DV lottrey 2016 - save me with your advise plz

[mo196]

Dear all,
Good day and thank you for this good community,
Please read my case carefully and advise me what to do ,

During step 2014 I got engaged ( engagement in my culture should be in court and filed with a marriage certificate)

During October 2014 I apply for the DV lottery and I add my status as a single because I was engaged and still engaged till date am not married we plan to marry next march or feb 2016,

After winning I click on the DS-260 for filling the form as normal and I start read more about the instructionsand I was surprised I discover that if you married but not include your partner then your visa will be canceled at the time of the interview

I selected unmarried because am officially engaged and in my country you can’t make any engagement without marriage certificate, am not married and we didn’t make any ceremony … etc.

I was shocked really but any way I include her in the DS-260 as my wife after I read the instructions am not going to lie to the consular or do bad way to go to the US, family first
I can’t leave her I don’t want to,

I tried to find solutions & what actually I did I called the Kentucky Consular Center called to ask maybe they will understand my culture and my situation and they had a solution for me,

When I ask the customer service she said (( if you didn’t make marriage ceremony then you’re unmarried and everything shall be ok you may continue with your process I said I have Marriage certificate !!!!!!!!!!!???!!!!!!???? she said are you married ?! I said no am engaged officially she said marriage in the states means you are married , I said thank you I close the phone but I still have something in my heart telling me that there’re something wrong so I waited for another half an hour and call again and I speak to different person from the KCC after telling her my story she said I don’t know really ask the US embassy where you live because am not sure I tell ok ,

I email the embassy for my sad story and the reply was below ,
(Thank you for your email. If you were not married and did not include your spouse in your application, she will not be able to be added. You may continue with the process and after you receive your green card you can petition for her from the United States.
Sincerely,
Immigrant Visa Unit)

I wasn’t married I just was engaged but I have officially marriage certificate in court because this our law and culture So now please advise me what to do?

shall I skip the interview and forget about the US?
Shall I go for the interview speak to consular and explain for him in case he asked me why you didn’t apply as a married person?! I will tell him the truth and am engaged ….and I though this means still unmarried.

I add my fiancée in the DS-260 form and my marriage certificate shows that we file the marriage in the court during sept 2014 .

Please advise, sorry to bothering you
PS: lesson learned, even If am going to buy a new TV I’ll read the instructions very carefully 10 times J

 

[Britsimon]

I moved your question to the DV lottery section.

I have already answered this on my blog, but you keep confusing things by mentioning you are engaged and then saying you have a marriage certificate. As I explained before, and as the KCC rep explained, they are not the same thing. In the USA engagement confers no legal rights on the couple, whilst a legal marriage does. Your issue is either your confusion over the terms and their meaning OR some special status of engagement ion your country. So - what is the country we are discussing???

 

[Sm1smom]

Dear all,
Good day and thank you for this good community,
Please read my case carefully and advise me what to do ,

During step 2014 I got engaged ( engagement in my culture should be in court and filed with a marriage certificate)

During October 2014 I apply for the DV lottery and I add my status as a single because I was engaged and still engaged till date am not married we plan to marry next march or feb 2016,

After winning I click on the DS-260 for filling the form as normal and I start read more about the instructionsand I was surprised I discover that if you married but not include your partner then your visa will be canceled at the time of the interview

I selected unmarried because am officially engaged and in my country you can’t make any engagement without marriage certificate, am not married and we didn’t make any ceremony … etc.

I was shocked really but any way I include her in the DS-260 as my wife after I read the instructions am not going to lie to the consular or do bad way to go to the US, family first
I can’t leave her I don’t want to,

I tried to find solutions & what actually I did I called the Kentucky Consular Center called to ask maybe they will understand my culture and my situation and they had a solution for me,

When I ask the customer service she said (( if you didn’t make marriage ceremony then you’re unmarried and everything shall be ok you may continue with your process I said I have Marriage certificate !!!!!!!!!!!???!!!!!!???? she said are you married ?! I said no am engaged officially she said marriage in the states means you are married , I said thank you I close the phone but I still have something in my heart telling me that there’re something wrong so I waited for another half an hour and call again and I speak to different person from the KCC after telling her my story she said I don’t know really ask the US embassy where you live because am not sure I tell ok ,

I email the embassy for my sad story and the reply was below ,
(Thank you for your email. If you were not married and did not include your spouse in your application, she will not be able to be added. You may continue with the process and after you receive your green card you can petition for her from the United States.
Sincerely,
Immigrant Visa Unit)

I wasn’t married I just was engaged but I have officially marriage certificate in court because this our law and culture So now please advise me what to do?

shall I skip the interview and forget about the US?
Shall I go for the interview speak to consular and explain for him in case he asked me why you didn’t apply as a married person?! I will tell him the truth and am engaged ….and I though this means still unmarried.

I add my fiancée in the DS-260 form and my marriage certificate shows that we file the marriage in the court during sept 2014 .

Please advise, sorry to bothering you
PS: lesson learned, even If am going to buy a new TV I’ll read the instructions very carefully 10 times J

If I understand you correctly, one is expected to have a court issued marriage certificate when they become engaged, right? Do you get another certificate when you go through with the actual wedding ceremony like you're planning on doing in 2016?

 

[mo196]

If I understand you correctly, one is expected to have a court issued marriage certificate when they become engaged, right? Do you get another certificate when you go through with the actual wedding ceremony like you're planning on doing in 2016?

no just one paper and you can make the ceremony any time you wish even after 10 years later no issues, unlike the usa you can be engaged without any papers and documents and when you plan to get married you can file your married in a court and be official marraige

 

[mo196]

I moved your question to the DV lottery section.

I have already answered this on my blog, but you keep confusing things by mentioning you are engaged and then saying you have a marriage certificate. As I explained before, and as the KCC rep explained, they are not the same thing. In the USA engagement confers no legal rights on the couple, whilst a legal marriage does. Your issue is either your confusion over the terms and their meaning OR some special status of engagement ion your country. So - what is the country we are discussing???

thank you , there're no harm to ask and learn from others,

i hope you're right i hope am wrong and KCC right and they will consider my martial status as unmarried until we do the ceremony feb or march of 2016,

i live in Kuwait

 

[Sm1smom]

no just one paper and you can make the ceremony any time you wish even after 10 years later no issues, unlike the usa you can be engaged without any papers and documents and when you plan to get married you can file your married in a court and be official marraige

Well if you have a marriage certificate issued and recognized by the laws of your country prior to when you submitted your eDV registration, the U.S. immigration laws considers you as married. The fact that you're yet to perform the wedding ceremony doesn't mean you're single and you should have listed your 'wife' on your eDV registration. I would expect the CO to disqualify you on that basis.

Plus you can't indicate you were not married back in Oct 2014 only to now list your wife as a beneficiary hoping to use a marriage certificate dated Sept 2014 as proof of your spouse's entitlement to your selection.

 

[Britsimon]

thank you , there're no harm to ask and learn from others,

i hope you're right i hope am wrong and KCC right and they will consider my martial status as unmarried until we do the ceremony feb or march of 2016,

i live in Kuwait

OK - a couple of links on how the legal marriage system is described, neither of which describes the engagement process. Could the process you describe as an engagement actually be the marriage?

https://www.justlanded.com/english/Kuwait/Kuwait-Guide/Legal-System/Marriage-Divorce

http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/region_specific_information/family-law-in-kuwait.html

 

[mo196]

Well if you have a marriage certificate issued and recognized by the laws of your country prior to when you submitted your eDV registration, the U.S. immigration laws considers you as married. The fact that you're yet to perform the wedding ceremony doesn't mean you're single and you should have listed your 'wife' on your eDV registration. I would expect the CO to disqualify you on that basis.

Plus you can't indicate you were not married back in Oct 2014 only to now list your wife as a beneficiary hoping to use a marriage certificate dated Sept 2014 as proof of your spouse's entitlement to your selection.

yes i feel the same the Consular will see me as married person since i have a marriage certificate he doesn't care if am engaged or divorced .. etc what more important is official document & he going to disqualify me i'll not go for the interview no need to waste time,

thank you for you help

 

[mo196]

OK - a couple of links on how the legal marriage system is described, neither of which describes the engagement process. Could the process you describe as an engagement actually be the marriage?


thank you for your support, you was very helpful here or in your blog , i'll not go for it ..

 

[usamommy2015]

I got engaged on 3
W
28th December 2009. We had a small ceremony in Mombasa with photos. Our parents talked about it. That is an engagement. They agreed on a date for an year later. My husband went back to his country and came back a week to the wedding. i received my dowry, signed a marriage certificate and the nikah was officiated by the chief Kadhi.
Even you know you were married by the time you had your Nikah and are now having afterthoughts after winning.
IF it is a common cultural thing, the embassy in that country would know. In Kenya, cultural marriages are considered official marriages and the local embassy knows of this. So if I am wrong and this married engagement is part of your 'culture' then your embassy would know.

 

[mo196]

I got engaged on 3
W
28th December 2009. We had a small ceremony in Mombasa with photos. Our parents talked about it. That is an engagement. They agreed on a date for an year later. My husband went back to his country and came back a week to the wedding. i received my dowry, signed a marriage certificate and the nikah was officiated by the chief Kadhi.
Even you know you were married by the time you had your Nikah and are now having afterthoughts after winning.
IF it is a common cultural thing, the embassy in that country would know. In Kenya, cultural marriages are considered official marriages and the local embassy knows of this. So if I am wrong and this married engagement is part of your 'culture' then your embassy would know.

maybe , thank you