K1 Visa & Church ceremony

[SalishSea 16,916]

3 minutes ago, metuchen said:

But why? We are not getting married, we are simply doing a small party to celebrate our engagement and her going away. The wedding would be in the States.

You started this thread with saying you wanted to do a 'non-legal' church ceremony in your home country, and now it is a 'small party.'

 

You are free to do what you want, but we have seen denials for such events, even if it just creates the perception that you are already married.  

[stag 51]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

You started this thread with saying you wanted to do a 'non-legal' church ceremony in your home country, and now it is a 'small party.'

 

You are free to do what you want, but we have seen denials for such events, even if it just creates the perception that you are already married.  

I'm simply trying to understand what is allowed and what is not, since I'm still learning the ins and outs of this process. I haven't made concrete plans yet and want to make plans based on the safest and legal route. The way I understand it now is that such a church marriage ceremony, even if not legal, is a big risk, which I didn't know and good I now know.

[Unlockable 7,306]

2 hours ago, metuchen said:

But why? We are not getting married, we are simply doing a small party to celebrate our engagement and her going away. The wedding would be in the States.

 

2 hours ago, metuchen said:

I'm simply trying to understand what is allowed and what is not, since I'm still learning the ins and outs of this process. I haven't made concrete plans yet and want to make plans based on the safest and legal route. The way I understand it now is that such a church marriage ceremony, even if not legal, is a big risk, which I didn't know and good I now know.

You are not understanding the complexity of US immigration. If the interviewing officer has any inclination that some sort of union ceremony has occurred, they may deny the K1. Reason being, how do you prove that the ceremony was NOT a real wedding event. This is where the challenges of multicultural differences wrecks havoc on immigration. You have one side that wants to stick their cultural norms but it may also jeopardize their immigration case. I ceremony or celebration with a large number of people, dressed in their best, and celebrating a coupes union can easily be misinterpreted as a marriage. We have seen it. Here are a number of examples...

 

 

Look at O&GForever's reply in this thread about their K1 being denied for engagement party...

 

 

That is only a small sample from the search I did on here. As you can see, people were denied because the officer believed they were "too married" for a K1 visa. There should be absolutely no indication of any type of marital union of the two. We even have a longtime member here who almost got denied because her and her fiance attended a friend's wedding. The officer saw pictures of them at the wedding and questioned if the wedding was actually theirs.

 

The big point is that it is not a question on legality or not. It is that the officer has the power to deny if there is even the slightest speculation of any official union. You will not have time to argue a point. So to answer your question, DO NOT have any type of ceremony or celebration. If it is that big of a deal to you then a marriage in her country and a spousal visa should have been the option.

[hopefulfor2021 31]

Seconding the replies here. More than that, COVID is really a big threat. Even small gatherings pose a risk as you cannot assure how “safe” everyone else is — unless you swab them all and lock them all in a room for 14 days. You included, if you’ll travel.

 

Go with your gut - if you doubted it, don’t do it.  Safe for everyone too, literally.

[AishaniA93 108]

7 hours ago, NandV said:

We are planning on doing the marriage ceremony in the US and then after all the paperwork is done (AOS), we will go back to his country to do another celebration there. From what I've read on these forums, it is not recommended to have any type of celebration that can be seen as a wedding until after the K1 is completed (which is entry into the US)

This is what we are doing as well. Our wedding in Sydney has had some deposits paid for but we are going to have to end up pushing it another year to makes sure AOS is complete. Didn't want to risk anything! 😕 

[Sarah&Facundo 578]

But you can just go back and have your church wedding as soon as your future spouse gets an EAD/Travel authorization card. My husband and I got married in the US and then when he got his card 6 months later, we were already booked on a flight back to his home country. Why jeopardize anything?

[Ed&Midori1031 330]

10 hours ago, NandV said:

We are planning on doing the marriage ceremony in the US and then after all the paperwork is done (AOS), we will go back to his country to do another celebration there. From what I've read on these forums, it is not recommended to have any type of celebration that can be seen as a wedding until after the K1 is completed (which is entry into the US)

That is the best route to go.  For the K-1 interview, showing the embassy photos closely relating to a wedding ceremony would be a no-go as it can show you and your fiance are already married.  

[Dashinka 23,382]

10 hours ago, NandV said:

We are planning on doing the marriage ceremony in the US and then after all the paperwork is done (AOS), we will go back to his country to do another celebration there. From what I've read on these forums, it is not recommended to have any type of celebration that can be seen as a wedding until after the K1 is completed (which is entry into the US)

This is exactly what we did.  We also webcast the wedding ceremony here in the US and did it at a convenient time for those back in Russia could watch it.

 

To the OP, I cannot add much more than what others have already posted. The realities of life and the realities of immigration are sometimes opposed.  Some of the responses may sound harsh, but we have seen many denials of K1s for such actions as you suggest. 

[Adventine 3,187]

24 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

We also webcast the wedding ceremony here in the US and did it at a convenient time for those back in Russia could watch it.

 

This is a great idea and will hopefully help the couple fulfill any sense of obligation they may have to family and friends in the fiancé's home country.

 

I've attended a Zoom wedding and it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be (mostly because of the group chat and reuniting with old family and friends scattered all over the world).

Edited January 4, 2021 by Adventine

[Carpe Vinum 2,314]

It what help to know what country your fiancé is from. Some embassies are more sensitive to an engagement party than others.

[ineedadisplayname 444]

8 hours ago, metuchen said:

But why? We are not getting married, we are simply doing a small party to celebrate our engagement and her going away. The wedding would be in the States.

It is not what you said in your original post.

" My wish was to do a church ceremony in the country of origin (there is no legal effect in that country)" 

 

I totally understand that your parents might want that, but they will have to wait until you come back to visit (when u will have EAD or GC) and do it then if it doesn't have any legal effect. It wouldn't matter to them, but they still would get the church ceremony after you entered the US on your K1.

 

 

 

[JeanneAdil 6,259]

8 hours ago, metuchen said:

But why? We are not getting married, we are simply doing a small party to celebrate our engagement and her going away. The wedding would be in the States.

Because a church service is a legal marriage in the US 

Give up your plan or marry and apply the CR1

 

one woman went to our country Morocco (to meet her fiancee) and liked Henna so she had it done

and when she sent her trip photos in for a K1,  she was denied as "too married" as Henna is part of a marriage ceremony

another was wearing a ring and was turned back at the POE as the ring is also a symbol

 

customs and immigration at the POE look at all things and she could be turned back if they even suspect a religious or cultural type of marriage ceremony

 

and i would like to ask "why if just an engagement party,  you do it after the K1 approval and not before applying for the K1?"

 

[stag 51]

3 minutes ago, ineedadisplayname said:

It is not what you said in your original post.

" My wish was to do a church ceremony in the country of origin (there is no legal effect in that country)" 

 

I totally understand that your parents might want that, but they will have to wait until you come back to visit (when u will have EAD or GC) and do it then if it doesn't have any legal effect. It wouldn't matter to them, but they still would get the church ceremony after you entered the US on your K1.

 

 

 

Yes I see, I'm simply trying to understand what is permissible and what is not. I haven't planned anything yet, because I want to know what is the correct thing to do with this K1. Based off of what I've heard, I won't do it how I thought I could. It actually might be easier to get visas for her parents so they can attend the wedding ceremony here in the States. 

[stag 51]

8 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

and i would like to ask "why if just an engagement party,  you do it after the K1 approval and not before applying for the K1?"

It's something we had planned for last year but because of Pandemic restrictions couldn't do it. So at least was thinking to do a small party before she leaves given Pandemic situation is better. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by metuchen

[Orangesapples 1,954]

9 hours ago, metuchen said:

Yes this is good to know. What if we just have a small celebration in her home country? Like an engagement party (but after the visa is given)? Because of COVID we couldn't do it in person unfortunately. 

 

Yes I understand and definitely don't want to do anything that goes against the rules and trying to learn more about what is right and wrong to do. Is it all right to just have a small engagement party in her home country (even after she gets the visa)? We couldn't do it in person beforehand because of the pandemic. 

I had an engagement party with my family back home and it was fine.