getting married abroad while on J1 and apply for J2

[JacksonNY 0]

hi everyone,

I am from Germany and currently on J1 here in the US.

Now that my girlfriend (vietnam citizen) got denied for a B2 tourist visa, we are looking into options.

My idea here is simple:

I will go to Vietnam and get legally married there.

It will be a difficult and different subject to get this marriage approved in Germany, once I return to Germany.

But what about applying for a J2? Is this enough for the US? What do they want to see for a J2?

Would they care that this marriage has been performed in Vietnam? While I am german citizen?

At this point I would be legally married in Vietnam, not in Germany though.

If I would have known she would get denied for the B2, I would have married her last year already. He had plans to do that in Germany, thats why it was delayed.

I would be very happy if someone could bring some light into that.

Thanks alot!

[jan22 3,056]

It depends first of all on your J program. They will need to issue a DS-2019 for her to use to apply for the J2, so if they are not willing to do so, it is a non-starter. Secondly, 214b (intent to immigrate) applies to J visas also. So, she will need to convince the visa officer that she has no intention of staying in the US, which she couldn't do on her B2 application. She needs to prepare to explain her situation well before she applies for the J2

[Boiler 45,657]

Why is there an issue recognising the marriage?

There would not be in the US or for that matter UK.

[Unidentified 2,930]

Why would it not be approved in Germany? It's pretty much like marrying in Germany but you do it outside Germany.... You probably need to send some papers to Germany.

What are you doing on your J1? Are you allowed to get married on your J1? If you're an Au Pair for example you are automatically out of status if you get married.

[JacksonNY 0]

The process to approve a marriage in Germany performed in Vietnam, takes up to 10-12 months. German embassy considers Vietnam to be a country with "unsecure documents" - there is extra steps to verify all the documents issued in Vietnam. While we plan to do that in any case, we are not planning to do it right now. Especially, since I reside in the US now, which makes it difficult to deal with german authorities, because right now I am not a german resident.

So anyway. My question is, whether the marriage in Vietnam is going to be accepted by the US.

I am J1 trainee here for 18 months, employed with a startup company here in Manhattan with a normal salary and all that.

Edited July 9, 2015 by JacksonNY