Copperblade

Oh and by the way, I am allowed to go to the interview according to:

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/inde...amp;cty=Jakarta

Thanks for the feedback. I think I get the general idea about how it works. My only fear is if they say "your interview is in 2 weeks" then it won't be long enough notice for me to organize the trip and/or the ticket will be prohibitively expensive.

I was expecting the process to take longer. I seemed to get the paperwork relatively fast (within 3 months). Before I knew it, I had gotten an email from the embassy saying to have my fiance submit a collection of forms. So I guess this is the final step before the interview?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed or required to go to the interview with her. It seems like by the time it's scheduled it's going to be pretty hard for me to get a ticket to do so.

July filer too

I'd like to add here that a WEDDING and a LEGAL MARRIAGE are two very different things. So if someone is wanting to do a religious ceremony in their SO's country, they need to check the legalities of it. USCIS clearly tells us that a non-legal religious ceremony is ok, as long is it is not legal in the country in which it takes place.

Good thread, Lisa. Maybe people will read it?

Info on Indonesia:

The US Embassy in Indonesia just confirmed to me this is ok by email. I did not anticipate they would say that it is ok. I do not think it is ok in Indonesia if you have a Muslim wedding, because I think it is automatically a legal marriage. (You can check their site.)

I work for a company where I had two fairly distinct positions, or at least job titles. Do I list that company twice?

Just once is fine for the entire period.

Thanks, you are pretty fast on those responses.

I work for a company where I had two fairly distinct positions, or at least job titles. Do I list that company twice?

I noticed on the g-325a form on the USCIS site, it says the expiry is 5/31/2009

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, no worries right?

Can someone else confirm that this is true? Specifically, I want to confirm that it's OK to have a religious ceremony in my boyfriend's country - with my friends/family from the US present - and then apply for the K-1 to get married legally in the US? Are there any links (to the USCIS website or elsewhere) that would confirm this? This is exactly what we want to do, but I want to be sure it's possible before starting to make plans. Thanks!

I highly doubt you will find links from USCIS explicitly condoning this. You need to be very careful with this, as this is a slippery slope, and the burden of proof lies with the visa applicant, not the consular officials.

Yeah, I would like a confirmation on this. Having the religious wedding in her country is EXACTLY what we wanted from the beginning. But after speaking with a couple of lawyers it sounded like if you call it a marriage, it doesn't matter if it's legal or not, you won't get approved at the interview. One lawyer said just make sure you don't call it a wedding or say you are married. The other one got all preachy about being married in front of God and it being dishonest to say we weren't really married at the interview. Bleh. Whatever.

The way it works in Indonesia is you must get married religiously first, and then register that marriage with the government. That would indicate to me that unless you register with the government, you're not technically married yet.

This is a VERY old thread, people, so I wouldn't get too upset about what's posted here. (original topic posted almost two years ago.)

The hardest thing for me to accept was the fact there was no recognized status/application for people planning to be married in another country.

There is. It's called a spousal visa.

You can only apply for that after you are married. So if you are planning on getting married (i.e. a fiance) in another country, there is currently nothing you can apply for. At least that's what I was told by more than one lawyer.

Tsk. tsk. Everyone is so judgemental. Some people also have biological constraints in which to work. You can't have kids for the "next 60 or so years"

Anyway, I wouldn't begrudge a single legitimate (i.e. really want to be married) couple for taking a short cut. In my opinion it is their right to be together, and it's just a case of sour grapes to be upset about it. Of course, I'd never want to risk attempting something like that myself.

The hardest thing for me to accept was the fact there was no recognized status/application for people planning to be married in another country. Before I knew better, I thought for sure there must be some kind of application I can start on which says that she's my fiance, but we'll be marrying somewhere else, and so we should be able to interview.

I also thought about just doing the religious ceremony in her country, but I was advised not to do that by a lawyer who said that it's risky because if you actually call it a marriage, it doesn't matter if it's legal or not--they'll deny you.

It is a vague 2-part question - if your fiancé was a citizen from birth - you do not need to enter a certificate number (the certificate number is in reference to being a US citizen through naturalization - hence a naturalization certificate number).

Thanks for the clarification. My birth certificate doesn't even have a number on it. But they'll be getting a copy anyway.

It says "original statements". A fax by definition is not an original statement. Can you get by with a fax? Maybe... but why chance it?

Indeed, I guess I better get her to mail it to me.

Thanks. My fiance just asked me if we both need to each send the letter/statement that we will get married within 90 days of the visa, or if we just send 1 letter with both of our signatures.

Looks like I need to first find out where I need to send this if I'm from Maryland. Would it be ok if she faxed me the letter, and I printed it out?

Individual letters are needed... what I did is set up a FedEX account and my fiancee mailed me the required documents.

Yeah, that make sense that individual statements are needed. Do they need to have originals? I guess I can call them and ask.

Here is what the instruction form says:

"Provide original statements from you and your fiancé(e)

whom you plan to marry within 90 days of his or her

admission, and copies of any evidence you wish to

submit to establish your mutual intent;"

I was hoping she could sign and fax me a statement which I could include with my letter. I will call them about it.

Thanks. My fiance just asked me if we both need to each send the letter/statement that we will get married within 90 days of the visa, or if we just send 1 letter with both of our signatures.

Looks like I need to first find out where I need to send this if I'm from Maryland. Would it be ok if she faxed me the letter, and I printed it out?

Hi everyone. I found this site to be the most helpful site in getting the K-1 visa done, so I really am glad it's here. I could have sworn I saw a little "how-to" list of steps on here somewhere, but I seem to have lost where that is.

Anyway, my fiance and I got engaged in January. We kind of had hoped to have the wedding in her country (Indonesia), and started right away with the religious preparations (required for marriage in Indonesia). I kept contacting the US Embassy trying to get information on how I could start the visa process, or if I could get a tourist visa, etc. so we could be together relatively soon after the wedding. The answers they gave were never really "to the point" i.e. they never explained that if we got married there, it would only be after the wedding we could start the process. We found that out from consulting a lawyer.

So although it feels kind of late in the game for us, we have decided to do an bethrothal/engagement ceremony in Indonesia, and go with the K-1 visa to get married here. Honestly, it turns out that this will make it easier for everyone involved, so it's a good thing. And I get to start the process right away.

So that's my story.... I guess I'll be browsing the site and gathering information along the way.