biggish data

Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed

Do a search on this site and you'll find more than a few examples of people who had "non-legal" ceremonies and were denied...along with a similar refrain of waiting until the K-1 visa is in hand before making any reservations/firm plans:

http://www.visajourn...valid-petition/

http://www.visajourn...or-spouse-visa/

http://www.visajourn...-comes-through/

http://www.visajourn...-before-k1-visa

http://www.visajourn...472#entry943472

http://www.visajourn...oreign-country/

http://www.visajourn...-be-overturned/

http://www.visajourn...-1-visa-denied/

Thanks for this, it was very helpful.

harvard

Not Telling

United Kingdom

2013-04-24 00:29:00

Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed

If you marry , leave, get a K1 and return ( especially if you marry in the US ) They will eventually figure out you entered illegally ( on a visa you were no longer qualified to recieve based on being married already ) They will at that point revoke all immigration benefits that you have gained after entering invalidly. NEVER lie to immigration. If you want to get married , do so , cancel the K1 and file for a Cr1 ( start all over )

Thanks for your advice, but I'm still not clear how I would be lying. I wouldn't be legally married upon entry? I would get legally married within 90 days. I would have one official wedding date that would include a small civil ceremony once im in the country on the K1.

Are you saying that the immigration service will view that my ecclesiastical ceremony as the date at which I became "married" rather than the legally binding civil ceremony?

harvard

Not Telling

United Kingdom

2013-04-24 00:09:00

Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed

So at the border, are you telling them you're having a wedding and that's why you're entering? You would most likely be denied entry.

What if they decide to deny you entry anyway?

And the pastor is willing to not sign the documents till later, so what date is he putting on the certificate? It would be a lie (fraud) to put any date except the one that you were actually married on, but putting that date will have you in more trouble for getting married before the K1.

You either just have fake church wedding, NO paperwork completed and then get legally married in a court house, or have another legal church ceremony, or wait all together and just have the one ceremony after your approval, or have the legal wedding and then switch to CR-1.

Im already in the country on the visa waiver. At the port of entry I had no intent to marry during this trip, I naively thought the visa would come through in time and that I would go back to the UK then re-enter on the K1. They questioned me at port of entry and were satisfied.

Does anyone actually know of anyone who has been denied the K1 on the grounds of already being married, when there has been no legally binding event or record to point to? In my mind I would just argue that I haven't had a marriage yet, and that I plan to when I enter the USA. Which would all be true.

harvard

Not Telling

United Kingdom

2013-04-23 23:13:00

Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed

Neither me or my fiance will be on FB during my interview. The only reason I'm asking is (and I'm sure it happens to many others) that many family and friends have already booked flights, booked time off work etc to make the ecclesiastical ceremony. It would cost a lot to postpone the wedding. When we filed, we had advice it would take 5/6 months, but it's more like 8/9 months.

harvard

Not Telling

United Kingdom

2013-04-23 16:51:00

Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed

I don't know of a church in the US that would do a pretend religious wedding that wasn't also legally binding.

A pastor from the PCA is willing to perform our marriage ceremony on the understanding that once I have re-entered the USA on the K1 we will apply for a marriage licence and have him sign it. The delay will be around 2/3 months between ecclesiastical ceremony and legally binding paperwork filled in.

harvard

Not Telling

United Kingdom

2013-04-23 14:23:00

Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed

Is it okay to have an ecclesiastical (Church) wedding ceremony in the USA on the VWP visitors visa before the K1 visa has been processed? What are the risks involved at the consulate interview? Will this cause problems when I go for AOS?

harvard

Not Telling

United Kingdom

2013-04-23 13:57:00

Questions about paperwork

Iam the US citizen and petitioning for my wife and her 4 children. Do i need to fill out a 130 form for my wife and each of the children? Also what do i need to add her onto as a beneficiary to show a bonafide relationship?

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-01 22:07:00

Documents

Is it allowed to send in actual pictures taken at wedding. I have read on here that they have to be paper copies? Iam confused. Please help clarify. Iam confused whether to make copies of the pictures or send in actual pictures.

Thanks

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-04 11:18:00

Once you finish the medical and there is no any issue they forward the file to the embassy and if there is an issue they dont send it. They first work on it i.e treat you at a diffirent cost and then they send it later when youre done with it.

Thats their tendency with Nairobi IOM clinic

Thank you Kasoma. I did tell my friend.

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-09 09:03:00

thanks lost-at-sea.

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-08 19:34:00

Country is Kenya. Blood test and vaccinations and xray were done on day and physical on day 2 , then was told everything will be forwarded to embassy. But normally if there is an issue they do want to check you further, right?

Edited by USAUG, 08 August 2013 - 06:52 PM.

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-08 18:51:00

My friend wants to know about medical. If you do the medical, they will tell you right there and then if you have failed, right? And if they send everything off to the embassy does that mean you have passed the medical?

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-08 18:06:00

Confused about fees

You must submit an I-130 with appropriate documents for each person you wish to immigrate. One for your wife. One for each child. So a total of five I-130 petitions. Each petition also needs it's own fee. I'm unsure if you can combine all the fees into one check or if they have to be separate. But yes the grand total of all 5 would be $2100.

Pay careful attention to the I-130 instructions on what to include for your step-children. Each petition needs it's own documents. The documents can all be photocopies of course, do not include any originals in your mailing to the USCIS.

ONe more thing, I would write make sure to include all 5 petitions in one envelope when you mail it to the USCIS so that they arrive together and hopefully stay together.

This leads to more questions now. When filling out the I-130 for the children, Who do i write down where it says in Question 1, WHO ARE YOU FILING FOR? Do i put Child yet these are not my children?

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-23 14:13:00

Confused about fees

Thank you guys.

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-23 14:07:00

Confused about fees

Iam gathering our paperwork and iam very confused. My wife has 4 children (my stepchildren and their father is deceased) and i have two questions.

1. I know i have to fill out 5 I130 forms. (One for my wife and 4 for my stepchildren) Right?

2. Do i pay $420 for every person ( which comes to $2100) or just $420 for all of them?

I have looked on here but i cannot see any information about spouses with children so any help is appreciated.

Thank You.

USAUG.

USAUG

Male

Uganda

2013-08-23 13:10:00

Marriage Cert in Jordan

Ahhhh yeah I filed at the Nahda office in downtown (the balad)...I had no idea about the process and how I could have done it on my own but I had no time to research while I was there and I wanted to do it before I came back from Jordan. Nahda is good...but they are costly. I guess its okay though since we dont have to do anything, though I can do what Nahda does on my own computer. But indeed best of luck to all of us!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-09-21 16:13:00

Marriage Cert in Jordan

My petition is also at the NBC as it seems also august andd September filers went there...hoping this will be good since NBC doesn't deal with I-130s. Did you file yourself or thru an office in Jordan? And did you file from Jordan or the state's? Just curious and thank you! Hopefully you and your spouse isn't as impatient as ny wife and I haha

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-09-21 14:13:00

Marriage Cert in Jordan

I had the same problem when I got married at the Shariah court in Jordan. They asked me for my fourth name and I told them I do not have one so they did not put it on the contract. But on the certificate from the civil dept I have four names and they used my grandfather's name. It's all good there shouldn't be a problem. Send both! By the way congrats on the marriage...ours was 7/11 and we are august filers. We should keep in touch since we have Jordanian spouses!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-09-21 11:57:00

How to deal with leaving

When I left my wife back in August, it was one of the hardest things ever...of course it is when she is youe other half. We both promised each other we would stay strong and look at this as a positive and no crying. Well I kinda kept to my part...not so much here but what can you do? About a week and a half left I realized I was going to leave and thats when the tears were falling and it got tough. But I took every opportunity to spend every second with her, and for that last week and a half we did. Not only was it hard to leave her, but also her family. They treated me better than any son-in-law could be treated! I remember my mother-in-law in tears but she didnt want to cry in front of me. But I had forgotten something and saw her. It was tough for sure! But the hardest part was being in the airport and seeing her thru the glass window of the bank in Amman....and knowing I couldn't go out and get a hug that one last time. What helps me is not the fact that ill be going again this winter to see her but that I'm here back to my daily routu ne busting my butt for us so that when she gets here we will be comfortable and have no worries. We tango as I left my iPhone with her everyday and always talk so this helps. You gotta stay strong for your future and not break down in hard times like these. Just keep your head up and fight the good fight because in the end it will be worth it all! Allah (god) has a plan for everyone and this is ours! Good luck to everyone who doesn't have the opportunity to hug their other half everyday....your day will be very soon, god willing!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-10-21 12:54:00

Marriage certificate vs. Marriage contract for Jordan

Also one last thing...You do not have to be with her for her to get it. Just aslong as she has the right paperwork she can get it.

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-11-19 16:00:00

Marriage certificate vs. Marriage contract for Jordan

ALSA, When i got the marriage certificate from the civil status dept., I got it when the wife and I went to get her passport done and the daftur ahlee done. Its a really long wait but its a day process to get it done. If your wife wants to get it done make sure she goes early in the morning with ALL the proper documents for it so that she wont have a hassle getting it. We did it in Ramadan and very early so it was a big pain in the butt haha but its just a ton of people at the civil dept which is why it takes so long.

Also make sure she goes to the civil dept. assigned for HER area...any civil dept. will not do.

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-11-19 15:57:00

yay another palestinian trying to get through this difficult journey I've been with my palestinian for almost 5 years, married almost 1 yr and I had our first baby less than 2 weeks ago. we are still waiting for an answer for our i-130 filed july 2012...I've been to Nablus, but hubby is from southern palestine

Congrats on your baby! I know this process is stressful but hang tight! In due time everything will be okay inshallah!

Wa alaikom salam, May your visit together be blessed and the process smooth isA

Thank you for your kind words! Inshallah

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-19 11:37:00

Wa alikom albsalam ya brother
Amman nawwarak in advance, it is getting hotter here. Gas prices went higher several times, so fuel ur wallet , hehehe

My name isbrami hamed, i am pertioned by my mother, under the section: unmarried sons of a us citizen over 21 years old.
I am in AP since feb 10, 2013....
Bon voyage

Shukrun feek wallah! My wife tells me its getting warmer there everyday and fuel always goes up and down but mostly up! I hope youre out of AP very very soon inhshallah ala khair!

Have a wonderful time in Amman, my husband's home town. He has been here in the US with me for 5 months, we have been married a year and a half. I love love LOVE Amman, we will be back in Swelieh for Ramadan, can't wait!! Best wishes for a speedy visa process!!

Inshallah have a safe trip
Cathi

Thank you so much! Happy for you to be united with your loved one! I love Amman sooooo much! Swelieh is beautiful...my grandfather stays in Tabarboor and my wife is in Jabal Al Taj which is by the Balad (downtown Amman). Also have a business in Bayader so Im kinda all over the place in Amman haha. Thank you Cathi inshallah you have a great Ramadan there

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-14 08:52:00

giant Israeli middle finger - haha... I'd laugh more if it weren't so sad and angering.

Abezyo - Welcome to the ME/NA party .

tHANK YOU Sarah and Adnan

Sorry

Glad you can still visit your village. It's a very beautiful area of Palestine.

Yeah it sucks about the occupation...such beautiful land and no peaceful living for Palestinians

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 15:03:00

I see your village on the map:

I call the Ariel Bloc the "giant Israeli middle finger of illegal settlements" - it cuts right in between your village (to the north) and Salfit (to the south).... built on what used to be agricultural lands belonging to your village, Salfit, and other villages in the area.

.... .... ....

Yup! Thats my village!

Hahahahaha yeah my grandfather owns land on the settlement there that they took from him but we have a bunch more inside our village. My grandfather still picks olives from the trees outside the settlement in the circle before ariel. I actually got to go inside Ariel no problems and our whole family also. They didnt stop the van we were in to go inside and see. Wasnt very eye opening at :wacko:

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 12:29:00

Wow! your story inspires me !! how did i not know about this forum (MENA)

Thats what I keep saying! I knew about it but didnt know what to post or say! But now I feel better

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 11:51:00

I wish you the best of luck , my fiancee is in Jordan and we are praying to have our petition approved next month. This process is so hard and it helps to know others are out there going thru the same thing. My god 9 months so so long to be apart... that is how long we were apart until i made my fourth trip last Novmeber to see him... I can only imagine how excited you are to have a date you will be going... I remember how excited I would be once my ticket was issued and i knew what day at what time I would see his smiling face waiting for me at the airport in Amman.

Inshallah you will have good news before then.

Best regards,

Jennifer

Thank you Jennifer! Hopefully you get an approval very very soon! And yeah Im so excited! Ive actually finished shopping for gifts and everything haha! Im ready to get on that flight and go on! May your journey go very very quick!

Thanks for the nice words - it's great to see more Palestinians here, as we have very few on VJ ! Is your family from the Salfit area ? I have a very good friend living in Kafr a Deek, which is maybe 8km from Salfit.

God bless you and your wife - may you be reunited soon and never apart again.

Yes it is great! Not many of them do you see! We are from the village called Kifil Harrith! I believe its near Salfit. Its literally right across from the Ariel settlement!

God bless you and your husband! May you always be blessed

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 11:42:00

Wa alaikum assalam Abezyo and welcome to the MENA forum - we are glad to have you join us Hope you will not be bored here... from time to time, this forum can be one of the liveliest on VJ.

To introduce myself, I'm American, my husband is from Palestine, we live in San Antonio, Texas, and we're done with our immigration process. We are approaching our 9th wedding anniversary, and he's been in the US for over 7 years.

Wishing you and your wife all the best of luck for a speedy completion to your case !

Wow mashallah! 9 years! May god keep you guys together forever! I am Palestinian also and my mom is American (Irish/Native American). My wife is Palestinian but she was born and raised in Amman. My family is from a small village by Nablus across from the Ariel settlement! Ive been there many many times! I love Palestine!

Im sure I wont be as bored as looking at all those approvals and asking myself when are we next

. But inshallah Allah has a plan for everything!

Thanks for the warm welcoming!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 11:14:00

I'm heaede back to the UAE in 43 days only for a nine day visit, hopefully my fiance will be right behind me. We last saw eachother in September. NINE months! Whoa! yes, your due for a visit

Inshallah he will be right behind you! Good luck with your visit! And yes definitely due for a visit! Leaving May 24 and coming back July 5th so I pray that the whole process will be complete so she can come back with me before Ramadan!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 10:21:00

walikum a salaam! have a wonderful trip! good luck to you!!

Thank you! Im very excited I've already started to pack my bags! I havnt seen my wife in almost 9 months (when I leave to see her, its been 7 months now)! :dance:

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 10:13:00

Hello all! Ive been on this forum for sometime now but I have never posted on the MENA section! So good morning to you all (Or evening if you happen to be overseas lol). Im leaving in 70 days to Amman to visit my wife and inshallah (god willing) bringing her back IF she has the IR1/CR1 visa! But who knows...We have been waiting for about 7 months now and stuck at the Atlanta local field office (since I live in Alabama and we have no office here closer). Atlanta supposedly just started processing stand-alone I-130's this month! So inshallah im hoping for some action before I depart to Amman!

Just a little bit of my story as of right now! I wanted to join up on this side of the forum since im tired of looking at the same post about Atlanta and people getting approved lol. So with that...

Asalamu Alakum to all my brothers and sisters in Islam.

and

Hello to all my brothers and sisters outside of Islam.

Who are you?!? :lol:

Edited by abezyo, 13 March 2013 - 10:04 AM.

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-03-13 10:02:00

Marriage in Jordan

As far as Im concerned, Aslong as he is a Jordanian citizen it shouldnt be any problem. The problem you will have with the Sharia couty if youre going that route which I think you are, is with you. They will probably request you to get something from the US Embassy stating that you are single. But you may be able to surpass that. Other than that youll need the blood taken from the medical center as everyone who is getting married does it, youll need your passport and everything translated to arabic as well. Of course youll need the witnesses to be there with you. And be prepared...its a lot of walking upstairs downstairs to one person to the next. Its very unorganized. It took me 2 days to finalize it all. But I got it done. Good luck!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2013-04-09 12:09:00

moussouri?

So what I'm understanding is it's a screw up? What if your case status now says it's at a USCIS location being processed after you got the letter saying it was transferred to MO? Do you think they fixed it?

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-09-07 08:17:00

moussouri?

i don t know what kind of jurisdiction they can find over the case? did they tell u about it, no?

They did not notify me why just that it had jurisdiction over it! Just that it had jurisdiction over it!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-09-05 14:14:00

moussouri?

I also got a letter from the California Service Center saying that my wife's I 130 form was sent to the NBC center in Missouri for processing because it had jurisdiction over the case but then received another update online and via text saying it was at a USCIS office for processing. Im still completely confused and have no idea whats going on. We filed in early August and our receipt date is August 21. Hoping everything goes smoothly for my wife!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-09-05 11:05:00

Questions

Okay so...my sister and her husband are considering filing an I-130 form to bring him here to see if he would like life here better. Theyve been married for almost a year now and have known each other for 3 years. So the question of the I-130 not being approved or him being denied because its not a bonda-fide relationship is out of the equation as they have so much proof and many things to back up their relationship.

He is working to be a Brain Surgeon. Hes been in Germany the past 3 months trying to get a job but so far no luck. So this is why he wants to come to the US and see what he can do here. But...Germany is not totally out of the question. But neither is the US as he would not mind living here and finding another profession.

I have 2 questions...

My first one is the visa is good from when it is issued until 6 months correct? Meaning if he did not come in those 6 months, they would have to restart the process. Correct?

And my second question is if he has to travel back home or to Germany for a little bit....would he be able to leave the US with his green card and return without having to do the process again?

I know the questions sound a bit silly but I did not want to give him a confident answer without some of you who know more about this than I do. Ive done searches and still dont feel safe giving him a confident answer. So any help will be appreciated

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-11-23 23:59:00

Question

Ok you just answered your question yourself....you were not charged because you were not transferred to the county jail and you did not have to make bail. Ease your stress and call and inquire about the case and if they are planning to charge you with anything. It sounds to me that they gave you a good scare and you are on the straight and narrow. I deal with Law Enforcement all day long with my job and part of my degree is in criminal justice so I am only giving you the knowledge from that. Call them they will tell you and you will feel relieved

How much marijuana was obtained? It more than likely was not enough to prosecute from what you are saying.

Tried to message you but says youre not recieving any new ones at the moment.

You ask how much was there...it was over an ounce for sure because they said it would be felony charged if we were to be charged. When I was released my friend was also but the guy whos it is wasnt. Hes had distribution charges before according to my friend who is friends with him. I only know him from a few outings way back in the day. So Im assuming they are persuing a charge on him and not on me or my friend. Im just going to forget about it for now and not worry. My life is much stressful not worrying about this stupidness! Inshallah youre doing good!

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-12-28 11:08:00

Question

You were not arrested and charged you were only detained for questioning and released. Is this what happened am I understand correctly?

You can call the detective who is over the case and confirm if you are pending changes or prosecution. Normally the arrest record of the USC does not affect the beneficiary. depending on how much marijuana they found will decide if they will issue a ticket which is a misdemeanor or file changes for a felony.

Well I was fingerprinted and everything. I was told if i was going to be charged I would be transferred to the county Jail and id have to make bail there. As far as I know I was booked and questioned and then released. I dont know I guess what Im going to do is see what happens...and not worry about it for now. I just hope it doesnt affect my wife getting her CR1 visa. Im so scared ive ditched everyone in my life so I dont show up at the wrong place at the wrong time. And I wont lie to any USCIS or NVC or anyone in this process I will tell the story as the truth. I just want my wife here

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-12-27 14:00:00

Question

Okay long story short...I was arrested on September 29 because I had shown up at a friends house where there happen to be marijuana there. I was only there maybe 3 mins max because my other friend had forgotten his wallet in my vehicle and needed it. All of a sudden, police show up and question. The guy who had the stuff did not confess to it so 3 of us were taken to the station and finger printed and booked. We were told we were all going to be held 48 hours or until the investigator came to question us. The investigator came and I answered all his questions and told him my side of the story honestly. I even went a little further as to saying whos it was and this isnt my fault I had just pulled up there to give my friend his wallet. They released me 5 mins after answering all the questions and all this and the investigator told me if they needed me to testify against the guy who had it that he would let me know. Its been 3 months since the incident and Ive heard nothing. I was not charged and that was that.

My question is...will this show up on my arrest record? Will this be a problem for my wife to be denied her CR1 visa? I was at the wrong place at the worng time and had no involvement in that stuff! When will I have to report it? I was arrested after I filed my I-130 so now will my I-130 be denied because I was arrested? Just so many questions! Any help with this will be greatful. I didnt know where to post this so I put it here. Thanks

abezyo

Male

Jordan

2012-12-27 12:53:00