more hoops to jump through.

And you guys wanna be together as soon as possible right? Don't get married and go for spouse visa. Because then, you may be married but you will be a loooooong time before you're together. Hope this helps

[AleGwi 11]

All the ideas about just having a big party are perfect! You can still do all the trimmings, dress, cake, venue, whatever you have got going on. Just don't get the license and paperwork, certificate etc.. And probably have the person officiating tweak what is said a bit.

Sort of what we are doing but the other way around.

When I get there, we are gonna have a small legal wedding so we will be married, and then next August we are having a big wedding like ceremony and reception (even though we will already be married) Just so all my family can fly in and we can actually plan a proper wedding, which you really can't do in 90 days! Specially when you need to get married ASAP to adjust your status.

Also, none of your guests really have to know that you technically wouldn't be legally married until after the K1 process. Only my immediate family know that we will be already married in August. It's better keeping information from your guest (who will just be happy whatever) than keeping information from the US government. You already KNOW how difficult they make it for us all in the first place, can you imagine if you start fiddling with the system a bit. It's like asking for more hoops to jump through.

And you guys wanna be together as soon as possible right? Don't get married and go for spouse visa. Because then, you may be married but you will be a loooooong time before you're together. Hope this helps

All in all though, and please don't think I am being unhelpful here and making unhelpful comments. Because I really like to help people where I can as many have done for me through this process.

But I have just seen other people who were in the same situation and done various things. It really begs the question, why why why would you make concrete wedding plans before you know you have the visa in hand?

It's taking every fibre in my being not to book flights now until my interview has passed, but I'm not because until I have that visa in hand, nothing is certain and I wanna be with her and we want to be married more than anything, but not to run the risk of prolonging the process.

Again, please don't take offence, I guess it's just a live and learn thing, but why?

[AleGwi 11]

A similar thing happened with my wife and I. We arranged wedding in the US and filed the K1. Unfortunately the wedding came just before receiving the letter to arrange medical and interview. We already spent a fortune in a US wedding, had family coming from all over the world and we simply couldn't cancel, postpone or turn it in to a party ceremony with the intention of getting married in a court room at a later date as it wasn't fair on anybody (especially those who booked flights, hotels etc from afar) to go all the way across the world to a wedding which, well might not even be an official wedding!! I mean if I travelled across the world for somebody's wedding... Spending a fortune I don't think I'd be too happy if I found out it was just basically a party and not even an official ceremony.

We got married, sent a cancellation letter to uscis and filed for the I-130 and are currently waiting all over again!

Very painful after being so close to getting the k1 but that's the way it is unfortunately. At least my conscience is clear

See my posts below you before reading this. And PLEASE do not take offence through the power of text on a screen. I know it can be done so easy! But I'm just curious, what was the reason you made big wedding plans and concrete wedding plans and spent so much money on it before you got the interview even?

Was it because you wanted a big proper wedding the first time around and just took the risk? Massive gamble that I'm sure rarely pays off. Were you not on pins through the whole process the closer it got? Knowing that time was running out...

[CraigC 3]

See my posts below you before reading this. And PLEASE do not take offence through the power of text on a screen. I know it can be done so easy! But I'm just curious, what was the reason you made big wedding plans and concrete wedding plans and spent so much money on it before you got the interview even?

Was it because you wanted a big proper wedding the first time around and just took the risk? Massive gamble that I'm sure rarely pays off. Were you not on pins through the whole process the closer it got? Knowing that time was running out...

Haha no I wont take any offence, it was all our own fault and simply down to us both being naive.

We booked the wedding in July 2012 for September 2013..... I then went back to the UK and instead of filing straight away we waited until we were next together which was January 2013 before filing the K1. If I had found this site earlier we would have filed way before we did but my wifes siblings have been through the K1 process years ago and were advising us it only takes a few months!!!

We got our NOA2 in July so thought we may have a slim chance but it wasn't to be as it took forever to reach the NVC.

So all in all it was simply down to us both being naive, listening to her siblings and not finding this site sooner, which would have told us we needed to get a move on.