How did you deal with foreign family for a US wedding

[ADAngel 40]

9 hours ago, little immigrant said:

So you're already married while you wait on the K1 approval? How do you "play" being engaged? Who are you playing? 

 

Sorry maybe I just misunderstand this whole post. 

 

9 hours ago, NuestraUnion said:

This is 100% fraud. If you are already married then you are NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A K1 VISA! PERIOD!

 

Not only that, you do not realize the severity of your actions. If USCIS finds out your were married before you got the K1 visa at anytime, then you can be charged with misrepresentation, have your green card (if received) revoked, and face deportation and ban from the US. 

It's 100% NOT VISA FRAUD because we're NOT ALREADY MARRIED. Not sure how it got lost in translation with my post? I was simply just explaining that because he has a much bigger family than I do, and my family and I are quite close, we would want everyone to be at a big wedding for us. Thus, when he gets approved we will be having a "secret" courthouse affair and we're planning our actual "wedding" for 2020. 

Everyone can do the process how they like, some people are content with just a courthouse wedding or something really small, I suppose. But I guess I'm just not one of those people - I've always wanted to do the year- long wedding planning and to have all of both of our friends and family there. So that's just how we're choosing to do it. I was letting the OP know that most people don't know nearly as much about immigration as people going through the process, so if they haven't taken the time to explain what kind of visa it is, it wouldn't really affect anything to just do something small and plan their dream wedding n Italy further down the line. 

Plus, I'm very familiar with the implications of visa fraud, thank you - not an idiot. 

[Terjancebu 2]

Not sure if it's an option for you, but I know many/most wedding chapels in Las Vegas  give the ability to live stream your ceremony. This is the option I chose for my fiancé and myself as her family is in the Philippines and there's no chance they can visit. Check to see if any chapels in your area offer a similar service. Our package cost is $399 for everything including the live streaming. God luck

[Crazy Cat 39,272]

As stated earlier, the time apart is not much different between a K-1 and a CR-1........all in all, the CR-1 is far superior imo.

K-1

    More expensive than CR-1

    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)

    Spouse can not leave the US until he/she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until he/she receives EAD (approx 3-4 months)

    some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period .

    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

CR-1

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

[Christy&J 837]

13 hours ago, JFH said:

I hear this a lot. "I couldn't face living without my husband/wife for a year". What makes you think it's any different from how it is now? You're still you and she's still her. Married or not doesn't change your feelings for one another. If you've reached the stage of applying for a K-1 you've already decided that each other is "the one" forever. What's the difference? Apart is apart. And once it's over, just like childbirth, you have no memory of the pain of it because then you feel only joy. My husband and I spent the first two years of married life living in separate countries. I've been here in the USA for 17 months now and we always say to each other how we can't even remember the time we were apart. It's been erased from our memories. I know it must have been horrible but we had regular visits. And we both survived. No one has died due to separation yet. We even had a visa denial to cope with but we got through it. And I can assure you I do not love my husband any less than you love your fiancé. 

yes I agreed this. BUT not many people going through to this process either K1 or CR1 that lucky to be able to see other regulary like you mentioned and sometimes time zone is an issue too.

You are one of the lucky one (like me ) to be able to see your better half regulary, but imagine some other that can't do it under whatever circumtances.

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Ugh so happy not to have to deal with any of the parents. Even my husband only had to deal with my mom and my sister and newphews and niece for a total of 5-6 hours that day to include dinner after. Then back to our quiet lives.

[NovaDC 270]

My family(my mom,dad and sister) applied for a tourist visa in the US embassy in Manila for them to come here in the US for my wedding. Their interview was the day I flew here in the US. All throughout the flight i didn't know if they'll be approved or denied. The three of them never had an experience going abroad so i thought their chance was pretty slim. But guess what they got approved! They flew here 16 days after their interview and just a week before my wedding! 

[Lars & Sasha 17]

13 hours ago, SashaSC said:

This might not work for your case, but have you thouht of having the wedding in Mexico? Not too far for the US side of family to travel to and a very simple visa process for Russians... Plus it's beautiful. 

 

I have absolutely thought of Mexico...it's beautiful and would be very easy, but that would mean we go down the K3 route, and there is just something in my mind that won't allow me to get married and then start that next chapter living 6K miles away from my wife. There is also a child who has a father who shows up maybe once every 2-3 months, and I don't want to do that to him. If that circumstances were a little different Mexico would be a great option!

 

9 hours ago, Coco8 said:

For a K1 they have to marry inside the US. If they are having a 2nd wedding, they might as well wait and one in Russia.

I don't think we would do a second wedding in Russia. She doesn't have much family there and her parents love to travel...so I was thinking something a little more romantic in Europe. I'll be chatting with Aleksandra about it this morning. We talked a little last night and so far we are thinking a small courthouse ceremony with 2 or 3 people...and then plan a destination wedding for later.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

1 minute ago, Kali4nia58 said:

I have absolutely thought of Mexico...it's beautiful and would be very easy, but that would mean we go down the K3 route, and there is just something in my mind that won't allow me to get married and then start that next chapter living 6K miles away from my wife. There is also a child who has a father who shows up maybe once every 2-3 months, and I don't want to do that to him. If that circumstances were a little different Mexico would be a great option!

 

I don't think we would do a second wedding in Russia. She doesn't have much family there and her parents love to travel...so I was thinking something a little more romantic in Europe. I'll be chatting with Aleksandra about it this morning. We talked a little last night and so far we are thinking a small courthouse ceremony with 2 or 3 people...and then plan a destination wedding for later.

With a marriage in Mexico or any other foreign country, you would need a CR-1 spousal visa.  The K-3 requires filing for the CR-1, and the K-3 is usually closed once the CR-1 process reaches the NVC.  The K-3 does not really work for 99.9% of those seeking to immigrate a spouse.

[Lars & Sasha 17]

3 hours ago, Terjancebu said:

Not sure if it's an option for you, but I know many/most wedding chapels in Las Vegas  give the ability to live stream your ceremony. This is the option I chose for my fiancé and myself as her family is in the Philippines and there's no chance they can visit. Check to see if any chapels in your area offer a similar service. Our package cost is $399 for everything including the live streaming. God luck

Good idea. I've been looking into this as well. I think it's a good option! I always "joked" with ex-girlfriends that I wanted to get married in Vegas...the reason being that I didn't want to stress out with planning a wedding and spending ridiculous amounts of money to start a new life in debt so that all our guests could have a good time. In my mind I wanted to wake up, look my love in the eye and say "let's go get married!" I just want her and I and a little spontaneity. But with Aleksandra, we have spent the last 8 months traveling to see each other in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus so I thought a destination wedding would be great! It fits our story, plus it would be easier for her folks to get a Schengen Visa versus a US Visa. 

[Crazy Cat 39,272]

6 minutes ago, Kali4nia58 said:

I have absolutely thought of Mexico...it's beautiful and would be very easy, but that would mean we go down the K3 route, and there is just something in my mind that won't allow me to get married and then start that next chapter living 6K miles away from my wife. There is also a child who has a father who shows up maybe once every 2-3 months, and I don't want to do that to him. If that circumstances were a little different Mexico would be a great option!

 

I don't think we would do a second wedding in Russia. She doesn't have much family there and her parents love to travel...so I was thinking something a little more romantic in Europe. I'll be chatting with Aleksandra about it this morning. We talked a little last night and so far we are thinking a small courthouse ceremony with 2 or 3 people...and then plan a destination wedding for later.

The K-3 is useless.  Don't even bother. They  almost always closed, and you would end up going CR-1 anyway.

[javadown2 308]

20 hours 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!

We had our wedding filmed and they were able to live feed it through our churches YouTube channel and my wife's family happily watched it in there home in the Philippines. Like you said, it takes to long to get a visa and it's expensive for everyone to fly. When I went to bring my wife/fiancee to the US after she got her K-1 visa approved we had a large engagement party with all of her family, this is also something you might want to consider.

 

But in all honesty if you are still waiting for her Visa to get approved why not try to get a tourist visa for at least her parents, or family members that might be able to travel?

[Lars & Sasha 17]

Just now, javadown2 said:

We had our wedding filmed and they were able to live feed it through our churches YouTube channel and my wife's family happily watched it in there home in the Philippines. Like you said, it takes to long to get a visa and it's expensive for everyone to fly. When I went to bring my wife/fiancee to the US after she got her K-1 visa approved we had a large engagement party with all of her family, this is also something you might want to consider.

 

But in all honesty if you are still waiting for her Visa to get approved why not try to get a tourist visa for at least her parents, or family members that might be able to travel?

Can they apply for a Tourist Visa if they do not know the dates they plan to travel?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

1 minute ago, Kali4nia58 said:

But with Aleksandra, we have spent the last 8 months traveling to see each other in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus so I thought a destination wedding would be great! It fits our story, plus it would be easier for her folks to get a Schengen Visa versus a US Visa. 

Yeah, the only real hang-up for Russians getting a Schengen visa is if you don't live near a consulate it can be a bit of trek; the fees aren't that bad if you can afford a trip to Europe at all; Anastasia had to go to Moscow to get hers, which involved a 13-hour train ride each way...

But getting a US visitor visa right now is pretty much impossible.

[javadown2 308]

Just now, Kali4nia58 said:

Can they apply for a Tourist Visa if they do not know the dates they plan to travel?

Good question, yeah that may not work then because your right..you have no idea when. I'd have to research how big of a window you have once you get a tourist visa. It might be good for like 6 months time once they get it?

[Lars & Sasha 17]

Just now, DaveAndAnastasia said:

Yeah, the only real hang-up for Russians getting a Schengen visa is if you don't live near a consulate it can be a bit of trek; the fees aren't that bad if you can afford a trip to Europe at all; Anastasia had to go to Moscow to get hers, which involved a 13-hour train ride each way...

But getting a US visitor visa right now is pretty much impossible.

Her folks have received a Schengen Visa the last 2 years. They travel a couple times each year. They just got renewed for another year.

 

Moscow is a 24 hour train ride for my fiancee. She has never been, but will fly there for Medical and the Interview when the time is right.