Religious wedding first?

[ftr_mrs_f 0]

Hello. I just got off the phone with my fiance and have a couple of questions, maybe you guys can help me answer them:

1- We're thinking of having the religious ceremony in my country first and then the civil one when i enter the states. Now we're wondering if this slight change of order would affect any future immigration paperwork. Is anyone familiar with this?

2- Around how long in advance do they let you know when your interview will take place?

3- My fiance and i are going on vacation for one week next month, is it ok for the process if we meet in a 3rd country or he's supposed to come to mine always?

Thanks a lot for your help

[dirtyd301 0]

ok so to answer your questions:

1) i would not get married in another country before you enter the states on your K1 because one of the requirements of a K1 is that neither of you are married when you apply and throughout the process. if you got married in a foreign country before your interview and approval they could deny your visa and make you reapply for a K3 and that takes so much longer.

2) every country is different with how long it is before an interview. i am not familiar with el salvador so i cannot answer that question but if you go to there website you should be able to find a link for Visa Processing Times and they can give you an estimated time for processing.

3) if you and your fiance go on a vacation together in another country other then your own it is perfectly alright. it could even help with any evidence you need in the future!

Good Luck with everything

Diana

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

ftr_mrs_frmnt,

If, at the conclusion of a religious marriage ceremony, you are legally married in the jurisdiction in which the ceremony took place, then you become ineligible for a K1.

If, at the conclusion of a religious marriage ceremony, you are not legally married in the jurisdiction in which the ceremony took place, then you are technically still eligible for a K1.

That said, CO's are human and they do make mistakes. They can also leave cases hanging for months (or more) if they suspect that any rules are being bent but can't (yet) prove it.

There have been cases reported here on VJ and elsewhere on the Internet of people having religious ceremonies that do not constitute legal marriages in the jurisdiction in which the ceremony took place, where the cases were delayed and/or denied due to evidence of the ceremony being misinterpreted by the CO.

[ftr_mrs_f 0]

Thank you for your prompt replies. Yes, we would perform the religious ceremony after the visa being approved, and nope, religious ceremonies do not constitute legal marriages in my jurisdiction. I still would love reading more opinions, thanks again

[jula 0]

Yes, we would perform the religious ceremony after the visa being approved, and nope, religious ceremonies do not constitute legal marriages in my jurisdiction.

...but you'll use K1 visa to enter the US as a fiance. The category in which one was approved a certain visa should not change before entering the US (for example: spousal visa -> divorce, fiance visa -> marriage). Now, weather a religious ceremony would be viewed as a possible marriage, I can't tell. Is there going to be a paper for you and your husband to sign after the ceremony?

[MichelleandCraig 1]

As Ari said, you would HAVE TO BE SURE that the religious ceremony did not in any way constitute a legal marriage. Also as he said, it is possible that these ceremonies sometimes do get misinterpreted by the CO's and it delays things...and sometimes people do things this way, and it doesn't delay anything. I think you will get more replies, but in the end you will have to consider things for yourself. What I, personally, would do if I wanted to do this, was not even mention the religious ceremony. I do not in ANY way condone lying to a CO(or anyone) but you wouldn't be lying..all they want to know is if you are legally married or not..if you know for an absolute fact that you wouldn't be..there's no problem..so why even bring it up and have the possibility of problems from them? JMO. Good luck! M.

[zyggy 9]

As Ari said, you would HAVE TO BE SURE that the religious ceremony did not in any way constitute a legal marriage. Also as he said, it is possible that these ceremonies sometimes do get misinterpreted by the CO's and it delays things...and sometimes people do things this way, and it doesn't delay anything. I think you will get more replies, but in the end you will have to consider things for yourself. What I, personally, would do if I wanted to do this, was not even mention the religious ceremony. I do not in ANY way condone lying to a CO(or anyone) but you wouldn't be lying..all they want to know is if you are legally married or not..if you know for an absolute fact that you wouldn't be..there's no problem..so why even bring it up and have the possibility of problems from them? JMO. Good luck! M.

Want my advice.. don't do it... there are too many ways that you could slip up.. you need to keep your eyes on what is truly important.. and that is to get yourself into the US as easily as possible. to do anything that may be misconstrued is absolutely foolish..

And it's isn't only the CO and the consulate that you have to satisfy... it's the CBP as well...

I have seen people who have had only "religious" marriages get sent back home because the CBP wasn't convinced that there was only a "religious" marriage involved and that the "religious" marriage wasn't a legal marriage...

Remember.. it's easy to prove that you are married... it's difficult to prove that you are not. A CO may know the rules in a home country, a CBP officer only know the rules in the US and doesn't care to split hairs over what is considered a legal marriage in the home country or not.. in their eyes, if it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck.. it's a duck... no matter which way you spin it...

And remember that you still will have to talk to the USCIS in the future... they're in the same boat as CBP as far as legallity of marrige is concerned...

Question : When were you married?

Husband : January 21

Wife: June 30

So which is it?

There are just too many ways that things can go wrong... don't walk into a potential trap... get married first civilly in the US and then go back home for the religious ceremony if you wish at a later date...

Edited April 17, 2006 by zyggy

[Ladylethal 12]

Can't you do the religious ceremony after the civil one in the states?

Also, if it's like Brasil, many couples do the religious combined with the civil marriage, at the same time, maybe you rather do that and file for a K3 visa, which might be a good option for you.

Meeting in a third country is fine!

[khan 0]

We have done a religious Islamic ceremony in Pakistan, but it doesn't constitue to a legal marriage. That's a part of engagment ceremony in our tradition. I have a fear, but lets see what happens our interview is on 27th and we are going through London.

I looked at I-130 option as well, one of the requirements was that you and your spouse have lived togather as husband and wife which we didn't, so that made it easier for me to apply for k1 rather than k3.

PS: One of the VJ members have already done it and they got their visa approved, but they told me not to reveal your religious marriage.

Edited April 17, 2006 by khan

[simple_male 1]

Hello. I just got off the phone with my fiance and have a couple of questions, maybe you guys can help me answer them:

1- We're thinking of having the religious ceremony in my country first and then the civil one when i enter the states. Now we're wondering if this slight change of order would affect any future immigration paperwork. Is anyone familiar with this?

2- Around how long in advance do they let you know when your interview will take place?

3- My fiance and i are going on vacation for one week next month, is it ok for the process if we meet in a 3rd country or he's supposed to come to mine always?

Thanks a lot for your help

Marriage is marriage whether it is done with religious rituals or by the civil authority. You are husband and wife after marriage regardless of it is done along with religious ceremony or it is done by civil authority. You should get married after you arrive in the US, as it is a must for K-1. It is a clear violation of K-1, if you marry in your country and then hide it during the interview. You could be denied visa based on this fact. So why do you wanna mess it up? If you want to marry in your country in front of your families and with religious ceremony, CR-1 and K-3 options are available for you.

Should you decide to marry first in your country, then you can go for CR-1 and K-3.

[khan 0]

Marriage is marriage whether it is done with religious rituals or by the civil authority. You are husband and wife after marriage regardless of it is done along with religious ceremony or it is done by civil authority. You should get married after you arrive in the US, as it is a must for K-1. It is a clear violation of K-1, if you marry in your country and then hide it during the interview. You could be denied visa based on this fact. So why do you wanna mess it up? If you want to marry in your country in front of your families and with religious ceremony, CR-1 and K-3 options are available for you.

Should you decide to marry first in your country, then you can go for CR-1 and K-3.

I don't know much about immigration, but I explained my situation to a lawyer and I called INS this is what they advised me to do. Plus, we are not going to hide it since my finace went to England on Student visa telling them he was partially married.

Edited April 17, 2006 by khan

[zyggy 9]

Marriage is marriage whether it is done with religious rituals or by the civil authority. You are husband and wife after marriage regardless of it is done along with religious ceremony or it is done by civil authority. You should get married after you arrive in the US, as it is a must for K-1. It is a clear violation of K-1, if you marry in your country and then hide it during the interview. You could be denied visa based on this fact. So why do you wanna mess it up? If you want to marry in your country in front of your families and with religious ceremony, CR-1 and K-3 options are available for you.

Should you decide to marry first in your country, then you can go for CR-1 and K-3.

Actually that's not exactly true... In countries with a common law tradition (English based law), this is generally the case in that the civil authorities recognize the religious ceremony as legally binding

In countries with a Code Civil based tradition (French based law), there is distinct difference between a civil marriage and a religious marriage. The civil marriage is the only one recognized by the state and therefore is the only one recognized by the US Government as the valid marriage..

The trouble comes from trying to PROVE that there isn't a valid marriage in place. Sorry to tell everyone this, but people lie... As a CBP officer or a Consular Officer, if someone told me that they had a religious ceremony, but no civil marriage, I would take that with a healthy dose of skepticism and force the individual to prove that they weren't civilly married.

When you're standing at the POE, there isn't time to get that proof... your visa will just be cancelled and you'll be sent back home...

Edited April 17, 2006 by zyggy

[ftr_mrs_f 0]

Thanks again for your replies. We wanted to get church wedding right after i get K1 and before i enter the US for the civil one because we don't want to live together as a couple if we havent had religious wedding first, it's tradition for us, and my parents would disaprove it otherwise, but due to the circumstances, they would have to deal with it.... I understand we're under a special situation now.

I have a new question, if i enter the US and do civil wedding first, after around how long will i be able to come back to my country and perform the religious one?

Thanks so much for your help!

[vamsi 0]

Thanks again for your replies. We wanted to get church wedding right after i get K1 and before i enter the US for the civil one because we don't want to live together as a couple if we havent had religious wedding first, it's tradition for us, and my parents would disaprove it otherwise, but due to the circumstances, they would have to deal with it.... I understand we're under a special situation now.

I have a new question, if i enter the US and do civil wedding first, after around how long will i be able to come back to my country and perform the religious one?

Thanks so much for your help!

You can apply for Advanced Parole(AP) along with your AOS application, which will allow you to leave the country and return while your AOS is pending. My advice would be to have a civil marriage soon after your fiancee enters the US and then file for AOS/AP immediately. Usually, the AP is approved within 90 days at which point you can use it to go back to your country and have the religious ceremony.

[simple_male 1]

Thanks again for your replies. We wanted to get church wedding right after i get K1 and before i enter the US for the civil one because we don't want to live together as a couple if we havent had religious wedding first, it's tradition for us, and my parents would disaprove it otherwise, but due to the circumstances, they would have to deal with it.... I understand we're under a special situation now.

I have a new question, if i enter the US and do civil wedding first, after around how long will i be able to come back to my country and perform the religious one?

Thanks so much for your help!

Yes, I understand your situation. For mycase, I married my wife, then applied for CR-1 and K-3. I agree with what Vamsi answered. As soon as you get the advance parole after your arrival in the US, you can go back to your country to perform the religious ceremony. You can review the K-1 guide in this website in order to have some understanding about how you can adjust your status, go for Advance Parole, etc, after arriving into the US. Good Luck!