isis375

Hey y'all. When I went to visit my SO for the "consummation" part of the marriage (i.e., the in person visit after marriage but before filing), I left him two physical certified copies of the marriage certificate. One was for the interview, the other to register the marriage in his country which is optional (and requires apostille). 

As mentioned in my original post of how the process went for me, I highly recommend ordering extras immediately after the wedding to be on the safe side. I can't say that they would definitely turn you away with the digital copy, but as with all things immigration, why risk a denial with something so easy to fix.

I totally understand the hesitation on the mail part because my SO is from Costa Rica and not only do things often not show up, they don't even have standardized addresses. For example, addresses are more like "100 meters west of the school in so and so town". What I've found helpful for really important things mailing there that may be possible depending on your country is mailing directly to the post office for pickup by the person. 

Received 1/13. NOA dated and card processed 1/18. Received NOA in mail today with 36 month extension. No emails/texts as of yet.

6 minutes ago, RogerVA8928 said:

Did you all go through the immigration process yourself or work through an immigration attorney?  I was thinking about doing myself but was a little concerned w making errors that would cause delays...but attorneys are very expensive too.  Any suggestions?

I personally think the process is pretty straightforward especially with the guides they have here. I did everything myself. Some people swear on using an attorney. I guess you'll have to weigh the pros and cons. 

If you want to get married to file the CR1, the Utah route is convenient, cheap, and can work, though there are no guarantees. If you decide to do that but do not meet in person, your marriage will not be considered valid in the eyes of USCIS, your petition will be invalid, and you will have wasted your time.

You'll find all details on how to go about marrying through Utah in this post, and you can message me for any questions. But nothing can change what I've said above about consummating, so that will need to be the end of that in this post. 

Good luck

If you are married now - it's too late for a K-1 regardless. 

If you are married now and you have not seen each other in person since being married, you have not consummated and cannot file CR1.

If you are married and have seen each other since marriage in person, you can file CR1.

If you are not married, you can file K1, or marry, meet in person, and file CR1. 

Those are you options.

If they can't come to the US because they have no Visa, and you can't go there for whatever reason, you'll need to meet a third place if you ever want to file for the CR1

Just now, Jimmyzr1 said:

We consummated the marriage for over 2 years before. The US taking 2 years to approve K-1’s from the Philippines now, sucks big-time!

Are you married now?

At the very least, marriages must be consummated for USCIS to accept them as valid, so you cannot file the I-130 until you've been with each other physically after the marriage. Period. No shortcutting it. 

We met playing ARK Survival Evolved on the PC in 2018, started dating and being on Skype 12~ hours a day. I visited Sept 2019 for three weeks in Costa Rica. We became engaged Feb 2020. We married September 2020, and I visited for three more weeks in quarantine with him in October 2020. 

And he has been here in the US with me since March 25 this year, and it's been wonderful. 

I understand your worry. Our interview was only two weeks notice as well. When we called for medical, they prioritized and gave us an appointment three days before the interview after we gave them our interview date. You've tried and they don't have availability, and you gave them your interview date? 

You need the medical results at the interview with you. 

You can find my detailed explanation of how to do the Utah Online marriage process here: 

All of the links are in there too.

While the denied B1/B2 and K1 may not directly affect each other or the future CR1, if they denied based on any impression of her misrepresenting herself or small lies of any kind, she can be denied in any future visa applications.

Not sure why the comments are implying that you need more information. You've been married TEN years, first of all. You didn't mention you have the things everyone else that hasn't been married ten years brings as evidence, which there's no way you don't have: photos of you guys together, possibly wedding anniversary stuff, any other evidence you're a couple. I mean it isn't as though you have been not living together and have all of the types of proofs most of us long distance relationships have. 

4 hours ago, Pigo said:

Please did you called the Nebraska center? 
because my wife submitted our application on 31st August 2020 and still haven’t receive any news. 

No I didn't do anything but submit the application.

6 hours ago, Annevilwill said:

Thanks

 

have another question, when you petitioned and send the relationship evidence, did you send any screenshots from wedding? or did you mention anywhere the marriage was online? I just wonder would it affect the case on any level at all or its completely 100% no problems whatsoever as long as couple met together after the ceremony online. 

No we did not submit pictures from the wedding. Just pictures of us physically together before and after. The consular officer asked him where we were married, and he said online through Utah. The CO was curious but not judgmental and did not ask any further questions about it. But there was no point in the process pre-interview that the online part was mentioned specifically. 

We filed online. I don't understand why it was so fast, either, honestly. All I can do is take this blessing and hope you guys get through the process soon. As far as interview dates go, completely depends on the Embassy at that point and that is why it varies so much. Regarding the I-130 and then the NVC, I don't understand why they would process ours so quickly. 

1 minute ago, Annevilwill said:

sorry, yeah, I saw later the link and reading it now. Thanks so much! we will research it. Sorry for asking again, but I want to make sure, for you to make all the paperwork in order to get license, you did not have to go personally to Utah office, you just mailed it all there right?

 

and congratulations to you! Very happy news!

I did not go to Utah. 

When you start the process, it is an online application in which you use their scanning technology to scan your passport and/or US ID, and then you schedule a web-conference wedding ceremony. Everything is digital. 

Thank you!

10 minutes ago, Annevilwill said:

Hii!

 

could you pls explain more how is it possible to do an online marriage? If me and my fiancée are both in another country together, can we do somehow online wedding in USA? (we are in China and cannot get married here due to local regulations and we cannot travel abroad now too). Thanks!

If you follow the links in the post above you, it will show you all you need to know about marrying. Yes, as far as I am aware, you can marry online while you are both together in China. 

1 minute ago, angelo D said:

I went to the link and read the process for the marriage online application. I think its very unique, I am very curious did you both get marriage certificates ? Your husband had a very good interview but I am worried if another immigration officer would deny another person who tries this.  

Yes, we have marriage certificates, and in my comment post, I uploaded a picture of what it looks like: nothing different from any other marriage certificate.

I can't find anything that doesn't fit within what is allowed for visas, but you're right, anyone else could possibly be denied. I am the only person I've heard of so far to get to the interview process, and I've been approved. I would love to hear of others that have interviewed and their results. I wish anyone that marries this way or any other luck in their journey. 

If you would like further information on it, you can also see their FAQ and how they explain the legality of virtual ceremonies and online license application here: 

http://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/ClerkAud/WebCeremonyFAQ.html

2 minutes ago, angelo D said:

I have a question about your online marriage in Utah?  Please see below How did you get around the in person application process?

 

Marriage Licenses

To get married in Utah, you need to apply for a marriage license and have the marriage solemnized. You can apply for a marriage license at any county clerk's office. Visit the Utah City and County page on the state's website for links to local government pages, and look for a link that says something like County Clerk. Check with the county clerk's office where you intend to get the marriage license for any specific requirements.

There is no waiting period before you can get married. As soon as you get your license, you can get married. However, the license is only valid for 30 days. If you do not have the marriage solemnized within that time, the license will expire.

You will need the following to apply for a marriage license:

• An in-person application with both applicants present at the time of application.
• Full names, addresses and dates and places of birth of both applicants.
• Social security numbers of both applicants, unless an applicant doesn't have a social security number.
• Names and birth places of the parents of both applicants , including mother's maiden name.
• Valid picture ID such as a passport, birth certificate, driver license, or state ID card.

http://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/ClerkAud/Marriage.html

All of the information on how you can marry online through Utah County's ceremony, you can go to this above link. It is legitimate and does not require you to be physically present if you marry through this specific county. 

3 minutes ago, Foodislife27 said:

Hello,

 

I was just wondering how did you get married online? Is there a specific site that you went to get this done? 

 

Also, did you guys met before face to face before you guys got married online? 

 

Just want to see if me and my fiancee can try this as well. 

You can see all of the process for marrying online if you look at my comment here : 
 

Yes, I saw him before we got married. I visited his country for three weeks the year before, and then three weeks after the marriage. 

Just now, TREVIA IVEY said:

Did you use an attorney or file yourself?

There was no question as to the requirement to physically see one another prior to marriage? Was that waived due to Covid?

 

Absolutely WONDERFUL news. Your story gives hope to us all. 

I filed myself. I did physically see him a year before the marriage, but also, no one questioned it either. 

Thank you. 

3 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

 

Why did you two marry online and not in person? Just curious since you saw him after you were married online, and didn't file until after you saw him following your marriage. 

I was only able to get into his country through a spouse exception as they were not allowing anyone from my state regardless of if I spent time somewhere else for 14 days or more at the time. There was no timeline at that time on how long that ban would last, and even still the process to get married in his country and have the certificate in hand to apply for the CR-1 was three months or more even if I could have gotten in to get married there. And on top of that, you need a lawyer for the ceremony, even without an actual wedding, and that would have been $400 more and I still would have needed to pay for the plane ride. The cheapest, fastest, and only certain route to start the CR-1 was to get married online.