About to file Form I- 129F for K1 Visa and have a question

[optimistic23 46]

Hi guys,

I'm about to petition my fiancee for K1 visa and about to file the I-129F Form and have really a complicated scenario; 

my fiancee had a child with a previous unofficial marriage (Married but traditional so no official recognised marriage certificate) and they are not involved anymore. does she have to declare she had a child, if yes wouldn't they ask divorce certificate and since they weren't married officially how to explain that, i would really appreciate if you guys give me anything. Thanks.

[Stubmeister 31]

I think you need to clarify the situation a little more. Were they indeed married, or was it a cohabitation where a child was produced out of wedlock? Either she was married or she wasn't. If she was married, you will have to produce the divorce along with an English translation of it and submit it along with your -129F. USCIS is going to do a preliminary investigation and they will 'ding' you for wrong information if you don't have the necessary documentation. Its pretty common place all over for women to have children but not be married.

[geowrian 22,335]

51 minutes ago, optimistic23 said:

my fiancee had a child with a previous unofficial marriage (Married but traditional so no official recognised marriage certificate) and they are not involved anymore.

Please clarify exactly what this means. The lack of a formal registration or marriage certificate does not mean it is not a valid marriage. Many others have hit issues with this, with a case from less than 24 hours noted here that resulted in a refused visa and potentially a permanent bar for misrepresentation for not disclosing the traditional marriage.

 

If there is any hint of it being considered a valid marriage, you should obtain and provide evidence that it was dissolved.

 

51 minutes ago, optimistic23 said:

does she have to declare she had a child

Absolutely. never, ever lie on an immigration form. The penalty is severe (i.e. the potential permanent bar noted above).

[Ate 180]

In case the example from geowrian hasn't convinced you, here's a recent example of a K1 visa application in trouble because of circumstances related to the beneficiary's undisclosed, unofficial marriage:

 

 

Before you file that petition, do everything in your power to get documentary proof that your fiancee's traditional marriage has been dissolved.  Do yourselves a favor and avoid the specter of her traditional marriage from becoming a risk to her immigration process for years to come.

 

And of course, do not lie about her child either.

 

[payxibka 10,044]

9 hours ago, optimistic23 said:

Hi guys,

I'm about to petition my fiancee for K1 visa and about to file the I-129F Form and have really a complicated scenario; 

my fiancee had a child with a previous unofficial marriage (Married but traditional so no official recognised marriage certificate) and they are not involved anymore. does she have to declare she had a child, if yes wouldn't they ask divorce certificate and since they weren't married officially how to explain that, i would really appreciate if you guys give me anything. Thanks.

What does declaring a child or not have anything to do with a requirement to produce a divorce decree.  Births occur in and out of wedlock all the time.  Of course you will declare the child.  Not only because you never LIE on an application but to apply and/or preserve immigration benefits for the child as well

[Stubmeister 31]

payxibka said:

Quote

What does declaring a child or not have anything to do with a requirement to produce a divorce decree.  Births occur in and out of wedlock all the time.  Of course you will declare the child.  Not only because you never LIE on an application but to apply and/or preserve immigration benefits for the child as well

To your point, you should disclose all information about your fiance! Otherwise the USCIS will pick it up! I questioned whether I should have disclosed about my novia's oldest daughter. She is not coming here but figured it would be a good idea to put it out there. As it was, she was mentioned in the divorce so there they (USCIS) would have detected it. I supplied and translated all 38 pages of my novia's divorce. Why? I wasn't sure what was considered pertinent to the VISA case so as stated many times on this forum, it is better to have too much information than not enough!

Edited March 2, 2019 by Stubmeister

[Prizm123 1,084]

you may also want to enclose something showing that there is no record of her marriage being official or that the marriage has been dissolved or annulled or whatever the case may be from whichever governmental entity in her country is in charge of that just to be on the safe side. you don't want that to come back and cause an unnecessary delay or outright denial if for some reason the background check shows some sort or marriage and disqualifies her