How did you deal with foreign family for a US wedding

[Lars & Sasha 17]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but...my fiancee is Russian and I was originally thinking we would get married outside the US since we have met up in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus. I now understand that on the K1 Visa that is not possible. We will have to get married in the US. That being said, I am thinking that would make it near impossible for her family to come for the wedding since it takes forever to get a Visa from Russia. Curious how others have handled this (doesn't have to be with Russian fiancee). Is there a quick process to get tourists visas for family for the purpose of the wedding? Did you have a courthouse ceremony and then get married abroad (if so, how much time in between ceremonies)? Other ideas?

 

Cheers!

[Roel 7,192]

There is no visas "for families coming for weddings".

Do not do any ceremonies in Russia prior to your American wedding - there is big risk your K1 visa will be denied on the interview for being "too married" to qualify for fiance visa.

 

To be blunt - there are only 3 options.

1. Family apply for a tourist visa B2 and hope for the best.

2. Do some kind of video call (like Skype) from the wedding so the Russian family can watch it. (That's what I did)

3. After you get married in the US, after your wife to be receives her green card - travel back to Russia and have some additional ceremony there.

 

[Barry Krebs 13]

Married in Toronto before applying for my green card at the then US Consulate in Toronto (Montreal is only consulate that now handles most US immigration situations).  We were going to have me come to the US on K1 Visa, but that would have complicated things.  Besides, Buffalo NY and Toronto are only a short distance (1.5 to 2.5 hrs depending on Toronto traffic) and the majority of the wedding party was in Toronto.  Guess our situation was quite simple-only issues was wedding preparation and collaborating on wedding plans with her family.  Since I had a stable job and home in Toronto, crossing the border before all paperwork was submitted to the consulate for Visa Processing was no problem.  Took a year + for green card but we had it coordinated so that after we came back from our overseas honeymoon, all I had to do was wait for my letter for my medical and interview.  My mom graciously went down to submit our government issued wedding license (not the ceremonial you get after getting married).  I started paperwork for K1 but later switched to CR1 Marriage Immigrant Visa.  BTW:  This was all done in 1989.

[Roel 7,192]

1 minute ago, Barry Krebs said:

Married in Toronto before applying for my green card at the then US Consulate in Toronto (Montreal is only consulate that now handles most US immigration situations).  We were going to have me come to the US on K1 Visa, but that would have complicated things.  Besides, Buffalo NY and Toronto are only a short distance (1.5 to 2.5 hrs depending on Toronto traffic) and the majority of the wedding party was in Toronto.  Guess our situation was quite simple-only issues was wedding preparation and collaborating on wedding plans with her family.  Since I had a stable job and home in Toronto, crossing the border before all paperwork was submitted to the consulate for Visa Processing was no problem.  Took a year + for green card but we had it coordinated so that after we came back from our overseas honeymoon, all I had to do was wait for my letter for my medical and interview.  My mom graciously went down to submit our government issued wedding license (not the ceremonial you get after getting married).  I started paperwork for K1 but later switched to CR1 Marriage Immigrant Visa.  BTW:  This was all done in 1989.

 

...This has literally nothing to do with OP post. Lol.

[Unlockable 7,315]

@Kali4nia58

 

This issue comes up more than you think. Many people make the sacrifice of not having (some) family attend their wedding. But there are options.

 

1. Hope all family members that want to attend will get visitor visas and attend the wedding in the US.

2. Get married here first then have a wedding ceremony back in home country.

3. Not do the K1, get married in home country and have American family attend. Then file for spousal visa. The spousal visa is a superior visa to the K1 anyway.

 

If you do option #2 then it will be a while before you can go back your home country to do a wedding there. It is currently taking 4-6 months for people to get AP after they get married and file AOS. Note: AP is the authorization to travel abroad and return to the US until you get a green card. Also, it is taking almost a year for people to receive green cards.

 

Unfortunately, there are no visas for attending weddings and there is nothing you can do to ensure the family members can will get the visitor visa. 

 

I think so many people are so focused on going through the process of immigrating to the US that they overlook things like not having family at their weddings.

 

Sacrifices may have to be made.

[Andsco 89]

42 minutes ago, Kali4nia58 said:

Not sure if this is the right forum, but...my fiancee is Russian and I was originally thinking we would get married outside the US since we have met up in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus. I now understand that on the K1 Visa that is not possible. We will have to get married in the US. That being said, I am thinking that would make it near impossible for her family to come for the wedding since it takes forever to get a Visa from Russia. Curious how others have handled this (doesn't have to be with Russian fiancee). Is there a quick process to get tourists visas for family for the purpose of the wedding? Did you have a courthouse ceremony and then get married abroad (if so, how much time in between ceremonies)? Other ideas?

 

Cheers!

It is sad but true..to my wedding was all the family and friends of my husband and my mother, her husband and my sister. It was weird and a little bit sad to know none of my friends would be there, plus a lot of my family wasn't able to make it. But think positive and as long as the closest people in her family are there (like dad, brothers/sisters, mom) that's all what counts. 

[Sunnyland 639]

My mom or my closest friend could not make it to the wedding and I had to suck it up. They understood. It's not fun not to have your family in your wedding but you need to see what is more important. If your fiancee thinks that having her family in her wedding is non-negotiable then they will have to get a tourist visa or you guys have to marry in Russia or wherever and then file for spouse visa. Sometimes you can not have it both ways.

Unfortunately when it comes to immigration there will be many times when you can not have the cake and eat it too. I missed many important events in my friends or family's lives during all these years. A plane ticket to Argentina costs an arm and a leg . I just can not travel anytime I want.

We married in Fort Lauderdale in the courthouse and only my husbands family and his friend's family attended. And we could not make a wedding party/celebration/religious ceremony abroad. It would takes us too much money or time to do it. So we kept it simple. 

Edited May 20, 2018 by Sunnyland

[Dashinka 24,598]

We chose a wedding time here that was convenient for the family back in Russia and opened up a WebEx broadcasting the ceremony for them.  Then on our next visit to Russia we had a party for them.

 

Good Luck!

[Lars & Sasha 17]

Thanks everybody for the responses! Very helpful. Will have to chat with Aleksandra and see what she would like to do. I was hoping we could get married in Italy but it looks like Las Vegas is more like it...with webcast for her family 

[Roel 7,192]

You can get married in Italy.

 

You'd have to start the CR1 spouse visa process instead of K1 though.

[Lars & Sasha 17]

1 minute ago, Roel said:

You can get married in Italy.

 

You'd have to start the CR1 spouse visa process instead of K1 though.

I hear that takes even longer. Plus, I can't imagine living for a year or more away from my wife. It's enough to say goodbye to my fiancee. 

[Sunnyland 639]

Las Vegas sounds like a lot of fun. Congratz on the upcoming wedding.

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

1 hour ago, Kali4nia58 said:

Thanks everybody for the responses! Very helpful. Will have to chat with Aleksandra and see what she would like to do. I was hoping we could get married in Italy but it looks like Las Vegas is more like it...with webcast for her family 

Get an Elvis Wedding, He will sing about 3 Elvis love songs, during the event.  Usually have a minister do the actual wedding.

 

When your done take a helicopter ride down the Strip after dark

[Lars & Sasha 17]

22 minutes ago, Chris Duffy said:

Get an Elvis Wedding, He will sing about 3 Elvis love songs, during the event.  Usually have a minister do the actual wedding.

 

When your done take a helicopter ride down the Strip after dark

Haha! I could only imagine what her parents would think of an Elvis wedding. I feel like I already disappointed them when I took Aleksandra to McDonalds for New Years Eve Dinner in Copenhagen. Haha! I had failed to book dinner well in advance and New Years Eve is a big deal for her family. We had a good laugh though.

 

The helicopter ride sounds great though! Thanks!

[ADAngel 40]

We are still waiting to be approved but we have decided to just do a hush-hush court "wedding" with just my mom and step dad as witnesses and we're planning a large wedding in the UK for both of our families. No one has asked about the nature of his visa so we're just playing engaged until our wedding in 2020.  I guess it's not that big of a deal but I figured if my family found out we were already married they probably wouldn't come to our wedding abroad, plus I've always wanted the big wedding but that's just not possible (at least how we want it) to do around the K1.