ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
IndiaEvaluate Our Case Please
Ouch sorry I meant engagement. We are NOT married.
thedude6752000MaleIndia2012-07-13 17:53:00
IndiaEvaluate Our Case Please
Hello.

So I just got back from my second trip ever to India. I went to gather evidence, with some helpful tips from VJ, and now I'm back in the states and planning to file for the K1. So here's out case and here's our evidence:

We met in the summer of 2011 when I was in Lucknow with the 2011 CLS Urdu program. I had been an Arabic major in college and decided that I was interested in India after studying in Oman with the same CLS program and meeting lots of Indian folks there. We met randomly whilst I was walking in a park, then the whole love story thing happened. She is a Muslim, Pathan, and I am white. We met in July and carried on our relationship from then. I went back to the US in August and we continued to stay in contact by Skype and email etc. for 3 months, until I asked her parents for permission to marry her in November. Although Muslim her family is very well educated and live in the city so they accepted. We continued to carry on our relationship by email etc. after that. She applied for a student visa to come to the US on an English language program (she has her bachelors degree in English) but was denied. At that point I got a tourist visa to India and headed over to India for a month. I spent lots of time with her family and they all love me. We did an engagement ceremony and got well over 500 pictures, over 100 of the wedding (thanks to my American friend Tabby who brought her awesome camera to the mangani...she had studied with me on the CLS last year and had come again this year). While I was there in addition to photos I got lots of receipts, her signed letter of intent, her filled out biographical information, ticket stubs, and flight itineraries. So now I'm back in the US and trying to put it all together. I currently work at a restaurant making barely above minimum wage (the whole "can't find a job after college" phenomenon) and am currently applying everywhere I can. Nothing's bitten yet, but it is looking like I'll be able to get a very good job with the local police department, if all goes well.

As to the details about us, as I said she is Muslim Pathan and I am a white American (Greek-Irish if that matters at all, which of course it does not). Her last name is indeed Khan as were the names of both her mother and her father before marriage (they're not related though). She is older than me by slightly more than a year, her birthday is 24 August 1987 and mine is 6 December 1988. We both have bachelors degrees and are very open minded. I speak Hindi/Urdu and she speaks English (neither of us speaks the others' language close to perfectly lol though we understand each other completely), though we talk mostly in Hindi. Both of us are educated and have bachelors degrees. Both of our parents know about the relationship and approve. We have met twice in person but we have spent a total of about 3 and 1/2 months together face-to-face and we met in person, not on the internet. We have probably more than 1000 emails and tons of facebook messages and skype chats and skype calls. She has never been to the US though as mentioned she was turned down for a student visa.

Here are the red flags I see:

She's older than me (though negligibly so, and she looks like she's 18 or 19 and I look like I'm 30)

She's a Muslim

She was denied a student visa

Is there a good chance that any of this will cause us problems? Do we need more evidence or face-to-face time? Should I wait to get a better job if I apply? Will filing with a co-sponsor due to my lack of sufficient income be a problem (I was in college last year and made around $800 the whole year at a part time job)? She will be applying at the Delhi embassy and I would like to be able to fly out for her interview. Is this a good idea? If so, should I delay filing until I am sure that I'll be able to fly out for the interview?
thedude6752000MaleIndia2012-07-13 16:16:00
IndiaGetting Single Status Affidavit in the US

You have to  send e-mail to  U.S. Embassy Delhi  to request that you need this affidavit they will fix  an appointment and that day you have to be there on time with the print out of that e-mail , with your passport,  address proof and the embassy will issue this affidavit in presence of you .  In our case we got it with in three days.one day my husband sent e-mail regarding this to embassy AND  got reply that his appointment with embassy is after two days  he went to embassy and with in 20 minutes he got this affidavit.

 

 

dhanyaavad aanu ji! So for the proof of address, do I bring my proof of address from the US? If so, what do they accept? And also, out of interest, when did you and your husband get the affidavit/get married?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-09 14:24:00
IndiaGetting Single Status Affidavit in the US

Hello all,

 

I and my beloved will be wed this August, thereafter we will be starting our visa journey (**cringe**). We are getting married legally under the Special Marriage Act, and I am a US citizen, so I will need a single status affidavit. I can't seem to reserve a date at the damn Delhi embassy yet and it seems unlikely I will be able to get a date which coincides with my weddings plans (the wedding starts soon after I get into the country and it's in UP, not Delhi!), I need to get my single status affidavit before I get to India instead of waiting on the bloody embassy. Is this possible? If so, where can I find a copy of it? I have heard it's on VJ. Thanks for your replies!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-09 10:10:00
IndiaHow long the Ap can go?

Any new AAnu?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-18 15:51:00
IndiaGetting Ready for Marriage in India

Also, how should we explain the English Program visa? At the time we needed more evidence, so on of us had to go to the other's country and as we all know they don't give out tourist visas to Indians who aren't wealthy. She applied to this English program and got in, but was denied the visa. Thereafter I went to India where we did the engagement ceremony (we were thinking about doing a K-1 at the time). Will this be a problem? There was no interview, she was denied almost as soon as she stepped to the window. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-21 11:48:00
IndiaGetting Ready for Marriage in India

Also do I need the marriage certificate notarized? Do any need to do anything special with it? 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-21 11:34:00
IndiaGetting Ready for Marriage in India


Since you will be in a Muslim/Christian marriage, I'm guessing you will marrying under the Special Marriage Act?  If so, she will need to register the impending marriage 30 days before the actual wedding.  In some localities, the registration office will demand both parties to be present to file the paperwork.  In others, just the Indian side of the couple can do it on their own - it truly seems like luck of the draw on whether or not this becomes a PITA thing to deal with...

 

Your list looks great - a couple of things to think about though, a female Muslim marrying a Christian man is considered in most circles in Islam forbidden.  I don't want to start a Islamic jurisprudence fight about it here but there are also some more modern interpretations that say it is all good as long as the guy is "of the book" meaning Christian or Jewish - this stance is in the smallest of minorities.  Chances are, if you took a poll, it would be an avalanche of "oh hell no, she can't do that".  I'd be willing to bet all the COs are more than familiar with this too.  So, here in lies a possible problem.  There could be questions about it at the interview.  As long as the answer make sense within the scope of your relationship, it should be fine [as in, her family is really progressive and doesn't care OR her family is very old fashioned and now hates me so we married at the municipal offices - what wouldn't make sense would be "well, daddy threatened to kill him and told me I'm burning in hell for this but look at the wedding photos - 500 guests!" - having the family put on a huge celebration after a death threat would look weird to anyone].

 

Things that would make your case less air-tight: out of wedlock kids on either side, divorces, the inability to communicate well [lack of common language], if she's tried every which way to get a visa in the past including past relationship attempts [K1s or other CR1s].  All of these are very surmountable if you take the time to address them.  Search for "front loading" here to see how some people have included information in the original packet.

 

Other things to think about doing pre-filing that could strengthen your case: add her to bank accounts, credit cards, and insurances immediately including proof of those additions in your CR1 packet.

 

You do not need to worrying about the I-864 for the first phase of this process.  The petition will need to be approved and forwarded to the National Visa Center before that comes into play.  The flow chart here on vj will be of great help for you to see the details of how that all shakes down.

 

Best of luck on your marriage!  Let us know how it's going!!!

 



 

---------------------------------------------------

We already have the Special Marriage Act part covered. Let's just say in India where there's a will there's a way.

 

Thanks for the advice! Now as to the religion issue, her parents never actually made me convert but they did teach me to pray, had me talk with an aalim about Islam, and expect the children to be raised Muslim. What we have decided to do and how we have decided to live our lives is our own issue (we don't intend to say this to the CO though), the main thing is that her parents are willing and they will be fully participating in the wedding. Theyare relatively progressive and have assured both of us that if the embassy asks them they will tell their daughter that they gave their permission to marry me. This is all we intend to say on the matter, will this suffice?

 

Also, she tried to apply for a student visa to study at an English program near where I used to live, and was denied. Other than that she has made no attempts of any kind to get a visa, certainly by marriage. This will be the first marriage for both of us (and in shaa2 allah the last as well). Neither of us have any children. She is one year older than I, an annoyance to her but I hope not a big deal. She studied English at the university level, but I had come to Lucknow in 2011 to learn Urdu and at this point am extremely conversive in Hindi/Urdu. We talk mostly in this language and I am also able to communicate with her family with little difficulty (they make fun of the way I talk--I once said "chammak" for "chammach"--but they are completely able to understand me, even on the phone).

 

Thank you for the other advice. How can I add her to my credit cards and bank accounts if she is not in the country and does not have a social security number? I will look into adding her to my insurance but that's awfully expensive for something she won't be using at all. 

 

Thank you for the advice!

 


Edited by thedude6752000, 21 May 2013 - 11:33 AM.

thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-21 11:30:00
IndiaGetting Ready for Marriage in India

I actually forgot the marriage certificate. I have heard that Indian marriage certificates are sometimes not accepted without further documentation. In addition to the marriage certificate, is there any other document (or some other form of it) I can provide to establish a bona fide legal marriage? 

 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-20 18:53:00
IndiaGetting Ready for Marriage in India

OK, so here is our story:

 

I met my fiancee and soon to be wife Samar when I was in Lucknow, India studying Urdu with a US Dept. of State program. We fell in love, and we began planning on how we can be together. After getting engaged and then deciding the K1 route was not the best to go, we are now going with the CR1. We will be wed in August and I will return and hopefully file for the CR1 in September, October at the latest. With only a little more than 2 months to go until I depart for India, I am now starting to gather all of the documents I will need for the application. Here is a list of what I will be including in the I-130 packet:

 

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

Cover letter stating all documents of package

(2) G-325A's, Biographic Information, one for me and one for her

2 passport sized photos, 1 of me one of her

Copy of my birth certificate

Question: Do I include the I-864 Affidavit of Support or not?

 

Additional documents:

Hundreds of pages of chat logs

Hundreds of pages of emails

All the skype conversations I can get my hands on

Letters from her to me

Letters from me to her

Reciepts of for her dresses, gold, rings, and my dresses and rings

Plane tickets

Hotel tickets from our honeymoon

Hopefully thousands of pictures from our engagement, wedding, and honeymoon

Signed Affidavits by guests from the wedding to the affect that we are a bona fide couple

Bank statement from our shared bank account

 

I will of course be sure to make 1 complete copy of all this and also to save it as digital PDF's stored on Google Plus. 

 

 

Is there anything I am missing? And is there anything that I should bring back with her from India, so as not to have to spend more money on international mail latter? Should I bring back copies of her birth certificate and police report? What other preparations should I make? Please advise that she is a Muslim and I am a white Christian guy, our story is complicated and our case needs to be airtight. Are there any other documents I should get from Samar while I am in India? 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-05-20 18:41:00
IndiaHow Common is AP in the New Delhi Embassy? Does Everyone Get It

How common is AP at the New Delhi Embassy? Does everyone get it? I am white and my wife is a Muslim with the most common Muslim last name there is (think Shah Rukh), I feel like no matter how strong our case is we are walking talking AP bait. She also has a denied F-1 visa in her background (no fraud, they just straight up refused to say more than 10 words to her at the embassy). This is important for me in judging whether or not the process is even worth it.....I am not prepared to spend much more than 1 year away from her after we are married. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-07-24 18:10:00
IndiaGetting Married Next Month-- Name Change for Wife

Thanks for the advice! You really thank it will take 3-4 years to get to the US? :/


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-07-24 17:43:00
IndiaGetting Married Next Month-- Name Change for Wife

Hello VJ'ers,

 

I and my lovely wife will be officially wed next month. We are getting married under the Special Marriage Act. Will we be able to change her name then? Should we? She wants to take my name very much but I am afraid it could harm the process. Will she have to get a new passport? Will that make getting the police reports or anything else more difficult? Thanks for the help!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-07-21 17:59:00
IndiaIs Nikah Nama enough evidence to show marriage in India

The Nikaahnaamah is not enough, you either need to get it registered under the Muslim Marriage Act or get the Special Marriage Act Waalaa (after my traditional marriage I did the later with my wife, be prepared for some pretty heavy bribes to the court and police though). 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-10-15 09:57:00
IndiaBirth Certificate and Passport Etc. Have Different Age

I see so many views, but does anyone have an answer??? I will be submitting next month so any help is appreciated!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-08-04 17:47:00
IndiaBirth Certificate and Passport Etc. Have Different Age

As most of you probably know, lots of folks in India do not have a birth certificate, and for this reason's people's school records are used to show their age. My fiancee (soon wife), though, does have her birth certificate, but it does not match her school records. Long stroy short, she is a gifted woman and as a girl her parents wanted to give her a head start, so they lied about her age to get her into school 1 year early. Thus according to her birth certificate she is 25 (26 in September) but according to everything else (including her passport) she is 26 (27 next month). What should we put for her age on the G-325A ? What documents should she give? Should she get a new passport? Please advise. Thanks!

 

 

 

 


Edited by thedude6752000, 30 July 2013 - 08:56 PM.

thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-07-30 20:55:00
IndiaNEw Delhi AP Tracker

I have started a thread for tracking AP in the New Delhi embassy, anyone in AP please post there:

http://www.visajourn...cker/?p=6715846


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-12-22 10:31:00
IndiaChanging Passport--Original Marriage Certificate Requested

 

does the passport request also include a name change?

 

No, we agreed that would be easier to do in the States. She just needs to update her address and change her marriage status to "married."


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-01-02 22:04:00
IndiaChanging Passport--Original Marriage Certificate Requested

I'm facing the same issue. I wanted to update my passport with my married name and was sent back a letter that they need our original marriage certificate. I was trying to get this done within a year of when I originally got my passport so it would be free. Unfortunately, my original marriage certificate is now with NVC. Sorry, I don't have an answer for questions 2 & 3, but I'm in the same boat so I'm curious of the responses.

 

My #'s 1 &3 only apply to India, really, she is not changing her name she just wants to add "married" to the status on her Passport, which they do not do in the States. I just wanted to know if changing this is important or not.


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-01-02 18:04:00
IndiaChanging Passport--Original Marriage Certificate Requested

So my wife is trying to get all of her documents updated way before we get to the embassy interview, since she's been using her old address for like a year now lol. She went to get a new passport with her new address on it. But at the passport Seva Kendr, they told her that they needed her original marriage cert, not the certified copy from the court house, to issue the new passport. So I have some questions.

 

 

 1. Is this true? I feel like they are giving us trouble because we are an unusual pair (white guy/Muslim Indian girl)?

2. Will it make any difference at our interview if her passport says single instead of married if all of the other info is correct?

3. Is there any way to get the passport changed without the original marriage cert?

 

Thanks!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-01-02 16:29:00
IndiaAP New Delhi

Unfortunately it's hard to say. Please post in my Delhi AP tracker thread and put your info (race, age, religion, how you met, etc.) and we might be able to give you a better idea. 

 

http://www.visajourn...r/#entry6748358


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-01-20 21:13:00
IndiaMoving to Mumbai before NVC Stage--Need Some Advice

My wife wishes to move from her home city of Lucknow to Mumbai, both because she wants more independence and because I have heard/read on here that the Mumbai consulate is easier to get a visa from than the Delhi embassy. We put in our I-130 in November and the way things are going I expect that we will be done with that by April/May, and sending our first NVC documents in July. We have a couple of questions though:

 

1. Is there a length of stay requirement in order to be processed by a certain embassy/consulate?

2. What is the absolute latest she can move before the interview? And what proof will the consulate request of her for proof of address?

3. Will she have to get multiple police certs? If so how soon after moving to Mumbai can she get a police cert? 

4. Will there be any possible negative effects of doing this?

 

Sorry for multiple posting, but this seems to belong in more than 1 forum. Thank you!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-03-14 17:32:00
India2nd interview @ Mumbai Consulate after 8 months AP

Any news?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-01-06 17:25:00
IndiaPolice Cert Question--Moving Cities, Which City to Get the Cert In?

Thanks!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-06-02 00:23:00
IndiaPolice Cert Question--Moving Cities, Which City to Get the Cert In?

My wife will be moving to Mumbai 24 June, but we just got approved at the VSC so we're starting the NVC now. If my wife gets her police cert in her current city, Lucknow, will that be acceptable to send to the NVC if her (what will by then be) current address is in Mumbai? Should we just wait till she moves to get the police cert? Thanks!


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-05-31 19:44:00
IndiaPassport Seva Kendr Help--Won't Accept Certified Marriage Certificate from Court

Thanks for the re-assurance guys :) 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-06-15 01:32:00
IndiaPassport Seva Kendr Help--Won't Accept Certified Marriage Certificate from Court

When my wife went to get her PCC, they requested she update the passport in order to say she's married on the PCC. When they got the certified copy from the court, they told her this is not good enough and they need the original! So my wife just applied for the PCC with her original passport, which lists her as single. Will the PCC list her as single? Will this cause problems? Please help. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-06-12 17:12:00
IndiaAnyone has experience with Xoom, Remit2India, Money2India?

I like Money2India from ICICI. I tried 3 services prior to this, and all of them refused to let me transfer to my wife's account and would not tell me what the problem was! It takes about a week but the fees are tiny and it always gets there. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2014-07-26 01:02:00
K-3 Spousal Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsI-129F approved at NVC before I-130

I would call the DOS and ask honestly. It does cost a lot more money and the process post-arrival is arduous but wouldn't it be worth it to be reunited?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-12-19 18:49:00
USCIS Service CentersHas the process gotten a little quicker?

Cool, I am feeling a bit better about this option now.

 

What I meant was, I am not really bothered where I live. As long as I am with fiance I am happy. It just bothers me a lot less where we live than it would her, so for now I am moving to Montana. 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2013-07-16 12:16:00
USCIS Service CentersHas the process gotten a little quicker?

You make a pretty good argument. 

If we were to get married before the end of the year, to be perfectly honest, it would have to be at a town hall, in a private ceremony with no family present (as neither would approve at this time). Would this not raise suspicion come AOS interview time? If they ask why no family were present, would we are getting married now to save a large initial cost, time and travel, and I could work sooner legally so we could both contribute to a bigger wedding and a celebration next year?

 

As I have stated I just want to do this, the safest and most legal way possible. I love living here, but I am ultimately not intending to move here because I live 4 hours from Glacier National Park and 4 hours from Yellowstone. I want to be with my fiance, be it here, Northern Ireland, or Timbuktu, I just know that I am more mentally prepared than she is to live a 20 hour flight away from my family than she is, and she has a great job that is really sought  after in our area. 

 

Thanks,

Chris.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2013-07-16 02:30:00
USCIS Service CentersHas the process gotten a little quicker?

Thanks! I know I am just asking questions without giving much back. But do you know by what point I will need to be back in the UK. Not date, but after which part is processed?

 

Thanks again!


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2013-07-15 23:01:00
USCIS Service CentersHas the process gotten a little quicker?

Thanks for the advice. 

The reason we are not getting married, then filing a cr1 is for a couple of reasons, we only got engaged on 3rd July of this year, and also just money wise and logistically in terms of my family attending it wouldn't be possible right now. I had been given advice to just have a wedding through I guess it would be a town hall, just the two of us and a witness. But she didn't feel right with it, and when it comes to joint decisions, its her decision.( Plus I am not too sure where I stand on it, obviously not enough to convince me or her.) biggrin.png

 

This way, I get to go home, see my parents for a little bit (otherwise could be until the week we get married, and then for god knows when) and get to save a little bit of money.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2013-07-15 21:52:00
USCIS Service CentersHas the process gotten a little quicker?

I am not talking quicker, in relation to a few years back, where from what I read, it was around 5 months. I am talking about is it quicker than it has been for the past year or so. Scrawlin through the more recent posts I am seeing more people getting approved in about 6 months, some earlier. The reason I ask, is that I am trying to figure out the right time to file for K-1 visa. As I am filing here, in America, and staying until I finish University in December, and hoping to only be home (and away from my fiance) for 1 or 2 months instead of 7-9 (or I don't know how long, thus the question)

 

Any responses are greatly appreciated. I am definitely a newbie to this kind of thing. Hopefully one day I can be the one answering someone like me's questions.

 

Thanks.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2013-07-15 19:57:00