Engagement Ceremony

[Monika03 0]

Hi all,

 

I am Cambodian. My boyfriend is an US citizen. We would like to get married through the K1 visa process. 

 

I would like to know whether the engagement ceremony is compulsory for the approval of the USCIS. If this engagement is necessary, whether we have to do it in Cambodia or US?

 

Thank you for you assistance

[Fr8dog 312]

This is important!!!!

Do not have any ceremony that could be viewed as a wedding ceremony.

 

Back to your question, They are not required for the application.

[geowrian 22,335]

No formal engagement is needed for USICS. The letters of intent to marry are sufficient. An engagement is just an agreement to marry.

 

As stated, avoid anything that resembles or could be misinterpreted as a wedding ceremony. They can deny the petition or visa if they aren't certain you are free to marry, and similar functions have sometimes caused them to do exactly this.

[Monika03 0]

Thank you! I heard that some couples attach their engagement photos with l-129F.

[geowrian 22,335]

11 minutes ago, Monika03 said:

Thank you! I heard that some couples attach their engagement photos with l-129F.

Some probably do.

At the same time, some of those people have also posted on VJ about being denied. It's a judgement call by the IO for the petition and CO for the visa. It also depends on the circumstances...a small informal party may be fine, but people wearing formal attire with a ring and religious leader is more likely to raise an eyebrow.

Edited February 21, 2019 by geowrian

[Monika03 0]

Thank you your info! its very helpful.

[nastra30 1,980]

I don't think engagement ceremony is necessary. If y'all decide to go on a mountain top so he can pop the question, then by all means y'all should climb the mountain. However, a big formal engagement ceremony with - plenty people attending, pastor and all, cake cutting, partying and exchange of vows etc. should be avoided, in my opinion. All the best on your love journey.

[Monika03 0]

Thank you very much!

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[jaysaldi 209]

I think whether to have an engagement ceremony depends very much on the specific country.  In some countries, where engagement ceremonies aren't customary, you shouldn't have the ceremony, because it could be perceived as a wedding.

 

In other countries, like Vietnam and Cambodia, where engagement ceremonies are customary, the consular officer may expect that a genuinely engaged couple would have had such a ceremony.

 

I recently attended my fiancee's interview in Phnom Penh and the consular officer asked us "Did you guys have a traditional engagement ceremony?" I believe her visa would have been approved either way, but I also got the feeling that having an engagement ceremony is viewed as a positive by the embassy in Cambodia and not a negative.  She certainly wasn't scrutinizing the photos to see if it was too "wedding-ish."

 

If you decide not to have an engagement ceremony, you should be prepared to be asked why not. And I think "We were afraid it might screw up our K-1 visa chances if you thought it was a wedding" is an excellent answer.

Another thing you could do is have a secular Western-type engagement dinner or party and include photos of that, to show a public engagement commitment,  but without all the pomp and circumstance and costumes of the traditional ceremony.