Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Picking K1 or IR/CR1	I am assuming she has C1/D visa for working on onboard, that's what most of the crew members have. With that visa she CANNOT adjust status in USA, so that is not an option for you. Discovered this last night, so it looks like we're back to deciding between K1 and CR-1... As the consular interview is the last step in either process, I'm now starting to lean back towards K1 (even though is is more expensive), as we could get the ball rolling now, as opposed to having to wait until November. Also on a side note, getting the 10 days vacation in USA is entirely in the hands of the immigration officer when she signs off. I never got more than 24 hours to get my butt to the airport and out of USA no matter how much I smiled to the immigration officers. Especially in the port of Miami they are tough! Will the crew office schedule her a later flight out of USA? Hmm, that's interesting... this will be at Port Everglades. We arrange this through our crew officer - we ask for a flight deviation, then they book the flights. I'm assuming they wouldn't allow us to do that if there was some question as to whether immigration would allow it, but it's good food for thought and I'll be sure to look into that. Thank you so much for your insight!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-05-01 16:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Picking K1 or IR/CR1	Thank you all for your thoughtful replies! If you file for K-1 you have to get married in USA so you wouldn't be able to get married in the Caribbean. Luckily, one of our ports is St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands - and I believe that's where we'll be getting married. i think if 'Adjustment of Status' path is available to you, you should take it. I've been asking question over on the AOS board, and it's starting to look like that's actually a very feasible option - and would be precisely what we want... so unless I step on some large bureaucratic landmine, AOS is the path for me. Thanks everyone!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-04-30 23:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Picking K1 or IR/CR1	Thank you so much for the quick response. My initial inclination is similar to your advice - I'm just not certain if her work visa creates any conflict since she is technically already "in the US" for the purposes of immigration. As for getting to the consular appointment, it's really not a matter of taking time out of a busy schedule... it's when we are on contract, we are at the mercy of the ship. We work 7 days a week for the entire length of our contract, in her case 10 months. So she will not realistically be able to make any kind of consular appointment until next March. So I think we'll do the legal wedding in November right away, and get the paperwork put in right away afterwards. Hopefully then the consular appointment will be at least 4 months down the line, and then from what I can tell, processing times average around 7 months total? Does this sound realistic?	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-04-30 18:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Picking K1 or IR/CR1	Hello everyone! I had the incredible luck of meeting my fiancee this last winter while working on a cruise ship with her, and we are planning on getting married this coming Winter. This is a moment of incredible joy for me, but I'm finding that our situation is sufficiently complicated to merit asking advice. She is currently on a US work visa, but the ship she is on will not be back to a US port until November. I will join her on ship then for about 4 months, and we're hoping to get married down in the Caribbean somewhere (US Virgin Islands seems like a likely choice). We will both leave the ship in March, and she will come to my city here in the US for 10 days before she and I go to Indonesia for the inevitable family ceremony there. From there, we'd like to have her move here as soon as possible. The question becomes whether to file for a Fiancee visa now, or to wait until we get married and file for an IR/CR-1. The complicating factor will be that there will be no reasonable way to schedule a US Embassy interview until our contract is done in early March (for all intents and purposes, it's impossible to schedule when she can get off the ship in port - in my position I have a lot more flexibility). Further complicating (or helping?) matters is that she is technically "in the US" right now... She joined the ship in Florida, and will debark in Florida, and she had to obtain a work visa to do that. When her contract ends, her work visa gives her 10 days before she has to return to Indonesia. Is there any reason we might be able to skip the K1 and just do an adjustment of status after the wedding? For what it's worth, I think we should have no problem with the interview process, as neither of us has ever been married, she's got all the documents she should need with her, and we've got plenty of proof of a real relationship (I had an amazing visit with her friends and family over in Indonesia a few months ago!) Any advice and information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. I've gone through the USCIS website, called them (a singularly unhelpful experience), and read through a number of posts here. Thanks in advance!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-04-30 14:54:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Another Affidavit of Support question	Equity in a family/ primary home also rarely counts, so that leaves 2 of your three cars (as it is assumed you need one to live/ drive) plus the $4000 from the regular job, which would not be enough. I think to be on the safe side, I'd get a co-sponsor. So I did a little research, and I thought I'd document it here for anyone else who's looking into this... Instructions for i-864 If you check page 8, bottom right: "You may include the net value of your home as an asset. The net value of the home is the appraised value of the home minus the sum of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the home." ... "You may not include the net value of an automobile unless you show that you have more than one automobile, and at least one automobile is not included as an asset." This is good news for me - the appraised value of my home minus mortgages is about $50,000 alone... and if all I have to do is not include one of my automobiles as a disposable asset, that gives me another $25,000. Further good news: reading through this, my fiancee's income CAN be counted towards this... she works on the cruise ships with me as well, and although we are on a contract basis, my read of these instructions shows that all we need to do is provide evidence that it is a continuing income source - and by the time we are ready to adjust status, we will have our contract letters for our next season. Feeling some serious relief here.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-09-25 10:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Another Affidavit of Support question	I think alot will depend on your specific embassy. Many would not count the contract employment unless you can get a letter saying you will be hired back, and if you show a loss in your businesses that won;t count either. Equity in a family/ primary home also rarely counts, so that leaves 2 of your three cars (as it is assumed you need one to live/ drive) plus the $4000 from the regular job, which would not be enough. I think to be on the safe side, I'd get a co-sponsor. I understand regarding the contract employment - but can probably get a letter from them showing that I'm rehired every season. Do you have any source regarding equity in the person home not being counted - I haven't seen anything regarding that anywhere? As for the businesses - there were 3 - I lost one of them in 2011, which caused a one-time loss there. My other two businesses have been profitable all the way though. On my taxes, they all end up aggregated on Line 22 - which is what people say "counts". If I can demonstrate all years beforehand I had plenty of income, and that the loss in last year all came from one business that I no longer have a stake in - along with Profit and Loss reports from the other businesses showing current profit, would there not be any consideration of those circumstances? I'd love to have a co-sponsor, but I don't have close family...	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-09-25 09:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Another Affidavit of Support question	I'm not positive, but I think for the K1 visa, affidavit of support requirements don't really intensify until you're filing for adjustment of status after the marriage. Prior to that, they're kind of general, I thought. Either way, I believe that your assets should more than cover any deficiency that may be perceived in terms of the actual income. Thank you for your response! Perhaps this isn't the right forum, but does anyone want to venture a guess whether I'm facing any landmines when it comes to AOS?	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-09-24 21:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Another Affidavit of Support question	So I'm waiting on NOA2 right now, and trying to get my ducks in a row for the next step. As my fiancee and I work together on a cruise ship (and I will be reunited with her in 41 days, not that I'm counting ) - I need to have all my paperwork set now, as I'll be at sea for 5 months when the NOA2 shows up. I'm trying to assess whether I need a co-sponsor for the I-134/I-864 forms, as my financial situation is a little unique. I make plenty of money, but... +/- $12k a year comes from contract employment (cruise ship). I get hired back on every year, but it's not "permanent". I have +/- $4k a year of employment income from another source (standard job). A good deal of my income comes from two businesses I run - yet a 3rd business I ran went WAY south last year, causing a huge loss on my taxes last year. Further, some of that loss will carry over into 2012, which will essentially show two years of "negative" income... even though the loss was just an investment... I made money. In addition, I have around $25-$45k in equity in my home (depending on whether you go by assessment or appraisal). I own outright (no loans) 3 vehicles with a combined value of about $30k. I've completely struck out with family trying to get a co-sponsor. Skepticism and all... for what it's worth, the years preceding the business loss last year showed healthy income, and I can provide Profit and Loss summaries for this year and last that show my current businesses generating decent profit... Am I being completely paranoid, or might I have a problem? Fiancee is coming from Indonesia..	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-09-24 20:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can a Beneficiary cancel the K1 visa process?	I don't have anything of substance to add other than it's a blessing you discovered this about him now. The best of luck to you, and sometimes the prairie has to burn for flowers to grow	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-09-24 20:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-129F Processing Time - which Service Center?	Hello, My fiancée and I met while working together on a cruise ship. We are now stuck working on two different cruise ships, and trying very hard to juggle contracts and vacation times to spend time with each other while waiting for her K1 approval. Because of that, I am particularly interested in the "estimated approval dates" and when we can reasonably expect to receive the NOA2. (Of course we are well aware of the variables at play here). My question is this: when looking at the charts for the estimated approval date, which Servicing Center do we look at. Initially we indicated Texas, because that's where we sent the petition, but the NOA1 came from California. Thanks in advance, Ryan Don't have any advice for you, but my fiancee (Indonesian) and I met working on a Holland-America Line ship! We're 25 days away from seeing each other again as my next contract starts then We're hoping things time out for her consular interview in Indonesia when our contract ends! Good luck! What line are you with?	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2012-10-09 19:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 to Spousal Visa	It sucks to be waiting around when all we want to do is be together just like everybody else. If the process is taking longer than 6 months is it advisable to have my fiance sign another contract, he's a seafarer and their next route will be U.S. I have to ask, which cruise line is he on? My wife and I met working on Holland America Line...	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-04-13 14:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	File sent electronically?	Today I called the NVC and found out our I-129f package got forwarded to Jakarta on May 8th, which is awesome news!  I asked her if she could tell me when it was expected to arrive, and she told me that application materials are all sent electronically now, so the embassy already has it.  Is this common to all embassies?  I've read a little bit about electronic visa processing in Montreal and China, but these were for I-130 filings where the NVC seems to be a little more involved.  Will the physical package also be sent?     The Jakarta embassy has not yet sent out Packet 3 for what it's worth...	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-10 14:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Wedding in the Philippines!	Maybe I should have chose my words a little more carefully. Basically, have a ceremony in the Philippines where all of her friends and family can attend but have it not be legal in the eyes of the government.   Simplest way to find out is to ask.  My fiance and I did the same thing in Indonesia... I emailed the consulate and asked them, and their response:    "Thank you for your email.   You can have a family celebration here in Indonesia. Do not register this ceremony to the KUA or Civil registry Office. If you do so, your fiancé will not eligible for a K-1 visa status. "   The analysis that determines whether your K1 eligibility is affected is simple - is there any government on Earth that considers you married?  If so, you are not eligible for a K1 visa.  Some people going through the consulates in India and some African countries have had problems, because in those countries the simple declaration of two people proclaiming themselves to be married is enough to create a legal status of matrimony, thusly invalidating a K1.   If you want peace of mind, simply email the embassy in Manilla and ask!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-15 22:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Cancel K1 Visa Petition and File a Spousal visa	This has been answered elsewhere, but the rough idea is this... yes, you'd have to cancel your current petition and start a new one.  You would lose your filing fee, have to pay the filing fee for a new petition, and you'd start the waiting over again.  But if those things are all worth the new wedding plans, there you go.  Piece of cake!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-01 23:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Medical Exam	To add a little bit to what my beautiful and beloved Ceilla has written above...   We've passed NOA2, and the NVC says our application is at the embassy in Jakarta.  Checking the State Department's status check website, it says we're "ready".  The Jakarta embassy (to our knowledge) will email me with "packet 3", which will include the forms we need for Ceilla to take her medical exam.  They haven't emailed us yet, even when we've requested it from them.  The authorized doctors will not provide her an examination without us bringing the forms to them.  We were hoping to get the exam out of the way, since we have everything else prepared for the interview.     Does anyone here have experience with getting your medical exam in Jakarta before received the Packet 3 email?  Thanks!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-15 16:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Non-Legal Social Weddings	Ceilla and I did something very similar... I emailed the embassy in Jakarta and asked them if it would be a problem - they assured me that so long as it wasn't registered, no problem. I've seen this topic come up so many times, and seen so much bad advice. When in doubt, ask the people who will make the decision!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-16 21:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?	Split hairs all you want about "it's OK in this country, but not that country," but realize that this is purely theoretical when it comes to the nuts and bolts of convincing a CO to grant a visa.  Just try playing it your way and arguing your point in front of an accusatory CO who has 100% power to continue or wreck your relationship plans.  Even worse, just imagine trying to explain your reasoning to a couple who accepts your advice and gets royally hosed at the consulate.   For the record, Ceilla received her approval with full disclosure on this topic.  I stand by the notion that if anyone is considering doing this, simply contact the embassy in question beforehand and get their approval.  No reason for stress or keeping secrets.  If you make your inquiry by email, print the response and take it with you when you have your interview.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-30 22:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?	I think you are making a wise choice.   Dave   For the record, I would say that in India, you are making a wise choice as well.  Making a personal marital commitment there creates a legal commitment as well, which creates an ineligibility for a K1 visa there. Good luck!	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-27 23:03:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?	I would never encourage you to lie or "get away" with something.  The simplest thing you can do is simply ask the embassy - if Egypt has a distinct legal process for becoming married that isn't automatically invoked by having a ceremony, you're not getting away with anything.  You're having a family celebration while maintaining the legal capability to be married upon reuniting in the US.  Simply ask the embassy.  Get it in writing.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-27 15:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?	And taking advice from someone who has yet to have their K-1 interview and successfully enter the country is wise?   Folks like TBone have been on VJ for some time and have seen plenty of instances of people shooting themselves in the proverbial foot as they attempt to game the system. What works for even 10 people on VJ is not indicative of what may work for the 11th person who tries it.    An ad hominem attack on me doesn't invalidate the point.  The standard USCIS and DOS use to determine eligibility is whether the couple is free to marry in the petitioner's state.  And having done quite a bit of research on these forums, I've seen more people say they DIDN'T have a problem with this than those who DID. And nearly universally, the ones that DID have a problem were in India or West Africa.  And in those countries, the couple ran afoul of the LEGAL requirement to be free to wed - because the ceremonies they engaged in carried an unintentional legal consequence.   And you know what?  I agree with the "safer rather than sorry" mentality.  But what I'm fighting against here is the idea that there's superstitious voodoo causing denials on a whim.  In the vast majority of cases, it's not C.O, malevolence creating denials - it's inadvertent violations of the rules.  I feel this community is more helpful if people are guided by *facts* and a clear knowledge of the requirements of the process, and not instilling an unneeded fear of the boogie-man.   Nothing in anything I write is meant to be of any offense or belittle anyone - but if my interpretation of things doesn't jive with yours, perhaps you might step off the ad hominem attack and instead address the facts I lay down?  I think the DOS web site, USCIS web site, an interview with a USCIS executive and an email from an embassy C.O. create a powerful case for my point.    With respect. Edited by Billious, 27 May 2013 - 02:17 PM.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-27 14:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?	Split hairs all you want about "it's OK in this country, but not that country," but realize that this is purely theoretical when it comes to the nuts and bolts of convincing a CO to grant a visa.  Just try playing it your way and arguing your point in front of an accusatory CO who has 100% power to continue or wreck your relationship plans.  Even worse, just imagine trying to explain your reasoning to a couple who accepts your advice and gets royally hosed at the consulate.   Given your tagline "Among the 99.44% HOSED at the Guayaquil consulate", I'm going to assume that you've had a difficult and contentious experience during the embassy phase of your process.  And for that, I'm sorry... it sounds like you had a really rough consulate to deal with.     But from what I gather through these forums, the vast majority of the consulates apply a fairly consistent set of analysis to K1 visas.  Regarding the requirement to be "free to marry upon arrival in the US", the only countries where non-legal ceremonies seem to create issues are certain West African countries, as well as India - places where the local legal tradition creates a LEGAL bond by the personal establishment an oath.   To further back up that this is a matter of legalistic status, and not simple consulate wonkery, are words for the very organizations involved.   http://travel.state....types_2994.html Under U.S. immigration law, a foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen is the recipient of an approved Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), Form I-129F, who has been issued a nonimmigrant K-1 visa for travel to the United States in order to marry his or her U.S. citizen fiancé(e). Both the U.S. citizen and the K-1 visa applicant must have been legally free to marry at the time the petition was filed and must have remained so thereafter. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the U.S. state in which the marriage will take place.   Email to the Jakarta embassy:   -----Original Message----- Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 5:32 AM To: Jakarta, IV Subject: K1 Visa in Progress Hello, My Indonesian fiancee and I are in the process of getting our I-129f approved through USCIS, and anticipate it will be coming through to the Jakarta embassy eventually.  We are considering having a family celebration in Indonesia before she comes over here.  With no religious figures, no paperwork, nothing that would create any legal marriage between the two of us - simply an opportunity for the family to celebrate since they will be unable to attend our wedding when she comes to the US. I've read online that some people have had problems with Consular Officers denying K1 visas because of these celebrations.  I want to be sure we don't run afoul of State Department rules.  Can you clarify, will the Jakarta embassy issue a K1 visa if we have a family celebration that does not result in any government/religious organization recognizing a marriage? Thank you for your time   and the response     Dear Mr. XXX,   Thank you for your email.   You can have a family celebration here in Indonesia. Do not register this ceremony to the KUA or Civil registry Office. If you do so, your fiancé will not eligible for a K-1 visa status.   Regards, IMMIGRANT VISA UNIT     Somewhere in the depths of VJ was a post or an interview from a USCIS official who outright said that K1 applicants are free to have a non-legal ceremony without impacting the validity of their status.  But alas at 6am, I'm having a hell of a time finding that old post.   There's been a lot of insensitive talk on this board about these non-legal ceremonies - people calling them "pretend weddings", etc. They are not.  To those who choose to do this, it *is* their wedding day - and seeing these posts calling them "fake marriages", etc. is really insulting.  Marriage is a dual institution, and for the purposes of immigration, the legal side is all the matters.  But to discount the personal/emotional/spiritual side of the institution by calling people's weddings "fake" is unnecessary.     The reason this topic comes up a LOT is because one of the failings of the K1 process is that it does not offer much in the way of flexibility for managing the family expectations of international couples.  The requirement to be free to marry is fully a matter of legality - the State Department/USCIS's goal in enforcing that requirement is to ensure that an immigrant will have the legal wherewithal to adjust status on arrival.  As to the emotional/religious status of the couple, other than ensuring a bona fide relationship, the US government has no interest whatsoever in what the couple may refer to each other as.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-27 06:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Filed, can we do a wedding ceramony and not register it?	There is so much bad advice being given in this thread, but they are stumbling on the right answer in the end for your situation...   The criteria is simply if you are legally free to wed.  In most countries, you absolutely CAN have a ceremony together so long as it's not registered with the government.  Whoever said "if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck" is full of it.  In our case (Indonesia), we specifically asked the embassy about this, and they said they don't care so long as it's not legally registered.  That's NOT lying, that's NOT visa fraud... that's having a family celebration without legally being unable to wed upon arriving.   The tricky part is that India doesn't separate legal and "personal' marriages.  By making a vow to each other in India, the government considers you married - regardless of "filing" anything.  By being in a government recognized state of marriage, you cease to be eligible for a K1 visa.     So in your instance, this is a bad idea.  But the advise people give on this forum in a general sense (ie: not India or certain African countries) is horribly inaccurate and leads to a lack of understanding for what the Embassies are looking for.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-05-27 01:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	So while this may really only be relevant to filers dealing with Jakarta, but I did receive an email back from the Consulate there:   "Thank you for your email.   You can have a family celebration here in Indonesia. Do not register this ceremony to the KUA or Civil registry Office. If you do so, your fiancé will not eligible for a K-1 visa status.   Regards, IMMIGRANT VISA UNIT Embassy of the United States of America I Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan #5 I Jakarta 10110 I Indonesia Email: JakIV@state.gov I Fax +62 (21) 385-7189 I internet: http://jakarta.usembassy.gov"	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-04-29 09:04:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	Also, I checked all those threads that were referenced earlier in this conversation, and it seems almost all of them were from India. Does anyone know of consulates in any other countries who've offered these denials? For what it's worth, I just emailed the Jakarta embassy my "what-if" scenario, and when I get an answer, I'll update this thread.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-04-24 21:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	But Ceilla (my dear fiancé) posted above about our experience. We were on a cruise ship, and instead of a priest we had the port shopping ambassador perform a commitment ceremony. We were in international waters and signed nothing. Do you really think USCIS is going to get confused about that?	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-04-24 13:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	It's in the instructions for the I-129F petition...see page 2, section 5. The K-1 is for unmarried couples. By getting married, one is no longer eligible for the K-1 visa. It's one of the reasons you have to submit a letter of intent stating you're free to marry. OK this is the meat and potatoes of the issue, and what I think people are getting confused about. In a post from someone who was previous an adjudicator, he made it very clear that USCIS makes a distinction between a legal marriage and a civil ceremony. He stated - in no uncertain terms - that a non-legal wedding is OK, and can be a great solution for people who wish to have a family celebration back in the alien fiance's country. This really isn't complicated. If there is any government - anywhere - that recognizes the petitioner and beneficiary as married, you're not eligible for a K1 visa. If two people walk into the woods with a friend and have a quick ceremony and call themselves married, that's between the two of them - no government involved at all, and no problem. Now, there is the variable that a given consular official could get a wild hair up his butt and use his discretion to deny, which is why it's best to keep any civil ceremonies on the down-low. But so long as you haven't signed any piece of paperwork, or registered with any government as a spouse, there is absolutely no reason you can't have a celebration of your love beforehand.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-04-24 12:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	My Visa Journey Help Guide	You do know that VJ has plenty of guides, right?  Why make your own guide when you are too "lazy" to make it right.  Seems odd.  Oh well, I am out.   Comments like this are disheartening.  I love that someone is using their time and energy to try to compile information into one concise place, in the hopes it will make life easier for someone else.  I remember when I first found VJ, and it was so... vast.  This topic is inherently broad, with so many nuances.  What the OP is trying to do here is give a simplified breakdown of the most common scenarios, and if I had seen something like this when I first started researching, it would have saved me from asking a lot of stupid questions and would have allowed me to search for information more effectively.   We are here to help each other, each in our own way.  If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.	Billious	Male	Indonesia	2013-06-05 23:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	8 months so far...and had a baby!!!	7 months and 4 days since NOA1. But still waiting. And congratulation for your baby. Don't give up. My fiance tried to talk to the inside person and just pray and hope they will do the one who already wait for a long time for the k1 visa	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-04-15 03:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	3 Approvals with the same NOA1 date as ours today!	Same here. We got our NOA1 on september 11, 2012. Maybe the doing it randomly. Just be patience and keep on praying for the best. Our time will come	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-04-24 02:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	My fiancee wants to get married in her country the next day after we get approved K-1	My fiance ask the embassy in my country about your question. I copy what he ask and what the answer. i hope it will help you. Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 5:32 AM To: Jakarta, IV Subject: K1 Visa in Progress Hello, My Indonesian fiancee and I are in the process of getting our I-129f approved through USCIS, and anticipate it will be coming through to the Jakarta embassy eventually. We are considering having a family celebration in Indonesia before she comes over here. With no religious figures, no paperwork, nothing that would create any legal marriage between the two of us - simply an opportunity for the family to celebrate since they will be unable to attend our wedding when she comes to the US. I've read online that some people have had problems with Consular Officers denying K1 visas because of these celebrations. I want to be sure we don't run afoul of State Department rules. Can you clarify, will the Jakarta embassy issue a K1 visa if we have a family celebration that does not result in any government/religious organization recognizing a marriage? Thank you for your time, AND THIS IS WHAT THEY ANSWER... Thank you for your email. You can have a family celebration here in Indonesia. Do not register this ceremony to the KUA or Civil registry Office. If you do so, your fiancé will not eligible for a K-1 visa status. Regards, IMMIGRANT VISA UNIT Embassy of the United States of America I Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan #5 I Jakarta 10110 I Indonesia Email: JakIV@state.gov I Fax +62 (21) 385-7189 I internet: http://jakarta.usembassy.gov	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-05-04 04:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Medical Exam	When is your interview as my wife recieved her interview date (June 5th) yesterday by e-mail and have many concerns about the doctors exame as they say takes 10 buisness days when I called one of them and her interview is pretty much in 3 weeks.  I have no idea when I will have my interview. I hope it will be soon. We've been waiting for almost 8 months already. Maybe I will get the interview the same date as your wife finger cross.	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-05-15 02:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Medical Exam	Have the Embassy sent email to the petitioner with the required forms (Packet 3) to be completed? Once you received this Packet 3, then you send email to the Embassy to request for Interview date. It takes about 2 days for the Embassy to respond to your email request. I see. Actually, I already had packet 3 in my hand I will send it after I have my medical exam tomorrow. Thank you for the information	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-05-14 01:34:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Medical Exam	I suggest you read the US Embassy Jakarta web site. It provides a lot of information. You need to go to a registered doctor for your medical exam. Bring passport, 2 3x4 photos, and immunization records (if you have them.) You should call one of the doctors on the list at the web site. The medical report takes 7 business days to complete.     http://jakarta.usemb...v-med-exam.html   I already called the clinic but they said I have to wait till I have my interview schedule, but I can not have my interview schedule without my medical exam done. So confusing, beside that do the clinic have the form that we need for the medical exam or should I ask the embassy for the medical form?	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-05-14 00:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Medical Exam	I would like to ask about medical exam before the interview. Can anyone help me. Our case is on US embassy Jakarta yesterday and we haven't recieve any mail from them about our interview or when can I do my medical. Can I do my medical exam without mail from the embassy? We want to make a short cut, because the waiting is already long for us. By doing my medical soon before the mail from embassy, we can save 1 week at least. And do I need to copy the medical exam form by my own? Does the clinic have the form? Because I called and they said I need to bring the copy by my own. I searched on google for the form and it have a expiration time for the form. Please help me, any info will be very appreciate. Thank you.	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-05-13 23:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I got scammed the biggest scam of my life	Thanks all for your responses. I have already told her about K1 and the need to marry in the US and not her country. She is blaming it on her brothers (she is from a village) and how they won't let her go alone. I told her that it's impossible for me to go to her country even for one week. She simply ended the relationship and said good luck in your life. We fought a lot before this but she would always go nutts and call me 100 times a day until we get back together. Now after she got the visa it seems it's the opposite.   At this point, I have made up my mind and I don't want her anymore. My main concern is that she would use the visa to come to the USA and live with her sister illegally. If I tell the embassy there, would they call her back and revoke the visa?? That could happen. She will not be able to use her K1 visa to come to US. I'm really sorry this is happening. It's really sad because I know the waiting and the effort that you need to do to get the visa.	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-06-12 09:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I got scammed the biggest scam of my life	What about having just a wedding in China and then come to US to reguster?will that still be considered married??my fiancee really wants a wedding in China since all of her friends and family are there. We did a small celebration or reception in Indonesia before I came to US and a blessing ceremony when we were on the ship (we were living together for 4 months on the ship and I want my family feel we didn't make any mistake or sins when we lives together). We asked the embassy about this and they said it's ok as long we're not do our legal wedding. In some country they have different rules about this. In other country they not allowed you to do any ceremony or celebration because that is consider marriage. You should ask the embassy in your fiance country just to make sure. This is the mail from the embassy : You can have a family celebration here in Indonesia. Do not register this ceremony to the KUA or Civil registry Office. If you do so, your fiancé will not eligible for a K-1 visa status. Goodluck Edited by Ceilla, 12 June 2013 - 09:03 AM.	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-06-12 08:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	My question was to the op who will have the "non-wedding" in a church... Oooww... Sorry..	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-04-24 13:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	Is the priest not gonna pronaunce you man and wife at the end of your ceremony? It's not signing the paperwork that makes you married you know... Unless the priest skips many parts in the ceremony it sure sounds like a proper wedding to me... No he did not.	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-04-24 11:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	Even with the port shopping ambassador who pretend to be a priest..?? What about if we called a blseeing from everyone that we wanted to be together? Does it count as a wedding?	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-04-24 11:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Having a non-legally binding wedding before the K1 visa is processed	yes it will be a problem, you got married, you are no longer eligible for a k-1 Do you about this somewhere? Or did you ask the imigration directly.	Ceilla	Not Telling	Indonesia	2013-04-24 10:54:00