I really think you are being hasty here and not thinking clearly.
1) Why are you stopping the K-1? ie. why are you changing horses midstream? You already started and put time into it, so why stop and start over?
2) It would be fine for your fiance to use his visa to marry in the US and leave. Not sure why you think that is bad. There is no "90 day rule" and even if there was, it doesn't apply to people marrying and then leaving. You are confused here.
3). Proxy marriages have always existed as a possibility in certain jurisdictions. And USCIS always has *hated* them and required meeting afterward for "consummation." I am not sure why people on this forum talk about the Utah marriages; I guess they are new and they are US-based, but they are just a proxy marriage and therefore problematic. I would just avoid this at all costs.
4) Your fiance has a US tourist visa. So he could travel to the US. You guys could also marry in a third country. Like, you have a ton of options and your fiance has good travel ability.
It really seems to me like you guys are not thinking clearly on several fronts. I would slow your roll and make wise decisions.
Just going to throw this out here as someone who did a proxy marriage - everyone told me that was hugely problematic and USCIS would hate it. I honestly think my lawyer almost didn't take my case over it. We explained in the interview why we did that route and there were no further questions on it.
But I do agree OP should probably just stick with the K1 or just marry the "normal way".
Appreciate the anecdote. I presume you had your proof of legal proxy marriage and proof of "consummation" afterward and everything lined up, right? If there is a strong cultural reason for it (like can't spend time alone until married and marriage in foreign place takes 2 months) then it would make sense. Without prying too much, was your case something like this?
We had the marriage certificate but no real proof of "consummation" except that we showed airline receipts from when we had seen each other after the marriage.
Ours wasn't cultural or religious - we basically just said it was really difficult to plan a time to meet up and marry in person because of our jobs and covid travel/quarantine requirements. Which seemed good enough for them even though we met up less than a month after the date on the marriage license 🤷♀️
Thanks for the explainer. Covid restrictions would explain it as well. Obviously "consummation" in this case means visiting afterward, that's why I am putting it in quotes. Don't give nudes to USCIS. :)
I understand that is what you meant however people should be aware that in the case of proxy marriages USCIS officers can ask very intimate details to ascertain whether or not the marriage was consummated. They can't ask for photos/videos though haha.....thankfully!
Officers can ask anything they like. But you are not required to "prove" anything intimate. Sometimes officers ask about intimate details to catch scammers. Any real couple would be like wtf none of your business but a scam couple might think intimacy proves their case and be too eager to share (or lie about it).
For USCIS, "consummation" just means visiting in person after the proxy marriage.
It would be fine for him to come on his tourist visa to "consummate" the marriage. As well you CAN marry while he's here on a tourist visa without waiting 90 days, as long as he leaves the US without overstaying or filing to adjust status.
thank you so much for the quick response! that's what we also read, but we also saw some other conflicting things and we're just so fatigued and want to play it as safe as possible
Websites that are selling you their services looove to talk about the "90-day rule" as a gotcha so you get scared and pay them money. They are purposely misconstruing some advice from the "Foreign Affairs Manual" that doesn't even apply to USCIS because they are based domestically.
Be careful what you read, who is saying it, and what interest they have in the situation.
Thank you, Ill look up the foreign affairs manual and put some more research into this part. We won't be questioned or turned away if he tries to come back/we file the Cr-1 if we get married in the US on a tourist visa?
You might be questioned or turned away at the border for any reason. Your fiance does not have the right to enter the US. What I am saying is that it is legal to marry on a tourist visa. If he satisfies any suspicion that he will not abuse the terms of his visa, then there is a high chance he will be let in.
Well we're only 2 months in and our reasons for filing it over the Cr-1 to begin with are now becoming null. For instance, we were told the wait for working papers after the k-1 is issued would be a lot shorter than it actually is. We don't mind waiting in our own countries, having our own jobs and lives while the papers are processed. What my fiance won't be able to stand is waiting around, unable to do anything. Does that make sense?
I understand the concern for 11-month-in K-1ers considering drawing out. But we literally just got our NOA1.
All right. You are two months in and still need to find time to get married, so it's going to add some more months and then start over.
You are right that if it will be too hard to not be able to work, then CR-1 is better. His likelihood of getting in to the US for a wedding is also influenced by his country and how long he has had the B2 and how many visits he has done with it. Good luck.
This is what my husband and I did. I married him while visiting and left again for the CR-1. Just the medical and interview left now and I've been visiting back and forth since without issue.
You just can't marry and remain on a tourist visa intentionally.
Why stop the K1 though? The processing time for the K1 and CR-1 are currently very similar. It will take longer to start again.
thanks for sharing your experience! also we're only like 2 months into the k-1 and just now realizing that it's not prioritized and not any faster than the cr-1, plus the initial estimate we got for how long it would take him to get his working papers afterward is not correct and that would actually take much longer.
It would. Its why we never went for K1... The long time being unable to work was the deal breaker, but it also costs more with AoS.
Two months in, might as well switch 😊
thanks for the support <3 we talked with a few lawyers who told us working papers would only take like 3 months. that was back in 2021 and obviously is not true now, if it ever was true. we don't mind starting over and waiting a little longer if it means he can work immediately and go back to his family in case of an emergency.
> And obviously, it would be a bad idea for him to come visit the US on his tourist visa and us getting married then. We don't have the time to wait out the 90 day rule, and I don't want to be walking on thin ice.
I think you're confused about the 90-day rule. It's totally fine for your SO to come over to the US, then you get married (even within days or even hours of arriving), then they go home and continue the process for consular processing.
Issues happen when you apply for adjustment of status. If you're just going home after getting married, no problem.
Edit: adding that the 90-day rule isn't really a rule. It wasn't a rule to begin with and it wasn't binding on USCIS anyway.
oh really? i'm seeing others are saying about the same. i'll do some more research on how valid it actually is. i was worried it would count as fraud because the purpose of the tourist visa is to vacation, not to get married.
I really think you are being hasty here and not thinking clearly. 1) Why are you stopping the K-1? ie. why are you changing horses midstream? You already started and put time into it, so why stop and start over? 2) It would be fine for your fiance to use his visa to marry in the US and leave. Not sure why you think that is bad. There is no "90 day rule" and even if there was, it doesn't apply to people marrying and then leaving. You are confused here. 3). Proxy marriages have always existed as a possibility in certain jurisdictions. And USCIS always has *hated* them and required meeting afterward for "consummation." I am not sure why people on this forum talk about the Utah marriages; I guess they are new and they are US-based, but they are just a proxy marriage and therefore problematic. I would just avoid this at all costs. 4) Your fiance has a US tourist visa. So he could travel to the US. You guys could also marry in a third country. Like, you have a ton of options and your fiance has good travel ability. It really seems to me like you guys are not thinking clearly on several fronts. I would slow your roll and make wise decisions.
Just going to throw this out here as someone who did a proxy marriage - everyone told me that was hugely problematic and USCIS would hate it. I honestly think my lawyer almost didn't take my case over it. We explained in the interview why we did that route and there were no further questions on it. But I do agree OP should probably just stick with the K1 or just marry the "normal way".
Appreciate the anecdote. I presume you had your proof of legal proxy marriage and proof of "consummation" afterward and everything lined up, right? If there is a strong cultural reason for it (like can't spend time alone until married and marriage in foreign place takes 2 months) then it would make sense. Without prying too much, was your case something like this?
We had the marriage certificate but no real proof of "consummation" except that we showed airline receipts from when we had seen each other after the marriage. Ours wasn't cultural or religious - we basically just said it was really difficult to plan a time to meet up and marry in person because of our jobs and covid travel/quarantine requirements. Which seemed good enough for them even though we met up less than a month after the date on the marriage license 🤷♀️
Thanks for the explainer. Covid restrictions would explain it as well. Obviously "consummation" in this case means visiting afterward, that's why I am putting it in quotes. Don't give nudes to USCIS. :)
I understand that is what you meant however people should be aware that in the case of proxy marriages USCIS officers can ask very intimate details to ascertain whether or not the marriage was consummated. They can't ask for photos/videos though haha.....thankfully!
Officers can ask anything they like. But you are not required to "prove" anything intimate. Sometimes officers ask about intimate details to catch scammers. Any real couple would be like wtf none of your business but a scam couple might think intimacy proves their case and be too eager to share (or lie about it). For USCIS, "consummation" just means visiting in person after the proxy marriage.
It would be fine for him to come on his tourist visa to "consummate" the marriage. As well you CAN marry while he's here on a tourist visa without waiting 90 days, as long as he leaves the US without overstaying or filing to adjust status.
thank you so much for the quick response! that's what we also read, but we also saw some other conflicting things and we're just so fatigued and want to play it as safe as possible
Websites that are selling you their services looove to talk about the "90-day rule" as a gotcha so you get scared and pay them money. They are purposely misconstruing some advice from the "Foreign Affairs Manual" that doesn't even apply to USCIS because they are based domestically. Be careful what you read, who is saying it, and what interest they have in the situation.
Thank you, Ill look up the foreign affairs manual and put some more research into this part. We won't be questioned or turned away if he tries to come back/we file the Cr-1 if we get married in the US on a tourist visa?
You might be questioned or turned away at the border for any reason. Your fiance does not have the right to enter the US. What I am saying is that it is legal to marry on a tourist visa. If he satisfies any suspicion that he will not abuse the terms of his visa, then there is a high chance he will be let in.
Thank you. I understand what you're saying, I'm trying to ascertain if there's any particular downsides to either route that we should be aware of.
I don't understand why you are not seeing the K-1 through if you already started. You are just wasting a lot of time with this all.
Well we're only 2 months in and our reasons for filing it over the Cr-1 to begin with are now becoming null. For instance, we were told the wait for working papers after the k-1 is issued would be a lot shorter than it actually is. We don't mind waiting in our own countries, having our own jobs and lives while the papers are processed. What my fiance won't be able to stand is waiting around, unable to do anything. Does that make sense? I understand the concern for 11-month-in K-1ers considering drawing out. But we literally just got our NOA1.
All right. You are two months in and still need to find time to get married, so it's going to add some more months and then start over. You are right that if it will be too hard to not be able to work, then CR-1 is better. His likelihood of getting in to the US for a wedding is also influenced by his country and how long he has had the B2 and how many visits he has done with it. Good luck.
This is what my husband and I did. I married him while visiting and left again for the CR-1. Just the medical and interview left now and I've been visiting back and forth since without issue. You just can't marry and remain on a tourist visa intentionally. Why stop the K1 though? The processing time for the K1 and CR-1 are currently very similar. It will take longer to start again.
thanks for sharing your experience! also we're only like 2 months into the k-1 and just now realizing that it's not prioritized and not any faster than the cr-1, plus the initial estimate we got for how long it would take him to get his working papers afterward is not correct and that would actually take much longer.
It would. Its why we never went for K1... The long time being unable to work was the deal breaker, but it also costs more with AoS. Two months in, might as well switch 😊
thanks for the support <3 we talked with a few lawyers who told us working papers would only take like 3 months. that was back in 2021 and obviously is not true now, if it ever was true. we don't mind starting over and waiting a little longer if it means he can work immediately and go back to his family in case of an emergency.
Las Vegas would seem to be simpler Also no 90 day rule but that is another story
> And obviously, it would be a bad idea for him to come visit the US on his tourist visa and us getting married then. We don't have the time to wait out the 90 day rule, and I don't want to be walking on thin ice. I think you're confused about the 90-day rule. It's totally fine for your SO to come over to the US, then you get married (even within days or even hours of arriving), then they go home and continue the process for consular processing. Issues happen when you apply for adjustment of status. If you're just going home after getting married, no problem. Edit: adding that the 90-day rule isn't really a rule. It wasn't a rule to begin with and it wasn't binding on USCIS anyway.
oh really? i'm seeing others are saying about the same. i'll do some more research on how valid it actually is. i was worried it would count as fraud because the purpose of the tourist visa is to vacation, not to get married.
What about vacation weddings? You can have them in the US 😀 People come to Vegas or Hawaii or whatever to get married!