Entering the country married with a K-1 visa

[geocolorado 0]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

[kitkat1 5]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Right. It's not legal and it will cause problems. She would need a spousal visa to enter the country once she is married - it's NOT a technicality. A K1 is to bring a foreign fiance to the US, marry in the US and stay in the US.

Better to have a non-binding ceremony in Peru that is not legal in the US (in some countries a religious ceremony is not legally binding - is this the case in Peru?) and then get married officially in the US according to the rules of the visa or wait and get the appropriate kind of visa for a spouse.

[Ephesus 0]

Why would you lie? Just file the K-3 visa and wait if that's what you want to do.

Lies always come back to haunt you; and haunting in this case is 5 years in jail, a 10000 dollar fine and deportation.

[Lisax 0]

I think you really have to get married in the USA first, thats the point of the fiance visa, they are letting you getting married over here, then once your married, done your AOS, then have ceremony in Peru, that would be my safe bet I think.

If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone else will give you advice, but you should really get married in the US first.

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Right. It's not legal and it will cause problems. She would need a spousal visa to enter the country once she is married - it's NOT a technicality. A K1 is to bring a foreign fiance to the US, marry in the US and stay in the US.

Better to have a non-binding ceremony in Peru that is not legal in the US (in some countries a religious ceremony is not legally binding - is this the case in Peru?) and then get married officially in the US according to the rules of the visa or wait and get the appropriate kind of visa for a spouse.

Exactly

[orion44 0]

No one on this board will advise you to lie or "pretend". Everyone here goes through a lot of trouble to do things the right way. For your own peace of mind and security, I would advise you to choose the option of K1 or K3 and live with it. A non-binding wedding ceremony is a possibility, but has it's own worries. Anyway, congratulations!!!!!

[geocolorado 0]

No one on this board will advise you to lie or "pretend". Everyone here goes through a lot of trouble to do things the right way. For your own peace of mind and security, I would advise you to choose the option of K1 or K3 and live with it. A non-binding wedding ceremony is a possibility, but has it's own worries. Anyway, congratulations!!!!!

Orion. Thanks for your reply. having a non binding ceremony is the option that we would prefer and we hope to be able to do this once we have a K-1 visa. We would just like the wedding to be in Peru because it would be easier for all of our families. You say that it has "problems of its own". Are you referring to legal problems or just family problems.

[orion44 0]

I meant possible misunderstandings at the border or later when adjusting status. I got a lot of feedback when I posted about having a non-binding ceremony myself, and many people, one of them a former immigration officer, warned me that the slightest suspicion that you are married is enough to get turned away at the door. Since it's hard to prove a negative, that you are not married, if there is any evidence you are, the officer at the port of entry can cancel the visa. Scary, scary stuff. But then, people bringing someone from Thailand do it all the time because it is an accepted custom there to have a ceremony that is only social.

I believe there is some risk involved in having a non-binding ceremony that can cause delays. I can't see how it would risk more than that because, in fact, there is no marriage. It's not like you could file for a k3 visa. I weighed the risks and tried to make the best possible decision. I wish I knew more at the time because I already had put a lot "out there" to my fiancee about a ceremony in her country and it made the conversation difficult when I learned more facts.

Have you researched how long the K3 option would take in Peru? At least with the K3, you eliminate this one worry.

Cheers

Edited April 7, 2007 by orion44

[dora_david 0]

my advice is to wait on k1 visa...u can apply for k3 visa if u relly want to get married over there but k1 is better...when me and my baby decided to get married we asked our lawyer and he said is better with k1 visa and get married in US because in case of divorce things are more complicated and is harder if u are married in a diferite country...well we dididnt choose k1 because the divorce is easyer..damn we will never divorce..but the lawyer said is better on a k1 visa...if u want to get married in both countrys is ok...we want that too..but first we will get married oficialy in US and after a while we will do one home for my family too..but just the party good luck!!

[kitkat1 5]

No one on this board will advise you to lie or "pretend". Everyone here goes through a lot of trouble to do things the right way. For your own peace of mind and security, I would advise you to choose the option of K1 or K3 and live with it. A non-binding wedding ceremony is a possibility, but has it's own worries. Anyway, congratulations!!!!!

Orion. Thanks for your reply. having a non binding ceremony is the option that we would prefer and we hope to be able to do this once we have a K-1 visa. We would just like the wedding to be in Peru because it would be easier for all of our families. You say that it has "problems of its own". Are you referring to legal problems or just family problems.

The problem is that at the interview or at the POE if the immigration officer does not understand exactly that you had a NON-binding, NON-legal ceremony, you will be denied entry or denied AOS. Having a ceremony simply complicates the matter, sometimes. Especially when people show pictures at the inteview as part of the relationship proof (when necessary) and those pictures appear to have been a wedding. Or at the POE one of you gives an answer that somehow implies, innocently, that you are already married. This is a somewhat complicated process already. Just makes more sense to get married in the US in a civil ceremony and later return to Peru for a wedding.

[orion44 0]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

This should give anyone pause thinking about it: http://www.visajourney.com/news/2007/04/07/17/

[dc2003va 0]

I say if you want to do the ceremony in Peru than do it. Just be 100% sure it is NOT legal. The us law simply states that you must be legally able to marry when you enter the US. Make sure whatever you do it is NOT recognized by the country you are doing it in. Then later in the process never show those pics to anyone from immigration. Just use common sense with the both of you. and of course at your interview show pics from your real legal wedding, and not the fake wedding to keep them from being confused.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

This should give anyone pause thinking about it: http://www.visajourney.com/news/2007/04/07/17/

That was my thought as well. A simple 'mistake' of using an incorrect visa can lead to a lot of trouble - read this gentleman's story - he is in the US separated from his wife and children who are living in Japan because she entered on a K-1 visa after she was already married and is now banned from returning to and living in the US for 10 years. She was found guilty of immigration fraud. The 'inconvenience' of waiting to get married in the US, or of getting married and using the right visa to enter the US is just not worth this risk.

Edited April 8, 2007 by Kathryn41

[dc2003va 0]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

This should give anyone pause thinking about it: http://www.visajourney.com/news/2007/04/07/17/

That was my thought as well. A simple 'mistake' of using an incorrect visa can lead to a lot of trouble - read this gentleman's story - he is in the US separated from his wife and children who are living in Japan because she entered on a K-1 visa after she was already married and is now banned from returning to and living in the US for 10 years. She was found guilty of immigration fraud. The 'inconvenience' of waiting to get married in the US, or of getting married and using the right visa to enter the US is just not worth this risk.

That story is quite quite different than what this topic was asking. In that story the guy was admit being legally married for 9 years!!!! and then applied for a k1!!!! what was asked in this question is it ok to have a 100% non-legal ceremony before coming into the US. I have even read in some cases such as Thailand, the us consulate has officially stated that the us does not recognize a non-legal,non binding ceremony.

[athena_ny 1]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

This should give anyone pause thinking about it: http://www.visajourney.com/news/2007/04/07/17/

That was my thought as well. A simple 'mistake' of using an incorrect visa can lead to a lot of trouble - read this gentleman's story - he is in the US separated from his wife and children who are living in Japan because she entered on a K-1 visa after she was already married and is now banned from returning to and living in the US for 10 years. She was found guilty of immigration fraud. The 'inconvenience' of waiting to get married in the US, or of getting married and using the right visa to enter the US is just not worth this risk.

That story is quite quite different than what this topic was asking. In that story the guy was admit being legally married for 9 years!!!! and then applied for a k1!!!! what was asked in this question is it ok to have a 100% non-legal ceremony before coming into the US. I have even read in some cases such as Thailand, the us consulate has officially stated that the us does not recognize a non-legal,non binding ceremony.

The OP didn't specify legal or non-legal, to me it read like he was asking if he could get married in Peru, then get married here. Especially with the "technically this is not legal because she will not be my fiance..." part.

Not that dissimilar from the story, really. Although personally, that family had it coming, and of course they're from Tampa Bay...there's a reason we call Florida 'The Freak State.' I feel bad for what they've been through, but at the same time, his wife did enter on a K1 when she was already married. Illegal and while maybe a simple mistake, it's still fraud.

[athena_ny 1]

My fiancee and I have just sent our paperwork in so we are a long way from our wedding day, but we are thinking of the logisitics of our wedding. She is from Peru, so one option we thought of, once the K-1 visa has come through, is for me to go down to Peru, where we will have the ceremony with the families and be married and then we come back up the USA and stop in at my local marriage office where we get married again in the USA. Technically this is not legal since she will not be my fiance when we enter the USA but in reality is this going to cause any problems later on down the line since we can pretend to the US govemment that the wedding in Peru never actually happened??

Any thoughts would be appreciated

This should give anyone pause thinking about it: http://www.visajourney.com/news/2007/04/07/17/

That was my thought as well. A simple 'mistake' of using an incorrect visa can lead to a lot of trouble - read this gentleman's story - he is in the US separated from his wife and children who are living in Japan because she entered on a K-1 visa after she was already married and is now banned from returning to and living in the US for 10 years. She was found guilty of immigration fraud. The 'inconvenience' of waiting to get married in the US, or of getting married and using the right visa to enter the US is just not worth this risk.

That story is quite quite different than what this topic was asking. In that story the guy was admit being legally married for 9 years!!!! and then applied for a k1!!!! what was asked in this question is it ok to have a 100% non-legal ceremony before coming into the US. I have even read in some cases such as Thailand, the us consulate has officially stated that the us does not recognize a non-legal,non binding ceremony.

PS - he was not married for 9 years before she entered. She went back after 8 years here (entering on a K1) to receive her visa from the Tokyo Consulate.