US Citizen, K1 visa, religious ceremony

K

kaashi

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys,
Been reading your informative posts on this forum. Thanks... Let me just tell you my situation and if I have something wrong here I would appreciate if you could correct me.

I have a green card, hoping to become a citizen soon, have the interview date set for next month, Feb 23. I have a trip planned to India Feb 12-18. Hope that won't be a issue since I'd be here for the interview.

Been talking to a girl, going to India to visit her next month, and looks like an engagement is very good possibility. She currently has a multiple entry B1/B2 visa.

I'll become a citizen soon and if all goes well I will file a K1 visa for her after I get my citizenship. I understand that she can visit here on her own visa, while the K1 process is going on, though she may be denied entry at the POE. I guess the K1 process takes a few months while the files are being reviewed in the US before the packets are sent to India. Hoping that nobody questions her too much at the POE. She will be visiting her sister and take a trip to visit me as well for a couple weeks.

If everything goes well, hoping to have a wedding in India either in September or December later this year. I read on a couple of posts here that USCIS permits religious wedding ceremonies but does not permit a legal court marriage if one has filed for a K1 visa.

If somebody could please clarify that that would be great. I would love to tell her parents honestly about what the law permits. The parents would like a full blown wedding ceremony/celebration with the entire community as soon as possible.

I have come so far, no need to break any law or push boundaries any more. If the religious ceremony is not advisable, we can wait for it, after she gets her K1 and after we do a court marriage here though the parents want this thing done fast.

Anything else I might be missing? It would be really helpful if you could help in anyway. Hope I don't have t go and talk to lawyer since I hear that K1 is a pretty straightforward process. Thanks so much.
kaashi
 
The reason why it's not advisable to have a big ceremony like this is because some consular/POE officers may construe this as being an actual wedding ceeremony, thus voiding the K1 as the non US citizen must be single upon entry to the US and then marry once on US soil.
If you are going to do the ceremony, you need to make absolutely sure that there is no way that this is a legal ceremony- ie, no papers are signed and at the end of the ceremony, you both are the same marital status that you were before the ceremony took place (NOT married). To avoid any confusion with the POE/consular officers, do NOT show them pictures of the ceremony- do NOT even bring them to the interview. This is when applicants have been hit- they've showed pictures of their ceremony as 'evidence' of their bona fide relationship, but the interviewing officer had interpreted the pictures as being a legal wedding ceremony and denied the visa- also I've read on another forum about a couple who got the visa, flew to the US and at the POE pictures of the ceremony were found in their luggage by POE officers, and the non USC was denied entry and informed to apply for a K3.
So to cut a long story short, yes it is possible to have a ceremony, providing that it is in no shape or form a legal wedding, and at all costs, DO NOT voluntarily bring it up/show pictures to a consular/POE officer unless specifically asked to.
 
As long as whatever ceremony you have does not legally marry you both, K-1 visa is fine. This is all relative to where the ceremony takes place.

kaashi said:
I read on a couple of posts here that USCIS permits religious wedding ceremonies but does not permit a legal court marriage if one has filed for a K1 visa.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you so much to both of you guys. Really appreciate it. Will connect again as more questions come up.

Hope it is ok to visit India from Feb 12-18, come back and take my citizenship interview on Feb 23rd.
akash
 
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