K1 and wedding update and questions

[NathanStephanieJ 9]

Morning y'all!

 

Nat and I are about done with the K1 and are hoping to submit it next week. Thanks to the help on the last post, we became better educated on the risks of appearing too married and that we cannot have any wedding like celebrations prior to the visa being approved. We have decided to set up an engagement party in France for September of next year and then hold a spot and etc at the family property for October of next year for a wedding. We have contacts in the party business and plenty of support so we won’t be booking anything in case the wedding needs to be pushed back until the visa is approved. If it gets approved prior to September, we can turn the engagement party into a simple wedding so his family can join. We will not be sending out any wedding invites and etc until the visa approved, so hopefully that 90 day buffer will give us what we need to set stuff up. 

 

My question is, would that be an appropriate arrangement for everything? We want to ensure we obey all laws and are working to be mindful, but do hope we can enjoy any steps (engagement get togethers and etc) with all the family.

 

My biggest worry was that his grandmothers wouldn’t get to see my dress but the first idea is to include them and his mom virtually with the dress shopping and etc. Hopefully technology will be able to bridge any gaps for the time being.

[Crazy Cat 45,143]

2 hours ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

If it gets approved prior to September, we can turn the engagement party into a simple wedding so his family can join.

In France? I might be confused, but I'm not understanding this part (unless you mean after the US marriage and AP) because K-1 marriages must take place inside the US.  Once you marry anywhere (prior to K-1 marriage inside the US), the K-1 is void, and you have to start from scratch with a spousal visa.

 

We might have covered this earlier, but one option is to have a simple marriage now, and start the spousal visa process.  You are then free to have celebration ceremonies any time and any place.

Edited Thursday at 04:36 PM by Crazy Cat

[Ontarkie 14,999]

Just make sure the wedding in France happens after the wedding in the US. He can be turned around at the border if they catch wind of a wedding in France prior to his US arrival. 

[Edward and Jaycel 2,095]

If you get married, in France, before your fiancé enters the US on the K-1 visa, you stand an excellent chance of messing up the whole process (K-1 AND Adjustment of Status) If, by some miracle he is admitted into the United States, what will you put for your wedding date on the AOS form? The correct date that predates his entry? Then he will be accused of misrepresentation by USCIS for entering on a Fiancé(e) visa knowing that he was already married and he will be denied the AOS and almost certainly given a notice to appear in immigration court to begin his removal proceedings. (Deportation)

 

For the K-1 Visa, you must have your marriage ceremony inside the US after your fiancé enters the country using the visa. @Crazy Cat is right to recommend a simple wedding in France and start the CR-1 Visa process because these celebrations seem like they are very important to you both. Fair enough, but understand that if that is the case, the K-1 visa is not for you guys. 

[appleblossom 4,820]

1 hour ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

We have decided to set up an engagement party in France for September of next year and then hold a spot and etc at the family property for October of next year for a wedding

 

I think from a previous post the family property is in the US? So that may work, but I would also make sure the engagement party is super flexible, as you may need to be in the US by then if you're about to submit now. You'll only have a certain period of time to enter the US before your visa expires. Could you maybe do the engagement party in the next six months instead, so that you don't have to worry about moving that as well as the wedding?

[NathanStephanieJ 9]

Ok! I think that misunderstanding was on me because we had been told by another, off the site, he couldn’t leave the US once we did the American wedding. Would he be able to leave the US after the American wedding to do one in France for a week as long as we don’t file any paperwork for the employment and etc until we get back? That part of paperwork we understand he can’t leave the US at all until it’s been approved. 

[appleblossom 4,820]

1 minute ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

Ok! I think that misunderstanding was on me because we had been told by another, off the site, he couldn’t leave the US once we did the American wedding. Would he be able to leave the US after the American wedding to do one in France for a week as long as we don’t file any paperwork for the employment and etc until we get back? That part of paperwork we understand he can’t leave the US at all until it’s been approved. 

 

No, once he enters on the K-1 visa he can't leave the US until he has either Advance Parole or his green card (could be anywhere between 3-8 months ish). If that is important to you, then maybe a spousal visa would be a better option so he can then come and go freely. 

[Ontarkie 14,999]

2 minutes ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

Ok! I think that misunderstanding was on me because we had been told by another, off the site, he couldn’t leave the US once we did the American wedding. Would he be able to leave the US after the American wedding to do one in France for a week as long as we don’t file any paperwork for the employment and etc until we get back? That part of paperwork we understand he can’t leave the US at all until it’s been approved. 

He would need advance parole in order to return to the US prior to his GC. So you marry, get the AOS filed asap along with his EAD and AP and once he recieves his AP he can travel without risking his AOS. 

[NathanStephanieJ 9]

Ok then we will just keep the engagement party as is then. It’s not worth risking the process on any of it.

 

I understand the CR1 is preferred and I can see why. We had decided against it because it does not match up with our time frames of starting a family. I’m 36 and already have risks that could present themselves at that time, and we do not want to start that chapter being on opposite ends of the world. So while I know the CR1 matches up with a lot of the ideals people have, it doesn’t match up with our reality of building a family. 
 

what I’m understanding from this post and the one I had posted before is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to mediate legal and personal responsibilities or desires. We are close to each other families but outside of virtual stuff, there doesn’t seem to be a way to include everyone in a normal way. I know from conversations with him that legal takes precedence so we will just have to wait for the visa to be approved and keep it simple.

[appleblossom 4,820]

10 minutes ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

Ok then we will just keep the engagement party as is then

 

As above, if that's planned for France in a year's time, you might want to bring it forward as he may have to be in the US by then. Once he gets his visa he only has a finite amount of time to enter the US and activate it. 

 

So I'd move that forward just in case, and keep the wedding flexible. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited Thursday at 04:54 PM by appleblossom

[NathanStephanieJ 9]

Thank you and I will bring that idea to him tonight when we talk 

[alliejourney 137]

8 minutes ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

Ok then we will just keep the engagement party as is then. It’s not worth risking the process on any of it.

 

I understand the CR1 is preferred and I can see why. We had decided against it because it does not match up with our time frames of starting a family. I’m 36 and already have risks that could present themselves at that time, and we do not want to start that chapter being on opposite ends of the world. So while I know the CR1 matches up with a lot of the ideals people have, it doesn’t match up with our reality of building a family. 
 

what I’m understanding from this post and the one I had posted before is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to mediate legal and personal responsibilities or desires. We are close to each other families but outside of virtual stuff, there doesn’t seem to be a way to include everyone in a normal way. I know from conversations with him that legal takes precedence so we will just have to wait for the visa to be approved and keep it simple.

I'm glad you provided this clarification - I was just about to be another voice recommending that you do a CR1 if the ceremonies are very important to you both, but I totally get why you want to do K1 in your circumstance. You're right - unfortunately, with K1, legalities take precedence and being able to plan formal ceremonies is very difficult and risky.

 

I think instead of doing pre-wedding engagement ceremonies (which will be stressful, planning around the unpredictable waiting times during process) maybe you do some sort of anniversary vow renewal, once the whole K1/AOS process dust has settled? Keep the actual marriage to a simple courthouse affair, and once everything is sorted out in a few years, you'll be free to travel and plan big events in both countries for everyone to enjoy. It's of course not traditional or ideal if you're wanting a Wedding wedding experience, but it may be a good compromise so you can still celebrate with your loved ones. Plus, it can be a green card celebration, too  

[NathanStephanieJ 9]

You bring up a good point and might be the plan we have to do. The American wedding is easier to set up and is more flexible, but we could still include his family a year after and use that time for honeymoon since travel is more restricted after the legal wedding. I’ll see what he wants to do. He has access to this account so I assume he will read everything too before we talk after work 

[alliejourney 137]

4 minutes ago, NathanStephanieJ said:

You bring up a good point and might be the plan we have to do. The American wedding is easier to set up and is more flexible, but we could still include his family a year after and use that time for honeymoon since travel is more restricted after the legal wedding. I’ll see what he wants to do. He has access to this account so I assume he will read everything too before we talk after work 

Honeymoon celebration is a great idea, too! We did an "engagement honeymoon" the summer before we got married so we could still have a honeymoon, just not right after the wedding. Sometimes immigration just forces us to be a little creative!

[NathanStephanieJ 9]

I LOVE THAT IDEA! That would be a great way to do both things and include his family in a special moment. I’m bring that idea to him first 🤣 thank you 💖