k-1 visa marry in japan first

[craig177 0]

I want to marry my fiance who lives in Japan. Her parents request that I get married in Japan. I plan to submit the I-129F petition for fiance visa this week and get married the first week in Feb. and bring her back with me on the same trip. But I was reading the that I cannot get married before she comes to the US. Am I using the right form? Should I be approaching this differently.

[StillThePrettiest 4]

the K-1 is to bring a FIANCE/E to the States; if you're already married you'll be bringing a spouse, and you'll need the K-3... trying to do otherwise can be seen as fraud

it's pretty startling to find this out, isn't it... I wanted to be married in Australia; I've been living in London for the past three years and my family hasn't even MET my fiance, and as I'm the one agreeing to uproot and move we thought it was more than fair... but when we found that the only way to do that was a K-3 and an average wait of 9 months (during which I wouldn't be allowed to enter the States), we quickly changed our minds :s

it's daft... if we didn't want to do something special and family-centred, it would actually be EASIER; how can they not see this?

sorry, rant over... hope I answered your question anyway

[Dan J 277]

the K-1 is to bring a FIANCE/E to the States; if you're already married you'll be bringing a spouse, and you'll need the K-3... trying to do otherwise can be seen as fraud

it's pretty startling to find this out, isn't it... I wanted to be married in Australia; I've been living in London for the past three years and my family hasn't even MET my fiance, and as I'm the one agreeing to uproot and move we thought it was more than fair... but when we found that the only way to do that was a K-3 and an average wait of 9 months (during which I wouldn't be allowed to enter the States), we quickly changed our minds :s

it's daft... if we didn't want to do something special and family-centred, it would actually be EASIER; how can they not see this?

sorry, rant over... hope I answered your question anyway

To get legally married in Japan, instead of the US, you will have to apply for a visa after you get married. And apply for a K-3 or CR-1/IR-1. Getting legally married outside of the US, and then immigrating to the US on a K-1, is fraud.

You can have a ceremony in Japan before immigrating to the US, if its not considered legally binding. What is considered legally binding for a marriage varies by country.

[flutter95 4]

Also, you couldn't submit your K3/CR1 visa papers untill you are actually married.

I suggest reading through the guides!

[no name 1]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

[craig177 0]

Wow! Good thing I asked. Not sure what I am going to do now. I guess if her parents are really insistent I will have to get married there and the wait another year before we are together. any suggestions would be helpful.

[TimsDaisy 0]

Take some time to read the guides, the FAQ on this site, and, your first stop, the government's own site: www.uscis.gov. You need to start doing some heavy duty research. All of this will become much less confusing after just a few days of study

The K1 is a Fiance Visa. So that alone should answer your question.

While it is possible to have a wedding party in Japan and still use a K1 visa that you may get, it is absolutely imperative that you do the necessary homework to understand what risks may be present if you do. It shouldn't be a risky thing to do at all, but it will be if you don't take the necessary precautions to know what constitutes a legal marriage in Japan and if you start doing stupid stuff at the border in the US, talking about how you aren't married but had a wedding, blah blah blah.

If you do get legally married BEFORE using a K1 to enter the US, the K1 is invalid and attempting to use it could subject the foreign spouse to a years-long ban. Certainly not what you'd want to happen.

The key is in understand the difference between a wedding and a marriage. Don't do anything until you're comfortable with all available processes and the different terms used for each.

Time to start doing your homework! Best of luck

[flutter95 4]

alslo look at the DOS website, its pretty insightful for visas

[msu17 0]

My fiance and I didnt want to do the wedding party abroad before we have the visa thing. What we are doing is having him come on the K1, get married (you could just do a courthouse thing), file for AOS and get the AP then head back to the UK and have a big party. Dont know if that will work for the parents, but worth suggesting.

[StillThePrettiest 4]

or the same but in reverse, which is what we'll be doing (party in Australia before heading off to the US to get married with just immediate family present)

(and yes, I know we'll have to be careful that said big party can't be construed as a wedding, but I don't even want to do the ceremony-and-white-dress once, let alone twice, so it will be more like an engagement party )

[craig177 0]

Thank you for all of your help and advise. We will see how it goes. This is a really nice forum. I am sure I will have more questions later.

[Yodrak 7]

craig,

That's what I did, to keep the inlaws happy. It's not so terrible.

Yodrak

Wow! Good thing I asked. Not sure what I am going to do now. I guess if her parents are really insistent I will have to get married there and the wait another year before we are together. any suggestions would be helpful.