B1 to K1

[immihelp]

Dear Sir/Madam

I am looking for some advice and possible representation from here.

I am a British Citizen and have applied for a K1 visa to marry my US citizen fiancee. The file has already been approved with USCIS and sent to London from NVC. We planned our wedding 10 months ago as we were advised by the embassy that the visa process would take about 6 months. We still haven't received an interview date for me in London and it looks like the wedding date will come before the visa date. I am in the USA on a B1/2 visa at present but will have to leave 1 week after the wedding as my 6 months is up. We have spent $20,000 on the wedding and my fiancee's family have all booked flights and hotels for this already so we are in a huge pressured situation due to the paperwork delays.

1) Is there any way of transitioning to a K3 after getting married here? so I don't have to go home, thus processing the visa from here?

If so, would we have time to get the wheels in motion in the next 2 months to enable me to stay here?

2) If I had to go home, would I have to start the K3 from scratch with a new I-129etc or just have the interview date for the K1 as the K3?

3) Is it a good idea to have a lawyer present at the interview?

4) Could it be an idea to legally get married but not declare it at the interview, then just get married at a courthouse once I get the K1 and submit this wedding document?

I am not here to deviate from the process but we are too deep in to the finances of the wedding for us to disappoint and have all the family lose money.

Please can you advise me and hopefully represent me once these questions have been cleared up.

Thanks

[immihelp]

Read https://www.immihelp.com/family-based-greencard/persons-in-us.html

[Russell]

I had a similar decision to make.

I have heard of people being denied K-1 VISAs when an embassy learns of the couple having a wedding ceremony (even a mock wedding with no marriage certificate).

My fiancee and I went ahead and planned a mock wedding before her K-1 VISA interview but I was careful to coach her not to mention anything at all about a wedding in her country.

None of my friends have actually married on their wedding date. They all have marriage certificates that were completed before the ceremony(usually to get their wives on the health insurance quicker). So I did the opposite and married first then did the marriage certificate hehe.

Our time line went something like set the wedding date for september, Got K-1 VISA interview date for september, interview, VISA arrived at her house, mock wedding in her country, flew home with my fiancee and my family all on the same airplanes, courthouse wedding, sent a wedding announcement to my remaining family that did not fly to my wife's country.