Marriage in foreign country with an Indian Citizen

[punkilla 0]

Hello 

 

I am an Indian citizen and my future wife is a US citizen.

We were initially thinking about going the K1 visa route, but reconsidered and have decided to go with CR1.

She is working full time and doesnt have time to fly across the globe for a Indian Wedding, so we have decided that we will have a small

marriage (court marriage) in the Carribean ( Granada ), the marriage certificate from there will be in english and the process is quick. 

and then she will file the paperwork in USA to initiate my CR1, if all goes well, I will do the visa interview in the Mumbai Consulate.

Our relationship is real, so Im not worried about proving that.

Do you think the visa officer will have a problem with the marriage ?

I have read here that visa officers ask for full photo albums , with specifics from hindu marriage ceremonies, where the husband is tying garland and sindoor.

She is christian and Im hindu but both of us are very mildly religious, so it doesnt matter to us.

Also I dont have money to fly out my parents/relatives for the marriage.

What can i do to prove that the marriage is legit, should i take a lot of professional pictures ? 

Any documentation that I should be aware of for a foreign country wedding ? 

Also would Indian US consulate need some Indian marriage certificate  or will the Grenada one be enough ?

 

 

[pushbrk 12,977]

The marriage certificate is all the evidence you'll need that your marriage is "legal".  The other and separate issue is evidence the RELATIONSHIP is bona fide or genuine.  Evidence of time spent together in person and how and how frequently you communicate, is where I would concentrate.  Evidence your parents at least know about the marriage could be critical.  Evidence they approve would be even better.

[MR-SAUDI 122]

Hello, I would suggest If you have a good Job in India, you should visit her in the US and get married there and come back in India before expiring the visitor's visa, getting visitors visa is not hard if you have a good job. somehow they will question why did you get married in the Carribean?  ( THINKING )

[punkilla 0]

9 minutes ago, MR-SAUDI said:

Hello, I would suggest If you have a good Job in India, you should visit her in the US and get married there and come back in India before expiring the visitor's visa, getting visitors visa is not hard if you have a good job. somehow they will question why did you get married in the Carribean?  ( THINKING )

Well , I have had a work based green card filed for me once in the past, but that takes 15 years, so they know i have intent to immigrate, which i think makes my chance of getting a visitor visa low, but your point is interesting .. maybe i can try ...

[punkilla 0]

On 2/11/2018 at 5:48 AM, pushbrk said:

The marriage certificate is all the evidence you'll need that your marriage is "legal".  The other and separate issue is evidence the RELATIONSHIP is bona fide or genuine.  Evidence of time spent together in person and how and how frequently you communicate, is where I would concentrate.  Evidence your parents at least know about the marriage could be critical.  Evidence they approve would be even better.

Thanks for the answer Pushbrk, Im sure i can add evidence to my genuine relationship over the next year while my application brews in USCIS, with a couple visits here and there.. 

[pushbrk 12,977]

5 hours ago, punkilla said:

Thanks for the answer Pushbrk, Im sure i can add evidence to my genuine relationship over the next year while my application brews in USCIS, with a couple visits here and there.. 

There is no guarantee a Consular Officer will even look at evidence that was not submitted with the original petition, as they are NOT REQUIRED to do so.

[Amit&Julie 180]

On 2/12/2018 at 2:49 AM, MR-SAUDI said:

Hello, I would suggest If you have a good Job in India, you should visit her in the US and get married there and come back in India before expiring the visitor's visa, getting visitors visa is not hard if you have a good job. somehow they will question why did you get married in the Carribean?  ( THINKING )

I dunno, I think the plan to get married in Grenada is better. Even if you can demonstrate very, VERY strong ties to India and they do grant you a B2 visa (hard enough by itself, just read through the B2 forums), then if it comes out at the point of entry that you're going there to get married, you could be denied entry. Add on that you have prior intent to immigrate and this seems even more risky to me. 

 

As to why get married in the Caribbean? I don't know your reasons, but between beaches, tropical weather, and gorgeous turquoise waters...it doesn't seem an unreasonable marriage destination to me. And then you can have a nice honeymoon while you're at it. 

[Rachaelandnaren 0]

Hi,

 

My fiance (Indian) and I (USC) had also considered a destination wedding in the Caribbean but whenever we looked into it, most flights had stops in the US and my fiance would need to obtain a transit visa and from what we read, they are often denied.  Some also stopped in Europe and I believe he would also need a transit visa for Europe as well.  Just wondering how you guys have managed to work around this?  Did you go through the application process for a transit visa?  Thanks in advance!