Sticky K1 situation

[MrCIA 0]

Hello All,

 

Let me start off by acknowledging ignorance is no excuse: I filed for a K1 VISA this summer and expect our NOA2 here shortly. I was a bit green to the whole process back then and now find myself in some tension. See.. my Fiance and I had a Christian "ceremony" about 4 months after K1 submission for the sake/demands of her family and friends in the foreign country. This was unexpected at the time of submission but, the circumstances threatened our future relationship if I didn't participate. I'm becoming very concerned that this will be interpreted as us having married (which objectively, I would too). This in by no means was intended to be fraudulent in-terms of the K1 and I still intend to do a civil marriage in US which I will consider our "true" marriage. My IL-timed research suggests we are potentially at risk for denial.

 

With all due respect, I don't want to get much further into the details of the situation the led to that ceremony nor the fact that we are indeed "at risk for denial". More so in solution mode at this point. All social media accounts will be deleted and other measures will be taken to not allow this misinterpretation to take place however, I'm curious if this often helpful group has any other insight or suggestions on how to get my love here ASAP without delay.

 

 

Thank you,

Edited December 7, 2017 by MrCIA

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  First off deleting doe not make it go away .   If you are from a country where they are likely to check on things , how can you zip the mouths of all the people that attended ? 

[Ontarkie 14,270]

Once on the net forever on the net. 

 

You need to check what local laws are for that country regarding your Christian ceremony. Do not listen to what friends and family say look up the actual laws. 

 

In some countries any ceremony whether registered or not is considered legal. 

[TNJ17 1,329]

You had religious ceremony but did you sign legal papers that bind your marriage by law? If you are not legally married, ie with a marriage certificate, you are not married. End of story. 

[geowrian 22,337]

Depends on the laws of the country. You can be legally married via a religious ceremony without having filed the appropriate paperwork.

 

If legally married, then it is fraud to continue the K-1 process. If not, then hopefully they do not discover it as it can still be the basis for a denial.

[bakphx1 789]

I lean towards it not making a difference.  If the ceremony wouldn't qualify you for a CR1 visa then it isn't legal and doesn't obviate your K1.  If you don't have a marriage certificate, there's no real marriage date. 

[geowrian 22,337]

I'll refer to this very recent thread for the OP to review. While this is about the Philippines, the overall discussion is more general.

 

And a fairly recent thread about a couple denied a K-1 for an unofficial ceremony (which didn't even happen yet at the time), in which they subsequently needed to legally marry and do a CR-1 instead:

 

Edited December 7, 2017 by geowrian

[Unlockable 7,315]

5 hours ago, TNJ17 said:

You had religious ceremony but did you sign legal papers that bind your marriage by law? If you are not legally married, ie with a marriage certificate, you are not married. End of story. 

 

4 hours ago, bakphx1@aol.com said:

I lean towards it not making a difference.  If the ceremony wouldn't qualify you for a CR1 visa then it isn't legal and doesn't obviate your K1.  If you don't have a marriage certificate, there's no real marriage date. 

 

This isn't true for certain countries or regions. This is a very Western way of thinking. You have to have a global mindset when dealing with immigration. Local traditions and cultural norms can outweigh a document.

 

There are places where couples can be married without registering anything. They can be considered married by a priest and a dowry given to the bride's family. This is, however, dependent on location. Since the OP never mentioned a country and doesn't have a timeline filled out it is hard to know if this will  be a definite issue. @geowrian posted examples on how this can be an issue.

 

The second issue is that if there is any evidence discovered by a CO that a ceremony has taken place, how are they going to prove they are NOT married? In some regions, a religious ceremony trumps a court/registered wedding.

 

Again, we don't know where this ceremony took place so it could or could not be an issue.

 

BTW, here are a couple more threads from members of VJ who had their K1 visa denied because of ceremonies....

 

Edited December 7, 2017 by NuestraUnion

[bakphx1 789]

4 hours ago, NuestraUnion said:

 

 

This isn't true for certain countries or regions. This is a very Western way of thinking. You have to have a global mindset when dealing with immigration. Local traditions and cultural norms can outweigh a document.

 

There are places where couples can be married without registering anything. They can be considered married by a priest and a dowry given to the bride's family. This is, however, dependent on location. Since the OP never mentioned a country and doesn't have a timeline filled out it is hard to know if this will  be a definite issue. @geowrian posted examples on how this can be an issue.

 

The second issue is that if there is any evidence discovered by a CO that a ceremony has taken place, how are they going to prove they are NOT married? In some regions, a religious ceremony trumps a court/registered wedding.

 

Again, we don't know where this ceremony took place so it could or could not be an issue.

 

BTW, here are a couple more threads from members of VJ who had their K1 visa denied because of ceremonies....

 

It's western thinking and the documentation required is for a western country.  To get a CR1 you have to show a marriage certificate...an actual legal document.  I can't fathom a CO declaring someone married without a document that would work as a CR1 qualifier.   The instructions demand a legal marriage certificate, nothing else.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  In Nigeria it happens all the time. People get denied K1's for traditional marriages ( which aren't legal according to Nigerian marriage law but are recognized by almost all the tribes )  and even just having paid bride price without the ceremony. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

10 hours ago, MrCIA said:

Hello All,

 

Let me start off by acknowledging ignorance is no excuse: I filed for a K1 VISA this summer and expect our NOA2 here shortly. I was a bit green to the whole process back then and now find myself in some tension. See.. my Fiance and I had a Christian "ceremony" about 4 months after K1 submission for the sake/demands of her family and friends in the foreign country. This was unexpected at the time of submission but, the circumstances threatened our future relationship if I didn't participate. I'm becoming very concerned that this will be interpreted as us having married (which objectively, I would too). This in by no means was intended to be fraudulent in-terms of the K1 and I still intend to do a civil marriage in US which I will consider our "true" marriage. My IL-timed research suggests we are potentially at risk for denial.

 

With all due respect, I don't want to get much further into the details of the situation the led to that ceremony nor the fact that we are indeed "at risk for denial". More so in solution mode at this point. All social media accounts will be deleted and other measures will be taken to not allow this misinterpretation to take place however, I'm curious if this often helpful group has any other insight or suggestions on how to get my love here ASAP without delay.

 

 

Thank you,

Which country?

 

Curious?  Why didn't you just get married?  It's easier to run an I130 through than go through the proof of K1.

[Scandi 4,168]

2 hours ago, bakphx1@aol.com said:

It's western thinking and the documentation required is for a western country.  To get a CR1 you have to show a marriage certificate...an actual legal document.  I can't fathom a CO declaring someone married without a document that would work as a CR1 qualifier.   The instructions demand a legal marriage certificate, nothing else.

But OP isn't talking about the CR-1, they filed for the K-1. Believe it or not but there is actually a thing called "too married for a K-1 but not married enough for a CR-1". Which means that even if you didn't marry legally and there's no marriage certificate, you can still be denied the K-1 visa because of a "ceremony" that makes you "too married" in the eyes of the CO. 

 

If that happens you have no choice but to marry for real and file for a CR-1. For that you will need some sort of documented proof, what we call a marriage certificate, yes.

[MrCIA 0]

Thank you all for the replies. Many have same mindset as me not seeing this as marriage however, the reality is the consulate will.

 

Question on my mind is how to a avoid the misunderstanding? I'm researching the vetting process and understand we will be walking a fine line: Walking this line will not include any fraud as I would not risk a perma ban. 

- No mention of ceremony (obviously)

- No mention of my family traveling to meet beneficiary's family/ ceremony

- Social media accounts to be deleted/ sterilized to the greatest extent possible

- Beneficiary to be coached on how to answer common interview questions in a truthful but general fashion. 

 

 

Any other input from those smarter and/or more experienced than I?

 

 

 

[Mollie09 1,543]

6 minutes ago, MrCIA said:

Thank you all for the replies. Many have same mindset as me not seeing this as marriage however, the reality is the consulate will.

 

Question on my mind is how to a avoid the misunderstanding? I'm researching the vetting process and understand we will be walking a fine line: Walking this line will not include any fraud as I would not risk a perma ban. 

- No mention of ceremony (obviously)

- No mention of my family traveling to meet beneficiary's family/ ceremony

- Social media accounts to be deleted/ sterilized to the greatest extent possible

- Beneficiary to be coached on how to answer common interview questions in a truthful but general fashion. 

 

 

Any other input from those smarter and/or more experienced than I?

 

 

 

Not much you can do without a time machine.

If you get denied, you can still file a CR-1.

[MrCIA 0]

Just now, Mollie09 said:

Not much you can do without a time machine.

If you get denied, you can still file a CR-1.

 

I don't know about that. I think steps can be taken to reduce the risk of denial. Need a better understanding of what those steps might include.