US Citizen Looking for Best Option to Bring Indian Citizen Spouse (arranged marriage)

A

abeohio

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I am a US Citizen (born in US) and I'm in the process of getting an arranged marriage in India. I have been communicating with the girl for sometime (this is a bonefide wedding and we will have plenty of documentation of our communications) and I plan on going to India in about a month to meet the girl and her family. I have some cultural reasons that prevent me from getting married till Jan 2014 and I want to understand what the quickest option is to bring my wife once we get married. If there is anything I can do when I go to India to expedite the process, I would be interested in understanding that also. Once she comes here, she would like to work.

Thanks in advance for your response(s).

Regards,
Abe
 
If you marry in January 2014, she would have to wait until mid-2014 to early 2015 to move to the US.

If you want to bring her to the US faster, use the fiancee visa (K1). However it would require getting married in the US, with the ceremony in India being only cultural/religious with no officials who might register the marriage.

The application can be filed after you meet her (remember to keep proof of having met her; pictures of both of you, airline boarding pass for the trip to India, etc.). It is normally approved in 2-6 months, then after visa approval at the consulate she'll have 6 months to enter the US. After entering the US she'll have 90 days to marry you and then file for adjustment of status (I-485).

So you could do something like file for the K1 in June, she should get it by December, you have an unofficial ceremony in India in January, bring her to the US in late Jan/early Feb, have a court marriage in March. Once married, she files for adjustment of status and work authorization.
 
Followup question

1) Regarding your suggestion - does a religious wedding basically not matter as long as it isn't registered? (Just want to make sure we don't run into any problems..)
2) Is K1 process faster than IR1/CR1 process and on K1 will she be able to work?
3) Would it be a good option to see if a registered marriage is an option in India when I go in a months time and then go thru normal IR1/CR1 process?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
abeohio said:
1) Regarding your suggestion - does a religious wedding basically not matter as long as it isn't registered? (Just want to make sure we don't run into any problems..)
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Just make sure it's not done in a way that would be recognized as an official marriage by the Indian government. You may have to do some research on that, because if certain high-ranking religious individuals perform the wedding it might count as an official marriage.

2) Is K1 process faster than IR1/CR1 process and on K1 will she be able to work?
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K1 is faster for bringing her to the US, for two reasons: (1) The entire K1 process itself is 2-6 months, whereas for IR1/CR1 it's 6-12 months (2) The K1 is filed before marriage, so it can be filed sooner than the other which is filed only after getting married.

K1 itself doesn't allow work, but K1 allows getting married and filing for adjustment of status, which in turn allows simultaneously applying for work authorization (that authorization takes about 2-3 months to be approved).

3) Would it be a good option to see if a registered marriage is an option in India when I go in a months time and then go thru normal IR1/CR1 process?
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You mean an official but non-ceremonial marriage, like in a court? Yes, that's not a bad idea if you're both willing and able to do that ... that would enable you initiate the CR1 process in June/July, have the religious ceremony in Jan 2014 and then she can move to the US in early to mid-2014.
 
Jackolantern said:
If you marry in January 2014, she would have to wait until mid-2014 to early 2015 to move to the US.

If you want to bring her to the US faster, use the fiancee visa (K1). However it would require getting married in the US, with the ceremony in India being only cultural/religious with no officials who might register the marriage.

The application can be filed after you meet her (remember to keep proof of having met her; pictures of both of you, airline boarding pass for the trip to India, etc.). It is normally approved in 2-6 months, then after visa approval at the consulate she'll have 6 months to enter the US. After entering the US she'll have 90 days to marry you and then file for adjustment of status (I-485).

So you could do something like file for the K1 in June, she should get it by December, you have an unofficial ceremony in India in January, bring her to the US in late Jan/early Feb, have a court marriage in March. Once married, she files for adjustment of status and work authorization.
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Interesting discussion! I am also in a similar situation and looking at the various options for my son's wedding. As usual Jackolantern is very helpful in providing useful suggestions!
I thought it is now compulsory to register all weddings. Has anyone of forum members have recent experience with religious ceremony without registering the wedding in India?
 
btterni each

Does anyone else have any advice on this subject?

It seems like if we get married first, looks like CR1 is only option now. I was hoping to get a court marriage in may when I go, but I don't think her parents are going to go for that - plus I hear administratively in India court marriages are not quick.

I hear that K3 visas are now obsolete and no longer processed.
 
Originally Posted by Dallas03096
I thought it is now compulsory to register all weddings.

It is not compulsory to register marriages in India unless you need to do legal paperwork based on that marriage.
 
Hello guys,
I interested in your discussion, and i would like to ask what if the principle is GC holder not US citizen is the process same or differ?
Thanks.
 
Jimma Boy said:
I interested in your discussion, and i would like to ask what if the principle is GC holder not US citizen is the process same or differ?
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Significantly different. There is no K1 option for permanent residents, and there is a 2-4 year wait for a visa number in the FB2A category.
 
I am dealing with the similar situation. Girl's family may feel better sending the girl after marriage, i.e. on CR1. It looks like, K-1 will take about 4-6 months and CR1 about 10-12 months. Should I bother about K-3 visa, if I file for CR1. What if the girl has tourist visa, can she visit me before/after the wedding, if we plan to move to India in 1-2 years and not worry about her gc at all? I am a US citizen (born in India), going to school in US, and may need to stay in US for 1 year or so. Thank you for reading my post and your help in advance.
 
She can try to visit the US with a tourist visa after getting married, but will probably be refused entry if they know that she's married to a US citizen.

If you're not going for the K-1, don't bother with the K-3, it is a waste of time. Go straight for the I-130.
 
Thank you Jackolantern. How much time can I save by going for K-1 route to be together K-3. If she come on tourist visa before marriage and we get married after 2-3 months and then file for her I-130. is that feasible?
 
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