PastorJJJ1958

I also completely agree with Krikit.

I think you could potentially run into trouble at the border. For instance, if she's asked her reason for visiting? I guess she could try to get around the full truth, which is for her wedding, and then even if she is let into the country, what if (i have no idea if they do) the USCIS has access to the entry notes from border patrol who entered that she was entering for her wedding? If she's carrying her wedding dress through and all of that, well then that could definitely be interpreted a couple of different ways.

I think a lot of people rush into a K1 because they can't bear the thought of being apart after marriage or they really just want the quickest way. I don't regret doing a K1 (I was opposite, had a civil wedding and a chruch wedding later) but now I can totally see that waiting longer for a CR1 would have been just fine as well. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

I I was in your situation, I would 100% have my wedding September 4th, make it legal and then apply for my CR1 and continue with my visits until it was approved.

Everyone has been so kind! Thank you... This will be a matter of much prayer and discernment - the main thing is that we want to do nothing illegal and follow the laws of the Canada and US

If you decide to pursue a religious ceremony, then consider using someone who is not ordained or recognized as the officiant. If the individual has no right to 'marry' anyone even in a religious capacity but is conducting the ceremony to follow the religious ceremony, that might be the way around the difficulty. In Canada and the US, ordained religious individuals are authorized to perform legally binding marriages and it will be hard to differentiate between their 'legal religious' marriage ceremonies and a 'non-legal religious' marriage ceremony. Make sure the officiant is not authorized to perform a marriage and you avoid that problem. The ceremony can still be in a church and in front of God, your friends and family but it isn't a legal marriage since the person conducting the ceremony has no authorization.

A cousin of mine years ago moved to the US on a fiance visa. His family were not able to attend due to the distances involved and the number of family members, so the weekend before he left they held a 'religious' ceremony with a family friend officiating just so the family could join in the celebration. The family friend had no right to perform legal marriages and the ceremony was just that - ceremonial and not legal. They married legally the following weekend in the US.

You might want to check into this possibility as well.

Thank you...will do! I do not how a ceremony can be legally binding without a marriage license?! The laws are pretty strict about this in the US. Since we are not living together we cannot fall under any kind of "common law marriage." It is kind of like when a couple renews their wedding vows after decades of marriage - they will come up in front of the church, say their vows, and the church is packed with friends and relatives. Perhaps it is different in Canada and you do not lead a marriage license from the local government to get married.

I would choose CR1, at this point, as my last option if there was nothing else on offer

It's funny how each of us see this differently - in terms of which visa to apply for. At least if they get the ball rolling on the K1 now, they should be in the U.S. living together by the end of this year.

Why they would want to wait another 5 months, then get married and apply for a CR1, which might get them together by say May-June 2011 - I just don't get that - but hey, that's me (this is aside from the whole have a religious ceremony first question).

I mailed form 129F on April 2nd and we received notification from the government on April 5th. We met on eHarmony in July and since October we have made a combined twelve trips back. In fact I will be traveling to Canada at the end of the this month for a few days to see her.

I want to thank everyone for their advice.

We want to do this the legal and proper way with no lieing, no cheating, no deception, while also obeying the Laws of the USA and Canada. But, I just do not see what interest the US or Canadian government would have in a purely religious ceremony where legal matters were not involved-perhaps this is because I am protestant. It seems simple to me (but what do I know?) to have a ceremony, where we pledge faithfulness to each other and God while being surrounded by friends and family. Realizing that she is only here for a short visit, obeying the law of the land, she returns to Canada, while we wait for the legal aspect to run its proper course. Then when we have the Visa in hand, we get legally married (Vegas is just a metaphor for a easy no hassle civil wedding ceremony)in the U.S. and live here.

In Canada there are several facets that make a marriage legal.

1) The couple must obtain a valid marriage license

2) The must be a minimum of 5 people present - the couple, two adult witnesses and a legal officiant

3) The couple must orally declare their consent to marriage.

4) There must be a way to object (either posting of bans or the ever populare "If anyone can show just cause why this couple should not be joined together...)

5) The couple must be pronounced husband and wife in public

6) The officiant, in declaring them husband and wife, must state under which authority he is acting. (By the power vested in me by the province of ....)

If none of this is included, it is technically not a legal marriage....however...there is a sticky point. Something about if people attending where led to believe it was an actual marriage, there could be problems.

This was the law as of about 5 years ago and may have changed.

I can't see a non-legal ceremony being an issue...or even needing to be brought up. The couple is NOT married. A civil ceremony could easily be done in Canada at a later day at almost any city hall...providing the couple gets a valid marriage license.

CdnMn

The "non legal" religious ceremony would take place in the US and the (later) legal one would happen in the US also. Everyone attending would know that they would be attending a ceremony blessed by God but not a legally recognized by the US or Canada. Then she would return to Canada, when everything had cleared immigration, she would come in on her VISA and would have a civil ceremony in Vegas almost immediately.

Well - if you didn't apply for a marriage license for yourselves (and thus didn't file the completed one after the marriage) ....how are you married? Just saying.

If you're doing a K-1...what is the reasoning to do the religious portion before she moves down?

Here is the reasoning. Christine and I met on eHarmony during the summer. So far I have made 7 trips to Canada while she has made 5 here. On one of her first trips here she saw a beautiful patio (at a friend's house) and knew that this was where she wanted to be married. We became engaged in February and foolishly thought immigration would be a breeze. So we set at date (September 4) and started telling friends in Canada in US. Many of her friends want to come down on that date (Labor Day Weekend) and make a Holiday of it - plus she is very close to them.

Then reality set in and we found out this process takes 5 months plus... The best weather for an outdoor wedding in Southern California is in September and October. So we resigned ourselves to making alternate plans. Then the idea came that we could separate the religious ceremony from the civil one. She would fly down the week before...we would have the religious ceremony and she would fly back to Canada after the wedding wait for the VISA.

Then when everything was clear, she would enter the US on the VISA..we would drive to Vegas and have the civil ceremony. We would not live together until the civil ceremony was completed.

We do not wish to deceive anyone or break any laws or hurt our chances...we just want to have a celebration with out closest friends and family and before God. Our spirituality is one of most treasured aspects of our relationship.

Not if you're an ordained minister.

Ordained for over 25 years...serving full time!

If you are a pastor.... as your member name says..... you should know all this.

I am a US Pastor...we make a distinction between religious ceremonies and legal ones. A legal ceremony where you are married by "Elvis" in Vegas hold more validity.

Religious ceremonies are legal and binding.

So even if the religious ceremony is held in the US...Canada would consider it legal and binding?

I can't see what the harm is. Why would you even mention it to a CO, it has nothing to do with immigration?

I read this in Nolo's Fiance' & Marriage Visas "A couples guide to U.S. Immigration" 5th addition

page 56

"Wedding ceremonies that don't result in legally binding marriage won't stand in your way. If you don't feel right leaving home unmarried, see if you can arrange for a religious or other ceremony that won't be recorded or recognized by your country's civil authorities. USCIS does not recognize these as valid marriages. You will need to have a legal marriage in the United States once you get there."

I always advise against this (while others will disagree). Futher, religious ceremonies in Canada (especially if you are catholic) ARE marriages and you will find a difficult time locating a minister/preist who will preform a non-legal religious ceremony in Canada and thus, you will not qualify for the K-1. If you want to get married, file for a spousal visa.

Good luck

The religious ceremony would be here in the USA...I thought only 'legally binding marriages' were of concern to the immigration authorities?

It is possible to have a religious ceremony while the 129f is pending, and then have a civil (legal ceremony) in Vegas once the Visa is cleared? Her friends and family can make it to the USA in the late summer and it would be great to have the religious ceremony there...of course she would return to Canada until everything cleared? Any Advice?

Can my Canadian fiancée travel to the U.S. for a short visit while my

application for an fiancée(129F) visa is being processed?