# CR1 - married but no wedding, would this be a problem?



## brian2012 (Jan 15, 2012)

I'm Irish living in the UK, my wife is American. We met October 2011, got married June 2012 and she moved to the UK in September. When we got married, I was on a tourist visa, I mentioned to the border guard that I was getting married but I'm not sure he heard me as he didn't ask any questions. We went to a beach town for the weekend and just got married by a notary. No wedding, no family, no photos. We are planning on having a wedding in Florida in about a year with family and some friends.

My wife wants to move back to the US, so we're thinking about petitioning for a CR-1 visa for me, and I'm trying to spot any snags, could the lack of a wedding go against us?


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

brian2012 said:


> I'm Irish living in the UK, my wife is American. We met October 2011, got married June 2012 and she moved to the UK in September. When we got married, I was on a tourist visa, I mentioned to the border guard that I was getting married but I'm not sure he heard me as he didn't ask any questions. We went to a beach town for the weekend and just got married by a notary. No wedding, no family, no photos. We are planning on having a wedding in Florida in about a year with family and some friends.
> 
> My wife wants to move back to the US, so we're thinking about petitioning for a CR-1 visa for me, and I'm trying to spot any snags, could the lack of a wedding go against us?


Well you had the wedding albeit only with a notary present.

From doing some research on this it appears that Florida, Maine and South Carolina allow notaries to perform weddings. However further reading says that some additional qualifications/and the necessary paperwork to perform weddings is needed by Florida notaries. Presume you got married in Florida.

123notary.com has lists of authorised notaries.

I presume that your notary would not have conducted the ceremony unless they were qualified, and you have the necessary paperwork to prove its all legal.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

As a Florida notary I have quite done a few marriages 
with a foreign customer after they get the cert returned from the county office
they should get an apostille
Florida Division of Corporations - Notary Commissions and Apostille/Certification Sections

For a CR1 the US may have to return to the US to establish domicile
and get employment for the affidavit of support

spousal visa CR1
Immigrant Visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1 or CR1)


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## brian2012 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. I'm not worried about the validity of our marriage licence, I was more wondering if US immigration would be expecting us to prove our marriage is genuine, with part of that being wedding photos, as is often the case with UK immigration.

Also, Davis1, can I not be sponsored by a member of my wife's family? I thought I'd seen that mentioned several places.


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## brian2012 (Jan 15, 2012)

Bump! Can anyone answer my questions?


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

brian2012 said:


> Bump! Can anyone answer my questions?


Hi Brian2012:

Can you produce any of these:
_
Note: Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage
The USCIS now requires that when filing an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bonifide marriage. They list examples of acceptable evidence as:
1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or
2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or
3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or
4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or
5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or
6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union._

from VisaJourney - Your US Immigration Community


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

Sorry it copied funny. But go to that website I listed. People will have more knowledge of of Cr1 visas and will be able to assist you!


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## brian2012 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks for the reply 2fargone. 

2 : We rent an apartment together, but the lease is in my name with her listed as a tenant - this is due to her not having a job when we moved in, would this count?

3: Our finances are seperate at this time in theory, though i pay all the bills and my wife pays for everything else, I guess we should open a joint account and pay everything from that. Several of the bills are in both our names, would this count?

5: I'm sure we could get these from family and friends, though I would imagine they carry the least weight out of all.


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

brian2012 said:


> Thanks for the reply 2fargone.
> 
> 2 : We rent an apartment together, but the lease is in my name with her listed as a tenant - this is due to her not having a job when we moved in, would this count?
> 
> ...


Hi Brian2012

I am really not the best to advise you. But I really would tell you to check out visajourney.com it's a great site.

2. Yes I would send in the lease it shows you have lived together. 

3. Yes, I would send this in because it shows again you live together and you both are paying bills together to contribute to the household. 

5. I read that they need to come from US citizens. ( I have not confirmed that so please don't quote me on that) And yes I would agree they would carry the least amount of weight.

What about trips you took together? Receipts? 

Go over everything that is required and the forms. But I think you have enough.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

brian2012 said:


> Thanks for the replies. I'm not worried about the validity of our marriage licence, I was more wondering if US immigration would be expecting us to prove our marriage is genuine, with part of that being wedding photos, as is often the case with UK immigration.
> 
> Also, Davis1, can I not be sponsored by a member of my wife's family? I thought I'd seen that mentioned several places.


When you go to the Consulate for the visa interview ...then present all the evidence required
your spouse has to be the sponsor .. but a Co-sponsor may be added if required


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## brian2012 (Jan 15, 2012)

Davis1 said:


> When you go to the Consulate for the visa interview ...then present all the evidence required
> your spouse has to be the sponsor .. but a Co-sponsor may be added if required


Yes, I was addressing more this:


Davis1 said:


> For a CR1 the US may have to return to the US to establish domicile
> and get employment for the affidavit of support


I have read some more, and there isn't actually any need for my wife to return to the US and set up there, as we can be cosponsored, as you pointed out above, through a DCF. "May have to" doesn't really do me any favours.

I have to say, the UK forum on here was invaluable for my wife moving to the UK, with several people who give exacting and in depth replies that were always great advice, whereas this forum, not so much. I'll take my queries to visajourney.


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

Hi Brian2012

I am just looking at all that is required. So I don't want to give you the wrong information. That's why I said have a look at visajourney. The search function at the top right of the website is excellent. All the documents you need are there, and the website walks you through the process.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

brian2012 said:


> Yes, I was addressing more this:
> 
> I have read some more, and there isn't actually any need for my wife to return to the US and set up there, as we can be cosponsored, as you pointed out above, through a DCF. "May have to" doesn't really do me any favours.
> 
> I have to say, the UK forum on here was invaluable for my wife moving to the UK, with several people who give exacting and in depth replies that were always great advice, whereas this forum, not so much. I'll take my queries to visajourney.


What further information do you require?

To find out further details of the CR-1 you can look here:

USCIS - Spouse

You wife will need to sponsor you. If she has no income/resources, then family can co-sponsor you. She and the co-sponsor will need to provide all details of income/assets etc.

The financial requirements are earnings which are 125% of poverty level in the US.

If no earnings then I believe its savings of 3 times the 125% of poverty level limits. 

See here for current poverty levels:

2012 HHS Poverty Guidelines

To prove your bona fide marriage you need to present all identifying documents you can: joint tenancy agreements, bank accounts, utility bills etc.

You can apply by Direct consular filing in the UK.

Just a point to remember, since your wife only arrived in the UK in September 2012, so has no permanent residency and certainly not citizenship, if she leaves the UK and is away for 2 years or more her 'status' in the UK will lapse and she will need to re-apply for spouse visa again. Just something to note.


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## brian2012 (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks for your reply Crawford. It's not so much that I need more information, just that I've been given advice that isn't true, and when I enquired further got no reply for days. That just doesn't happen on the UK forum, if someone says something incorrect the mods and/or users clear it up immediately. Thank you for your imformation however, it's extremely helpful.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

brian2012 said:


> Thanks for your reply Crawford. It's not so much that I need more information, just that I've been given advice that isn't true, and when I enquired further got no reply for days. That just doesn't happen on the UK forum, if someone says something incorrect the mods and/or users clear it up immediately. Thank you for your imformation however, it's extremely helpful.


If you received incorrect information why do you not point it out and give the correct answer including the appropriate link for other users to have instead of pointing fingers?


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