wedding vows verse making it legal

[adriandv]

a south african marrying an american

i plan to use the finacee visa option which gives me 3 months apon arrival
in usa to get married


i want to do a small wedding ceremony in south africa before i leave with my
local pastor where we exchange vows

and then do the legal stuff in America within the 3 month period, ie i will
not do the legal stuff in South Africa, i will just exchange wedding vows
with the american at my local church, so we will be married before God, but not legally before
the state, so that legally we not married and can still use the fiance visa option to get married legally in USA

is this allowed ?

[NettieL]

You will not be legally married yet, so I believe it should work.

Congratulations!

[PKumar01]

a south african marrying an american

i plan to use the finacee visa option which gives me 3 months apon arrival
in usa to get married


i want to do a small wedding ceremony in south africa before i leave with my
local pastor where we exchange vows

and then do the legal stuff in America within the 3 month period, ie i will
not do the legal stuff in South Africa, i will just exchange wedding vows
with the american at my local church, so we will be married before God, but not legally before
the state, so that legally we not married and can still use the fiance visa option to get married legally in USA

is this allowed ?

Hi,
many couples have the same question. They ask whether they can get "religiously" married or hold a small ceremony before departing their country to come to the US. It's understandable, So I'll clarify the circumstances.

The rule from the US DHS is that the couple should be "free to marry" and come to the US to get married. You cannot be legally married in any country before using the K-1 to enter the US.

The Rule of thumb is this: You must check your country's laws. Some countries don't consider a religious marriage as a legal marriage. However, many countries consider religious marriages as legal marriages. If, for instance, in South Africa, a religious ceremony is considered a legal marriage, then you'll invalidate the K-1. If it's not a legal marriage until you get a civil authority to recognize it, then it's not a legal marriage, and hence it's allowed.

It's also allowed to hold a small "family gathering" to celebrate your future union.

I hope this clarifies the issue.