Do you need to propose to your girlfriend before you can file for a K1 Visa?

[Mr. Ross 13]

1 minute ago, SnowColdIce said:

I understand the letter of intent. However what about other people's experience? @powerpuff and @SalishSea seem to have indicated an engagement ring and wedding plans are not required as much.

Why did I even bother to provide you with this excellent information ?  Do as you wish - Good luck to you. 

[SalishSea 16,794]

2 minutes ago, SnowColdIce said:

I understand the letter of intent. However what about other people's experience? @powerpuff and @SalishSea seem to have indicated an engagement ring and wedding plans are not required as much.

Correct.  In fact, "wedding plans" generally required things like firm dates, which is not possible with the K-1 process.  We've seen people get burned on nonrefundable deposits for things like wedding venues.  Not recommended.

[SnowColdIce 7]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Ross said:

Why did I even bother to provide you with this excellent information ?  Do as you wish - Good luck to you. 

I am just curious for your perspective and experience on this, no need to react this way. Just questioning your statement the same way as I question theirs out of curiosity. I am genuinely just curious about your experience.

[powerpuff 5,913]

We had zero wedding plans in our application and no engagement ring either. No RFEs during any of the processes, no questions asked at K1 the interview, no questions asked at the AOS interview. 
 

[JeanneAdil 6,204]

OP

it would be impossible to send wedding plans with the petition when u have no idea of the visa approval and when the immigrant could be in the USA so its not part of what u need

engagement party ?  in some embassies this has been mistaken for a wedding ceremony and visa denied as "to married for a K1"  so no, its not needed 

plus some countries do not have engagement parties

in Moroc it would be the man and his family visiting the woman's family to ask for marriage , show his assets and this would be impossible for many men to have a tourist visa to do this / that is  a formal engagement in Moroc 

the "intent to married statements"  and photos of the 2 of u with petition is what u need

 

only when there are red flag issues with a relationship will an embassy look for commingling of finances for a CR1

[MissLadyRea 206]

2 hours ago, Mr. Ross said:

A K1 visa is a request to the US government to allow you to bring your fiancée to the USA so you can get married. This starts with an engagement and an engagement ring and then wedding plans which are all included in your K1 visa package. 
 

A visa package without significant wedding plans, photos of an engagement event etc will probably result in an RFE asking for this evidence. 
 

Don’t forget you need 2 letters of intent to get married too signed and dated & properly filled out. 

To offer another persons experience to OP in reference to this, I hadnt received my engagement ring yet at the time of filing. I submitted 0 proof of engagement ring, no wedding invitations, really nothing like that. We got engaged over a video call, so as you can likely imagine we had no proof of that. 

I'm now in the USA pending Adjustment of status adjudication. It was absolutely no issue for USCIS. 

  A fiance/fiancee is not determined by their ring, wedding plans, any of that : ) Good luck OP! It's going to be okay❤️

Id heavily suggest NOT making any wedding plans. Seen a couple people here and in a few k1 groups who planned a wedding extensively and lost thousands of dollars because of how unpredictable USCIS is. They wont speed up so you can have your wedding so it leaves a lot of people screwed. They dont expect you to risk hundreds of dollars!

Edit: I'd also heavily suggest I-130 as others have mentioned!!!!!! I wish it had been viable for me to do that path.

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by MissLadyRea

[MarJhi 919]

We added a photo of the engagement ring in our pictures when we submitted our application, we weren't told to do so, we just did it and I don't think it made a difference. At no point during the entire process did USCIS or the embassy in Manila ask about wedding plans.

[redmist 10]

I think you already got all the answers you needed but I want to share my own experience with this because I've never really come across this before!

 

Since me and my fiance are pretty young (20 & 21) and had been dating 3 years upon applying I was asking myself this question too. Of course we had discussed marriage and the ins and outs, fully aware we needed to marry when I come to the states. But it was still odd because meanwhile being engaged isn't a legal status, suddenly it seemed like we were engaged once we submitted the application but not because I had been proposed to. Due to the distance and the both of us not having super traditional values, it just never actually came up. I'm sure if we didn't have to do K1, we would eventually have gotten married anyway, maybe one or two years later. 

[Mike E 11,723]

10 hours ago, SnowColdIce said:

However one thing stood up to me, do I need to be engaged to her before starting the process?

Yes. In fact, formal engagements can result in K-1 being denied

 

9 hours ago, Mr. Ross said:

Why did I even bother to provide you with this excellent information ? 

Do you have a reference to this? Specifically that supports this:

 

9 hours ago, Mr. Ross said:

A visa package without significant wedding plans, photos of an engagement event etc will probably result in an RFE asking for this evidence. 

I dare say the average visa journey experience is the opposite. I personally consider any ISO, CO, or CBP officer who demands wedding plans to be mentally defective.

 

As for: “photos of an engagement event”, including these can, not surprisingly, result in denial of the K-1 visa.

 

Engagement events should be as informal as possible, and can happen later or not at all. A quiet dinner between the couple is fine. A 1000 guest “engagement” event, is a denial. 

 

[TexasRafael 103]

11 hours ago, SalishSea said:

Wet signature is not required.

 

Yes, we have done our entire process ourselves.  I recommend reading as much as you can about the process.  Mistakes can add time and money to a process already fraught with roadblocks.

 

If we were to do it again, we would definitely avoid the K-1 and do a CR-1.  The adjustment of status part of a K-1 is a huge drawback.  With current wait times, your fiance may not be able to work or travel for up to one year.  The green card can take two years, and removal of conditions is up to four years.  In many states, people without green cards cannot drive.

I totally agree with you on this one.  If you can have the choice, then just go for the CR-!. 

[Thrillhouse 193]

11 hours ago, powerpuff said:

We had zero wedding plans in our application and no engagement ring either. No RFEs during any of the processes, no questions asked at K1 the interview, no questions asked at the AOS interview. 

 

Same. Our "proposal" was "So, you think we should do this? Yeah? OK, let's file the paperwork then."

 

There was no ring, as I had zero desire for one. Whatever minimal plans we had vanished due to COVID, so our "wedding" was a a Colorado self-solemnization in a darkened DMV office in late March 2020 -- no officiant, no vows, no extraneous silliness, just the county clerk, two signatures, and 3 certified copies of the marriage certificate. Nobody changed their name.

 

You know how many issues we're had since then? ZERO. Remember, it's not about traditional stuff, it's following the rules and having documented proof and factual evidence.  That's all that matters!

[Marieke H 2,315]

11 hours ago, Mr. Ross said:

Why did I even bother to provide you with this excellent information ?  Do as you wish - Good luck to you. 

Your information really wasn't excellent... You are misinformed, as others have pointed out. 

 

I had 0 evidence of an engagement ring or wedding plans in my K-1 packet (except for the letters of intent, of course). I was asked about wedding plans during the interview, and I explained that we were just going to go to the courthouse, because it was impossible to plan a wedding without knowing when I would have a visa. The interviewer totally understood and said that she would've done the same thing. 

[Crazy Cat 39,317]

12 hours ago, SnowColdIce said:

I am starting to think about it more now when you said this. I will read more on VJ now.

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1        
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 6-8 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 6-8 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
    In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice   
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
    

CR-1
    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
   

 

[beloved_dingo 1,934]

13 hours ago, Mr. Ross said:

A K1 visa is a request to the US government to allow you to bring your fiancée to the USA so you can get married. This starts with an engagement and an engagement ring and then wedding plans which are all included in your K1 visa package. 
 

A visa package without significant wedding plans, photos of an engagement event etc will probably result in an RFE asking for this evidence. 
 

Don’t forget you need 2 letters of intent to get married too signed and dated & properly filled out. 

Nope. Not at all true. We had exactly zero wedding plans when the K-1 was filed, nor did we have photos of an "engagement event". And people here are cautioned against sending photos of very formal looking engagement parties because certain consulates question whether it represents an engagement party or a wedding event. 

 

The only thing we ever provided pertaining to engagement other than our letters of intent to marry was the receipt for my engagement ring, and that wasn't even sent with the original K-1 petition. My husband provided it at his interview at the consulate as a piece of additional evidence. 

 

Anyway, as others have said, CR-1 is a much better bet now anyway. It was more of a toss-up back in 2018 when we filed, but that is no longer the case especially with fees potentially going up for AOS and the similar processing times between both visas. 

[Crazy Cat 39,317]

13 hours ago, Mr. Ross said:

This starts with an engagement and an engagement ring and then wedding plans which are all included in your K1 visa package. 

This just isn't true.  Proof of meeting within the last 2 years and a signed letter of intent are the 2 main requirements of an I-129f package.   Do you have a reference that those items are required?

Edited May 15, 2023 by Crazy Cat