Marriage ceremony in US, without legal paperwork filed

[TBoneTX 47,039]

Additional thought:

At every stage, this infernal immigration process is replete with nooses aimed for our necks.

Many nooses we can avoid, chiefly by reading carefully, interpreting literally, and answering completely and honestly.

Some nooses are placed around our necks despite our innocence or our honest efforts to avoid them.

The genuine tragedy is when we willfully place nooses around our own necks and tighten them ourselves.

Most of the posters in this thread have been trying to point out the above.

[MacUK 983]

One point I think should be added without getting into all this married/not married shenanigans.

Everyone has told you that the CR-1 is the superior option with the added bonus that your "wife" would still have the opportunity to visit you during the process.

If you continue down the path you appear to be favouring and file for a K-1, and IF that is then refused if the CO feels you're already married and have to start again with the CR-1.

That visa denial will have an effect on your "wifes" ability to use the VWP to visit you.

Do you really want to run the risk of wasting all that time waiting for the K-1 and then have to wait another year for a CR-1 with her not being able to enter the US to see you?

[Meant2B 8]

It seems like the OP is getting angry with all here for just stating the truth. If OP came here seeking advice on how to lie/fraud USCS they are in the wrong place. Maybe they just need to tighten that noose and earn the hard way with a ban placed upon them for their choices. This is a friendly place where those who have either experienced or know of others whom experienced similar situations to help one anther along on this stressful journey. Just as someone posted we learn from mistakes. Many of us want our spouses with us faster than 1yr but have to deal with the reality we are faced with. I too got married and have to wit 1 yr for my marriage to begin. I saw people get hung up in lies during their embassy interview that made it past NVC only to get bumped down and have to start all over again. One couple was married in USA and failed to disclose but the interviewer had knowledge (not sure how) and they were told they are denied and paperwork being set back to US with some type of ban.

[thomahal 6]

As promised I have news regarding the Recorder office here. And the news is that I was wrong about one critical aspect of the process.

When the websites here say “When does It Expire: After 30 days” etc. on the sites pertaining to marriage licenses, I read that to mean if the license was not returned in 30 days then it would not be registered and so would not be a legal, usable document- leaving only the issue of how the USCIS would see the “ceremony” we performed. I was wrong. It does expire in thirty days “if not used.” But “used” does not mean filled out and returned for registration, it means filled out and used in conjunction with the ceremony. So if we had not had a ceremony in thirty days, then we would have needed to get another license.

That point, unfortunately, means that just about everything I have drug everyone through here is pretty moot. Since that is the case we are going to go from getting more and more convinced by the great responses here to definitely returning the license and go for the CR-1. As stated, we had no intention of doing anything outside of any rules and now we have a rule that we would have been outside of. So, yeah, that changes everything immediately and that is because I was wrong on how I was reading the info.

I should also put people's mind at ease if they are arriving here because they have googled stuff about marriage licenses. I did ask about there being any sort of penalty for couples who do not get married after obtaining a license. The idea that they are committing a misdemeanor by doing this was met with, frankly, a chuckle. When asked specifically if those statutes apply only to the officials involved, they said well A) yes, only them and B) in 42 years of running the office, the woman there had never seen anything like that brought up even against any officials. That is not advising anyone to do this, it is just trying to clarify that one point.

I have some other stuff to say below, but all that can very, very safely be skipped by anyone who wants the headline- I was wrong and most of the arguments here kinda got short circuited. I still very very strongly disagree with some of the posters re: several things and will do my best to address that as well. But I remain very grateful for all of the time and effort put into all the responses.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,424]

Not getting married after obtaining a marriage license is fine, people can change their minds.

It's performing the ceremony after the marriage license is obtained THEN not registering it, that's the problem.

[Shauneg 763]

Thanks for getting back. I've been thinking about your circumstance today.

The misdemeanor part I ever referred to was not turning in the license after marriage. I never said its a misdemeanor to not get married after applying, until that it must bring turned in filled out or not after a certain time frame. In this case that would be your father.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Shauneg

[yuna628 9,837]

Glad you found the answers you were looking for and you can move on as a married couple.

As I said, marriage should be a happy occasion and not something filled with uncertainty afterwards. As you are going to move on with a spousal visa, I wish you best of luck, and there are plenty of resources and guides here to assist you.

[thomahal 6]

Here are copied and pasted quotes from what I have said in this thread:

1. ok, we will not file the Marriage Certificate [as I understood it at the time, this was perfectly ok and simply resulted in the license itself being “expired” in thirty days- I was wrong; one poster agreed explicitly “If it isn't turned in so it's registered it's nothing more than just playing around really. Married isn't married until the license is registered. Nothing illegal.” a response to that “True. That's why I asked if it had been submitted.”] and will bring her over on a K1, gladly repay the Marriage license fee, and register the marriage without another ceremony in the 90 days we have after her arrival.

2. We are not legally married. Does anyone have any sure answers as to how this is going to affect the K1 visa application? [Yep, that was the original ?- how is it going to affect things, not in any way how do I get around anything. I was getting more and more convinced by the people who ANSWERED THIS QUESTION even before my error came to light- a lot of them did so awfully well]

3. I was very explicit in my post- we had a marriage ceremony in all good faith because of what we were being told by the USCIS on their website re: the K3 visa

4.Since the certificate had not been filed and since one site stated unequivocally (and some of the posters on this thread have pretty strongly indicated) that ceremony and legal registration are two completely separate things and specifically that the USCIS does not care at all about ceremonies only the legal registration (and since that logically makes sense to me- thus the requirement to return the license for legal registration as a final step to differentiate it from "just" a ceremony) I said fine, we'll just let people know that our ceremony stated we loved each other, we were committed to each other, and we are ready to share our lives together and we could wait for the official documentation at a time when the USCIS would, apparently, prefer that it occur.

5. At no time did we have ANY intention to lie to ANYONE- thus the dang post out in the dang open here on this forum, our not filing ANYTHING while I TRY and get a straight answer from SOMEONE and the multitudinous pictures we shared from the ceremony on social media, etc., etc., etc.

6. We will not even be OPEN to any kind of dishonest or unethical way to proceed even if people think it would work.

7. Again, since neither of us have any intention whatsoever of doing anything other than being perfectly open...

8. Are there other ways that people here have experience with reliably cutting through conflicting information with the USCIS? We are fully intending to follow the rules- gee, would it be great if it was at all clear what those are.

9. If this IS any kind of big deal to the USCIS even given this, we will adjust accordingly, absolutely

10. I was considering adding in pictures from our ceremony as evidence that our relationship was bona fide instead of hiding it in any way, shape, or form- much less asking my wife to in any way say anything other than what is completely honest.

11. You know, the thing is, we did not get married as a visa tactic . We wanted to make the commitment. So if this sends us down one path rather than another as far as the paperwork is concerned, then so be it

12. As stated, we had no intention of doing anything outside of any rules and now we have a rule that we would have been outside of. So, yeah, that changes everything immediately and that is because I was wrong on how I was reading the info.

Now, there are 12 things that, to my way thinking, simply could not possibly be more graphically clear that there was absolutely no intention of doing anything even remotely wrong.

Now, you copy and paste the things I said that justify me being accused of “lying” and “fraud” and let's compare the lists.

[thomahal 6]

Going to bed. Will look again for any responses tomorrow. You guys have a GREAT forum with HUGELY helpful people that have CRITICAL things to share about a RIDICULOUSLY complicated topic. Thanks again for the help I/we have received.

[Meant2B 8]

Going to bed. Will look again for any responses tomorrow. You guys have a GREAT forum with HUGELY helpful people that have CRITICAL things to share about a RIDICULOUSLY complicated topic. Thanks again for the help I/we have received.

Very happy you found the info. It's a long aggravating process but trust me it's worth it. CR1 takes longer but is cheaper and more beneficial up front (spouse can work). Good luck and keep us informed how it goes. We are all here to help one another as we can create what we re gong through better than those who are not.

[TBoneTX 47,039]

Glad to hear that your way is clear. Read the Guides, the CR-1 Process forum, the Embassy/Consulate forum, and the Australia/New Zealand regional forum -- good stuff in all of them -- and holler back with unanswered questions. Wishing you all the best.

If you wish for this thread to be closed (= your choice) because the chief issue has been resolved, hit the "Report" button under any post and request closure.

[JFH 12,192]

OP, the processing times are not always as horrific as you think.

I was looking today at the people who have interviews today. One of them filed the I-130 in February - the same time as us. Their case was handled at the Potomac office of USCIS (it's luck of the draw where your case lands) and they were approving cases in 2 months. I have seen several cases lately where they have got to interview stage in less than 9 months.

I am currently at the NVC stage and it's going fast. I got my case number last week and my documents are almost ready to go. They are reviewing cases and setting up interviews in around 30 days. Lately some people have got through that stage in less than a week. I am hoping for a November interview. Not bad considering I filed in February and had a very long wait at Nebraska. If our case had been sent to Potomac I'd probably be on a train to the London embassy this week.

Take that into consideration and I wonder why anyone from a VWP country would even consider a K-1 when they can visit easily during the process. Especially someone with a career. Looking at London K-1s at the moment (as that is the best option for me to compare my case against) and they are not much quicker, to be honest. But they cannot work for several months, some are having difficulty getting driving licenses, they are not permanent residents and have to go through a huge adjustment of status circus and send more proof (yet again) of their relationship and have everything questioned and queried. When my husband saw what my situation would be in a K-1 he said "I don't want that for you. I want you to be free to come and go and to work and drive. And when you get here I want us to be done with all this forever." And I wouldn't want it either. In my profession the longer I am out of work, the harder it is to get back in and the lower the level I will have to rejoin at. Why would anyone do that nowadays just to arrive a few months quicker?

Edited August 17, 2016 by JFH

[LionessDeon 2,060]

Everything happens for a reason....could be a blessing in disguise. Good Luck!

[AP16 30]

This website is monitored by immigration? Really?

[Cheezees 1,514]

This website is monitored by immigration? Really?

Yes. Really.