getting married while waiting for K-1 visa

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markordj

Registered Users (C)
i'm singaporean and my fiancee is a US citizen. we both live in singapore at the moment. we have applied for petition for an alien fiance and sent it to the vermont service center. we plan to get married in singapore before we got our K-1 visa and then again later once we have arrive in the US. my question is should we hide the fact that we got married in singapore before we enter the US, as we applied for K-1 fiance visa?....or is it not a problem to disclose that we have been married before we enter the US and will marry again in the US if need be?

thanks
 
The moment you are married your K1 becomes void and you MUST then apply for a K3 or immigrant visa. Thats the whole point of a K1....it's for a fiance, not a spouse. If the marriage in Singapore is going to be a valid marriage (ie, not a blessing and you officially become husband and wife) then you have applied for the wrong visa and I suggest that you apply for the appropriate one.

If however the ceremony in Singapore is just a blessing, and you do not officially become husband and wife, then you should be fine.

Remember, to enter the US on a K1, the visa holder MUST NOT be legally married in any shape or form.
 
yes, the safest thing would probably be to start over and apply for the K-3 visa if we get married before we come to the US...but if we stick with the K-1, how would the consular know that we are married if we don't disclose it to them? would they try to dig up info on our marriage records?

we had always plan to get married first before we move to the US. the reason we choose the K-1 is because the process is shorter and also if we do the K-3, our marriage is still 3 months away from now and we want to get the visa asap.
 
Its not worth the risk in my opinion. If it was so easy as to not disclose your marriage and instead enter the US on a K1, then why would any married couple apply for the longer K3/immigrant visa? If found out, the consequences are pretty bad. USCIS dont take misrepresentation on immigration forms/interviews/border entry very lightly. This is classed as visa fraud and if found out could incur a life time bar. Even people who have had religious ceremonies which are not actual legal marriages prior to US entry have run into trouble.

Here are some links to another forum where similar questions have been posed.
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80089&hl=married+before+k1
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=152841&hl=married+before+k1
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=150760&hl=married+before+k1
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=136179&hl=married+before+k1
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=130920&hl=married+before+k1
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=93596&hl=married+before+k1
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120528&hl=married+before+k1
 
I should also add, if getting into the US asap is of the biggest importance, then cant you turn the Singapore wedding into a celebration? Just make it into a ceremony where no actual legal binding marriage takes place. That way no visa fraud will be taking place, as seeing as you wont be married, you will be entering the US legally as a fiance as the K1 requires.

In my previous post where I say "Even people who have had religious ceremonies which are not actual legal marriages prior to US entry have run into trouble", this has happened where the K1 applicant has told a consular officer/POE agent about their ceremony/shown them pictures, and the agent/officer has interpreted it as a real wedding. As a result, some people have been denied and told to apply for a spousal visa.
 
thanks so much for you reply.

i do see a reason where people would choose the K-3 spouse visa is that they don't want to get married in the US since they have been married in the alien's home country.

what do you think if we register to get married in indonesia, a country that is in a different location from the consular processing our K-1 visa (singapore)
 
markordj said:
what do you think if we register to get married in indonesia, a country that is in a different location from the consular processing our K-1 visa (singapore)
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Then you will need to abandon your K1 visa and apply for the appropriate spousal visa as advised in my previous posts, and in each link I posted from visajourney.com.

I state again....to enter the US on a K1 visa when you are already married is visa fraud and can result in a life time ban from the US.



i do see a reason where people would choose the K-3 spouse visa is that they don't want to get married in the US since they have been married in the alien's home country.
Click to expand...

Then you understand why you will need a k3/immigrant visa if you are to get married before entry to the US.
 
since we both live in singapore, we're going to do the direct consular filling route. we go to the US embassy and submit i-130 after we get married, which i read is faster than filling in the US.
 
That seems like a great idea. Consular processing, on average, looks to be taking around 6 months. Thats much quicker than a K1 or spousal visa. How long has the USC been living in Singapore for? Just make sure he meets the residency requirements for consular filing.

Good luck. I'm sure this will work out great :)
 
elcupacabras said:
That seems like a great idea. Consular processing, on average, looks to be taking around 6 months. Thats much quicker than a K1 or spousal visa. How long has the USC been living in Singapore for? Just make sure he meets the residency requirements for consular filing.

Good luck. I'm sure this will work out great :)
Click to expand...

I don't think Singapore residency will be an issue to us. My US citizen fiancee has been in Singapore for 10+ years and she's a permanent resident here.

what is more of a concern to us is establishing her residency/domicile in the US for I-864. my fiance was born is dallas, left the US when she was 9 y/o with her family. she has never been back to the US since then and now she's 24. she has never filed any US tax returns. her parents are also in singapore. any ideas?
 
Two things need to happen. Firstly, she has to show that she has intentions to return to the US. Secondly, find a US based resident or citizen willing to act as her co-sponsor.

markordj said:
my fiance was born is dallas, left the US when she was 9 y/o with her family. she has never been back to the US since then and now she's 24. she has never filed any US tax returns. her parents are also in singapore. any ideas?
Click to expand...
 
Im not sure of the direct link, but heres a link to another forum which has some great info about how you would establish domicile in order for your future spouse to qualify to petition you.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20364&hl=establishing+domicile

Heres the important part from the thread.

Q: How can the petitioner establish a domicile?

If the petitioner travels to the United States and sets up a principal residence, where he or she intends to reside, he or she may then qualify to petition an immigrant. Establishing a principal residence would entail obtaining an address (a house, apartment, etc.) and taking up physical residence. There is no minimum time to establish residence, but a credible demonstration of an actual residence in the United States is required. If the officer is convinced that the petitioner has in fact taken up residence in the U.S., the applicant will then be able to receive his/her immigrant visa. A convincing combination of several of the following types of action might be considered as an indication of U.S. domicile:

Establishing an address in the United States
Setting up a bank account and transferring funds to the U.S.
Making investments
Seeking employment
Applying for a Social Security number
Voting in local, state or federal elections
 
K-1 to K-3 conversion

I gather that it is relatively faster to obtain K-1 for the fiance to enter USA

Let us say after obtaining K-1 and the marriage takes place in USA. What is process for adjusting the status after the marriage? Will the K-1 become invalid as it served the pupose? Since the spouse is in USA, is it necessary to start over the K-3 all over again or can one go in for AOS. Does the spouse have to return to India while the AOS is in process?

Thanks
 
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