Need to be physically present for marriage?

[fbarajas818 0]

Hey so me (american) and my fiance (japan national) are getting married soon and are compiling all the documents we need for the I-130 and so on.

 

We are planning to get married in japan and she was going to submit the marriage documents inperson to her relevant office on our behalf as she says I don't have to be there in person for us to get married.

 

However, I read in the instructions provided from the official website of american immigration where you formally do all the applications like the I-130 form and in the section marked "Who may not file form I-130?" it states, "you may NOT file form I-130 for a person in the following catagories: 4.) A spouse, if you and your spouse were not both physically present at the marriage ceremony, unless the marriage was consummated".

 

From this it sounds like I have to be there do i can provide proof there after I was actually there so the application doesn't get denied. I also can't "consummate" the marriage if I'm not physically there so it seems i have to be there but im not sure.

 

Long story short, I'm confused because I've seen both comments online of you have to be there and you don't have to be there for the ceremony but the instructions seem to state clearly you have to be there and I wanted some clarification from anyone who's done this before.

 

Want to make sure I get everything done right and provide as much evidence as possible to help speed up the process in anyway.

[appleblossom 5,581]

You don't have to be together for the marriage, but you do have to 'consummate' it (which just means being physically together) before filing. So you can get married online, then meet up, then file. 

[wildbug100420 391]

2 hours ago, fbarajas818 said:

Hey so me (american) and my fiance (japan national) are getting married soon and are compiling all the documents we need for the I-130 and so on.

 

We are planning to get married in japan and she was going to submit the marriage documents inperson to her relevant office on our behalf as she says I don't have to be there in person for us to get married.

 

However, I read in the instructions provided from the official website of american immigration where you formally do all the applications like the I-130 form and in the section marked "Who may not file form I-130?" it states, "you may NOT file form I-130 for a person in the following catagories: 4.) A spouse, if you and your spouse were not both physically present at the marriage ceremony, unless the marriage was consummated".

 

From this it sounds like I have to be there do i can provide proof there after I was actually there so the application doesn't get denied. I also can't "consummate" the marriage if I'm not physically there so it seems i have to be there but im not sure.

 

Long story short, I'm confused because I've seen both comments online of you have to be there and you don't have to be there for the ceremony but the instructions seem to state clearly you have to be there and I wanted some clarification from anyone who's done this before.

 

Want to make sure I get everything done right and provide as much evidence as possible to help speed up the process in anyway.

Please complete your timelines. You should make every effort to get married in person. Why give uscis more reasons to potentially question the relationship?