K1 visa :Civil marriage Vs Non-civil marriage

[Sant 0]

Hello,

My friend has filed for K1 visa (in July 2020) and fiancee  is in India. Obviously  after fiancee  gets K1 approved,  she will travel to US and we plan to get their court marriage done  in US. So the first CIVIL marriage will happen in US only.

Since fiancee is from India, her parents want to do certain rituals here in India while her K1 is in process. These are only few marriage rituals (as per Hindu traditions "phere" ) with very limited close family members, No big public marriage event and no  marriage registration so technically it is NON- CIVIL marriage in India. Is this OK ??  Is this allowed? does it carry any risk?? 

OR

Can we do some marriage rituals like "sat phere / 7 rounds around fire" in India while K1 is in process?

Will appreciate your help / guidance & suggestions. PLEASE.

Thx.

 

[SalishSea 16,772]

4 minutes ago, Sant said:

Hello,

My friend has filed for K1 visa (in July 2020) and fiancee  is in India. Obviously  after fiancee  gets K1 approved,  she will travel to US and we plan to get their court marriage done  in US. So the first CIVIL marriage will happen in US only.

Since fiancee is from India, her parents want to do certain rituals here in India while her K1 is in process. These are only few marriage rituals (as per Hindu traditions "phere" ) with very limited close family members, No big public marriage event and no  marriage registration so technically it is NON- CIVIL marriage in India. Is this OK ??  Is this allowed? does it carry any risk?? 

OR

Can we do some marriage rituals like "sat phere / 7 rounds around fire" in India while K1 is in process?

Will appreciate your help / guidance & suggestions. PLEASE.

Thx.

 

Do not do that.  You risk being 'too married' for a K-1.  There are many posts on VJ by people who did traditional or religious weddings and therefore were ineligible for the K-1.  If that ritual was important, CR-1 would have been a much better choice.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

1 hour ago, Sant said:

Can we do some marriage rituals like "sat phere / 7 rounds around fire" in India while K1 is in process?

Will appreciate your help / guidance & suggestions. PLEASE.

Thx.

 

A very big risk of being denied K1 due to being married. 

 

Also, your "friend" should register and ask directly.  I do not know why someone needs a 3rd party to ask questions that have serious impact to their immigration process.

[Chancy 6,233]

6 hours ago, Sant said:

Since fiancee is from India, her parents want to do certain rituals here in India while her K1 is in process. These are only few marriage rituals (as per Hindu traditions "phere" ) with very limited close family members, No big public marriage event and no  marriage registration so technically it is NON- CIVIL marriage in India.

 

Please do NOT do this.  K1 visa is for people who are single.  Holding a marriage ritual makes them "too married for K1", marriage registration or not.  Sure, maybe the consul officer will not find out about the ritual or the applicant could lie their way through the interview, but no one here would ever recommend that.

 

Here is just one of many examples here on VJ of K1 visa denial because the CO thought the applicant was already married from having an "unofficial" ceremony --

 

 

[carmel34 3,531]

11 hours ago, Sant said:

Can we do some marriage rituals like "sat phere / 7 rounds around fire" in India while K1 is in process?

Don't do it, way too risky as others have been denied a K-1 for doing "marriage rituals" before entering the US with the K-1.

 

If the marriage rituals in India are important for her family, the best options would be:

 

1.  Get married in India, with full legal and religious marriage rituals, big celebration, etc., then file an I-130 petition for an eventual CR-1 spousal visa.  This also has the big advantage of allowing her to work in the US immediately upon arrival, and also to leave the US to travel abroad and return if for some reason she has to go back to India.

 

2.  Continue the K-1 process, with no "marriage rituals" in India before the visa is approved and she enters the US on the K-1 visa, get legally married in the US as soon as possible, file the adjustment of status papers including EAD and AP, then once AP is approved (6 months or so), you both go to India for the big religious wedding and celebration with her family.

 

Good luck!

[Greenbaum 12,258]

13 hours ago, Sant said:

Hello,

My friend has filed for K1 visa (in July 2020) and fiancee  is in India. Obviously  after fiancee  gets K1 approved,  she will travel to US and we plan to get their court marriage done  in US. So the first CIVIL marriage will happen in US only.

Since fiancee is from India, her parents want to do certain rituals here in India while her K1 is in process. These are only few marriage rituals (as per Hindu traditions "phere" ) with very limited close family members, No big public marriage event and no  marriage registration so technically it is NON- CIVIL marriage in India. Is this OK ??  Is this allowed? does it carry any risk?? 

OR

Can we do some marriage rituals like "sat phere / 7 rounds around fire" in India while K1 is in process?

Will appreciate your help / guidance & suggestions. PLEASE.

Thx.

 

Someone is asking the same question here https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/750285-engagement-ceremony/#comments

 

[Unlockable 7,306]

14 hours ago, Sant said:

Hello,

My friend has filed for K1 visa (in July 2020) and fiancee  is in India. Obviously  after fiancee  gets K1 approved,  she will travel to US and we plan to get their court marriage done  in US. So the first CIVIL marriage will happen in US only.

Since fiancee is from India, her parents want to do certain rituals here in India while her K1 is in process. These are only few marriage rituals (as per Hindu traditions "phere" ) with very limited close family members, No big public marriage event and no  marriage registration so technically it is NON- CIVIL marriage in India. Is this OK ??  Is this allowed? does it carry any risk?? 

OR

Can we do some marriage rituals like "sat phere / 7 rounds around fire" in India while K1 is in process?

Will appreciate your help / guidance & suggestions. PLEASE.

Thx.

 

Advise them not to do it. Immigration requires a lot of sacrifice, and in their case, they will have to sacrifice having a ceremony. They can't have it both ways. Either they skip the ceremony and go with the K1 or cancel the K1 so they can have the ceremony and get married, then file for as spousal visa. Look at the other threads where people from India were denied. This is the choice people have to make when the choose to immigrate.

[Sant 0]

Thank you ALL. All responses are same and I am convinced. Doubts are cleared now. I will let my friend know .

Thanks again to all for quick responses with clarity.

Sant

[NandV 87]

Yup, definitely agree with everyone else, do not do this. Our plan is to go to the courts first and then the bigger religious ceremony. To be honest, with the COVID situation, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing the bigger wedding until 2021 anyway. As your friend's fiancee is female, I can see how her parents are concerned. However, they will just have to either trust this process or wait until the actual wedding in India