Wedding after interview before POE?

[stacyt 209]

Hello! My friends were just approved for K-1 visa, and they had a wedding in the girl’s home country, before she left to America. They didn’t actually get married, no official docs signed, but they had the party, the dress, pictures all over the Facebook etc. They plan to get officially married at the courthouse when she gets there. Is there any chance this backfires at any point and how?

[Pitaya 2,576]

Let's keep this short and sweet. How would your friends truthfully answer the question below? Yes or No.

 

Quote

Who May File Form I-129F?

You may file this petition if you are a U.S. citizen and:

1. You and your fiancé(e):

   1. Are legally free to marry and intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e)’s admission to the United States; and

REF: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f , page 1 instructions.

 

Kinda had a wedding sounds a lot like being kinda pregnant.

Here is a very recent similarly-themed thread from last week in this forum, read some of the responses: 

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by Pitaya (火龙果)

[Dashinka 23,247]

1 hour ago, stacyt said:

Hello! My friends were just approved for K-1 visa, and they had a wedding in the girl’s home country, before she left to America. They didn’t actually get married, no official docs signed, but they had the party, the dress, pictures all over the Facebook etc. They plan to get officially married at the courthouse when she gets there. Is there any chance this backfires at any point and how?

Sure it could backfire.  Remember, the K1 visa is just the start of the immigration journey for many.  Even if she is allowed entry, questions could come up at any stage of the process.

[geowrian 22,335]

There is a non-trivial risk of being "too married" for a K-1, even if the wedding isn't official. Best thing now for them now is to marry & do a CR-1 instead (withdrawing the I-129F). Do a quick search on VJ and you'll see what I mean...

[stacyt 209]

1 hour ago, Pitaya (火龙果) said:

Let's keep this short and sweet. How would your friends truthfully answer the question below? Yes or No.

 

REF: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f , page 1 instructions.

 

Kinda had a wedding sounds a lot like being kinda pregnant.

Here is a very recent similarly-themed thread from last week in this forum, read some of the responses: 

 

So, I know they can’t lie in the application or in any of the forms. I went through k-1 myself and I would personally never take a risk like that, but we’re having a huge debate.

 

i know it usually backfires when people have any sort of engagement or wedding parties BEFORE the interview, but if they have it after and a few days before getting to the US and they don’t actually get legally married, I can’t recall a moment looking back at my immigration process where I would have to answer any type of questions about this. The next time they would have to fill out a form would be AOS and they will be legally married in the US

[geowrian 22,335]

People have been denied entry for this even after the visa is issued. CBP can deny entry if they believe you are no longer eligible for it.

How likely it is to happen is up for debate, but it is a very, very real risk. After going that far, I can't imagine it being worth it. Wait for AOS + AP in the US then have whatever celebration you want abroad and not have to worry about anything.

[SalishSea 16,772]

21 minutes ago, stacyt said:

So, I know they can’t lie in the application or in any of the forms. I went through k-1 myself and I would personally never take a risk like that, but we’re having a huge debate.

 

i know it usually backfires when people have any sort of engagement or wedding parties BEFORE the interview, but if they have it after and a few days before getting to the US and they don’t actually get legally married, I can’t recall a moment looking back at my immigration process where I would have to answer any type of questions about this. The next time they would have to fill out a form would be AOS and they will be legally married in the US

Could backfire even after POE by being discovered at another point in the journey from POE to citizenship.  Sounds like someone went for the wrong visa.

[Dashinka 23,247]

16 minutes ago, geowrian said:

People have been denied entry for this even after the visa is issued. CBP can deny entry if they believe you are no longer eligible for it.

How likely it is to happen is up for debate, but it is a very, very real risk. After going that far, I can't imagine it being worth it. Wait for AOS + AP in the US then have whatever celebration you want abroad and not have to worry about anything.

I agree.  We had our celebration back in Russia after Katya got her GC.

[Just Paul 4,591]

Sure hope that no one looks at their phones at the POE.

 

Looks like a wedding?

[Scandi 3,970]

If USCIS finds out about it there might not be a greencard in the future.

[ability 56]

14 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Sure hope that no one looks at their phones at the POE.

 

Looks like a wedding?

it looks like a real wedding on facebook, a lot of photos in the public domain. They are in the United States now. I told them it was a bad bad idea, you can have a problems in future , but they say  - we don’t see the problem

[Going through 5,668]

4 minutes ago, ability said:

it looks like a real wedding on facebook, a lot of photos in the public domain. They are in the United States now. I told them it was a bad bad idea, you can have a problems in future , but they say  - we don’t see the problem

Thing about stuff posted on the internet---it can follow them forever.  May or may not become a serious issue for them as they go through AOS, ROC and later on N400.  On the plus side, it doesn't involve you directly as it's their issue, not yours.  At least you tried to warn them incase it comes up in the future.

 

People tend to not see things as a problem until it becomes one hitting them square in the face.

[ability 56]

6 minutes ago, Going through said:

Thing about stuff posted on the internet---it can follow them forever.  May or may not become a serious issue for them as they go through AOS, ROC and later on N400.  On the plus side, it doesn't involve you directly as it's their issue, not yours.  At least you tried to warn them incase it comes up in the future.

 

People tend to not see things as a problem until it becomes one hitting them square in the face.

this is my husband's best best friend , it’s a pity that people can suffer in the future because of their stupidity now 

[SalishSea 16,772]

I'm confused.  Does the OP have two accounts here?

[Scandi 3,970]

2 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I'm confused.  Does the OP have two accounts here?

People who lie have a tendency to have several accounts and post things like "asking for a friend".