Will having an unofficial wedding ("cultural celebration") in Turkey affect our K-1?

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

48 minutes ago, sarahandyunus said:

Wow, okay, I guess I was mistaken.

 

I'd say 95% of couples in Turkey have an engagement ceremony - but its actually essentially just a party where the family gathers to eat with the new couple after they've announced their engagement. We didn't do it due to logistics and everyone on the Turkish side was sad/offended. 

 

 

If it is just a party then I think it's ok. But where people go wrong is that everyone dresses up traditionally and it could very be interpreted as a wedding. We didn't do a engagement party either(Philippines) and some of my wife's family was sad as well. But I really think they were that way because they could have a party, food, and drink for free. 

 

Edit: You live in Chapel Hill? I am from Greensboro myself, hopefully moving back this year to NC to work either in Fayetteville or RTP. 

Edited May 25, 2017 by cyberfx1024

[sbane12 63]

I don't know how the embassy will react in Turkey, but I had an engagement ceremony with my Fiance in Cambodia (Where she is from) with her family. There was a lot of professional pictures taken, in multiple different traditional outfits. However, Cambodia does not support Common Law Marriage. To get married in Cambodia you have to do things like register the marriage, do fingerprints, and pay off some corrupt officials (As a foreigner). I started the process with a Lawyer, and he advised me to not try and hide or lie about having such ceremony if we are ever asked during the process, he also said to just mention that Cambodia does not support Common Law Marriage.

I certainly hope there is no issue at the Interview stage (we are currently at NVC stage) but I have heard Tokyo Embassy (where the interview will take place) is easy and they are very courteous.

Edited May 25, 2017 by sbane12

[sarahandyunus 133]

14 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

If it is just a party then I think it's ok. But where people go wrong is that everyone dresses up traditionally and it could very be interpreted as a wedding. We didn't do a engagement party either(Philippines) and some of my wife's family was sad as well. But I really think they were that way because they could have a party, food, and drink for free. 

 

Edit: You live in Chapel Hill? I am from Greensboro myself, hopefully moving back this year to NC to work either in Fayetteville or RTP. 

Yeah I think the typical one is more of a get together amongst the family, but in nice clothing. It was too much of a hassle to fly over, for us.

 

Yeah, I do!

[sbane12 63]

20 minutes ago, sbane12 said:

I don't know how the embassy will react in Turkey, but I had an engagement ceremony with my Fiance in Cambodia (Where she is from) with her family. There was a lot of professional pictures taken, in multiple different traditional outfits. However, Cambodia does not support Common Law Marriage. To get married in Cambodia you have to do things like register the marriage, do fingerprints, and pay off some corrupt officials (As a foreigner). I started the process with a Lawyer, and he advised me to not try and hide or lie about having such ceremony if we are ever asked during the process, he also said to just mention that Cambodia does not support Common Law Marriage.

I certainly hope there is no issue at the Interview stage (we are currently at NVC stage) but I have heard Tokyo Embassy (where the interview will take place) is easy and they are very courteous.

Edit button disappeared.  I'd also like to add that it is very customary for an engagement ceremony to take place in Cambodian Tradition. If we were to have the Interview at the Embassy in Cambodia, they would actually require proof of an engagement ceremony taking place (yes even for K-1). So I think we are fine. Does Turkey have similar customs?

[Prystine 184]

The biggest problem is that when you do something like this, it makes you "too married" for the K1 but "not married enough" for the CR1. The best advice as several others have already mentioned is to not take that risk and don't do it. Regardless of calling it an engagement party or what have you, its up to the CO's discretion and if he/she just suspects this, they will deny the K1 visa. Just food for thought.

[Illiria 980]

I was almost denied adjustment of status due to having a picture of us at someone else's wedding where my husband was best man, had to say we could get their marriage certificate showing my husband had signed as a witness before she would back off. 

[O&GForever 387]

I would caution against doing anything that could be interpreted as a marriage. My then fiancé and I had an engagement party with his family during our K1 visa process. There was no ceremony or gifts given. Just advice and good food. They also made me a beautiful dress to match a shirt he was wearing. My then fiancé took a picture from this party to the interview and sadly the CO denied us because they said we were married. We weren't and never viewed ourselves as husband and wife, but there was no way to overcome this. I traveled back to his home country, got married and reapply for a spouse visa. He's here now, but we were separated for an additional 1.5 years because of this. 

 

If it's important for you to do one, I would advice waiting until after your visa was approved and before your fiancé comes to the US. 

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

17 hours ago, NatO23 said:

I think @sarahandyunus has a good idea here! If you made it an engagement ceremony, you would still be able to celebrate with your family, surrounded by your traditions and customs, but there's no risk of it being misinterpreted.

 

Playing devil's advocate for a moment... I disagree with the notion of getting denied for partaking in an unofficial and non-binding (in the eyes of the law) ceremony. If my fiancé and I wanted to let her kids do a fun 'pretend wedding' for us and act out a ceremony in the living room, does that count as a reason for denial? I would very much assume not. I realise that certain religions and cultures have a much more binding and serious set of connotations for their religious ceremonies, and do not mean to belittle or disrespect that in any way with my comparison - my point is that I personally think that as long as you are not legally married before approval, and there is not marriage certificate in existence until you are in the US on your K1, you should be able to have an unofficial party or celebration at your own discretion.

 

My opinion counts for nothing at any embassy though, so don't take my advice ;-) I'm just offering you some support. I wish you were able to do what you wanted to for your religious reasons, without danger of denial!

You are dealing with UK so of course, a "pretend" ceremony will be send as "pretend" since there is nothing like that in European culture.

OP is dealing with a different culture.

I know people who have been denied for "pretend" ceremonies and they weren't coming from European.

I think some VJers who have no experience or idea about the requirements of different embassies should stick to generic questions.

[twinee 223]

I'm thinking of having a legal wedding here first then having a traditional wedding in Turkey after residency is established. I received noa1 on 2/2/17 and still waiting on noa2.

[sarahandyunus 133]

7 minutes ago, twinee said:

I'm thinking of having a legal wedding here first then having a traditional wedding in Turkey after residency is established. I received noa1 on 2/2/17 and still waiting on noa2.

Thats what we did/are doing.

 

Small 40 people dinner following a tiny ceremony with immediate family in the US, and a big celebration in Istanbul next year with the Turkish side. It was the best way to work things out logistically for us and we needed some time to save  

[Joel C 0]

Thanks again everyone for the very helpful feedback, and I'm sorry that this thread ended up causing a bit of tension between members. I think it is quite clear that having any sort of engagement party/celebration/ceremony prior to V-1 issuance could be construed as a marriage and therefore will increase the risk of denial. It is a quite frustrating that even though a cultural ceremony is not a valid marriage in Turkey (and therefore not a valid Marriage to the U.S. government), that the consulate would consider my fiance and I to be married. Anyhow, we'll take the advice of the experienced members here and not risk it.  Please wish us luck!

[Ontarkie 13,918]

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