Hero

I was wondering if you guys can give me some insight about my issue.
I'm a US Citizen, I went to India in March, and I met/married a woman
there. I didn't know about DCF so I came back here and decided to do
the K3. Now, when I was in India, we didn't do a whole ritual
wedding, mainly because we didn't have time. We had about 150 people
invited to a ceremony, where we did a court marriage and that's it. I
left about 4 days after that, so we didn't have time for the fire and
the full-fledged Hindu/Guju ceremony. Now my wife will soon be going
for the interview in a few months, and I'm a little concerned about
our situation. Will they make a big deal out of the fact that we
didn't have the typical wedding?? Do they expect to see the fire and
horse and all that jazz? I mean, we have an album from the ceremony
that shows us placing the "haar" (wedding garland) on each other,
putting the rings on each other, and much of both of our familes were
there, and lots of their family friends (most of "my people" are in
the US). To add to it all, I do plan on going back in a few months,
doing the whole ritual portion, and bringing her back w/ me. I've
applied for her as my spouse......Any thoughts or advice??

EricL

Hero - I don't know how much of a trouble it will for you and your wife. I imagine they'll probably ask you a few more questions because it was done in court. It is good that you had 150 people there. That is definitely a plus. It's also good that you have pictures and members of both familes were there.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Hero

Thanks Eric. I feel the same way, I am trying to just have the
attitude that they are only trying to prevent fraud, and not cause any
trouble/issues for the sincere people. In any case, anyone else have
any ideas/suggestions/comments on this? I'd be curious to see if
other people have had any experience like this and can share their
specific experience. Thanks.


EricL <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Hero - I don't know how much of a trouble it will for you and your wife.
    > I imagine they'll probably ask you a few more questions because it was
    > done in court. It is good that you had 150 people there. That is
    > definitely a plus. It's also good that you have pictures and members of
    > both familes were there.
    >
    >
    >
    > Good luck and keep us updated.

Cypher

Your wife will definitely be questioned about why you didn't have a tradional wedding in addition to the court one.

Our wedding was done last year, we had a very small wedding only about 20 guests and had pictures from there and the reception and the pictures of us signing the necessary legal documents after the ceremony at the temple.

My wife was grilled for many hours about the size of our wedding. In addition, none of my family from the US (mainly parents, and siblings) could make it to the wedding. I had my paternal aunt and uncle as my witnesses.

So in these sort of unusual situations, the consulate staff get VERY thorough. My wife was interviewed 3 times. The last by an official investigator. But my wife answered the questions truthfully and explained the entire situation and she had no problems.

So that would be my advice to your wife, just be truthful and tell them about the time contrainst and whatever else and they'll understand.

Regards

IMhp

Hero,
I would take all the evidance that shows you had this wedding for real. Things such as receipts for Hall and other expenses, Photos of you and your wife before and after wedding along with wedding pictures. Any email conversation or transcript or phone bills. It is alwasy good to have it ready.

Ask your wife to be prepared for some extra questions.

Goodluck and keep us posted.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hero
Thanks Eric. I feel the same way, I am trying to just have the
attitude that they are only trying to prevent fraud, and not cause any
trouble/issues for the sincere people. In any case, anyone else have
any ideas/suggestions/comments on this? I'd be curious to see if
other people have had any experience like this and can share their
specific experience. Thanks.

Bc

We did the same thing but had our engagment and court marriage the
same day.
The guju maharaj performed the engagment ceremony and the magistrate
person came with the marriage certificate to have the guju maharaj as
witness. My wife came here on K3 visa as well. Makesure she have the
wedding invitation cards from your side and your wifes. Also full
Album, not just pictures in an envelope. Your wife will be asked why
didn't the religious ceremony performed and why you had to leave so
soon. Be truthful. I had sent back a my used plane ticket back to my
wife as proof that I did fly out right after the marriage. They
didn't ask for it but I didn't want to take any chances.
Also when she goes in for the interview makesure she looks like she is
a married women (having sindoor and mangalsutra). Also have a new
passport with married name (your wife name, then your name then your
last name) helped alot. Above all tell her to be confident.

Hope it helps out.
Good luck
bc.

[email protected] (Hero) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > I was wondering if you guys can give me some insight about my issue.
    > I'm a US Citizen, I went to India in March, and I met/married a woman
    > there. I didn't know about DCF so I came back here and decided to do
    > the K3. Now, when I was in India, we didn't do a whole ritual
    > wedding, mainly because we didn't have time. We had about 150 people
    > invited to a ceremony, where we did a court marriage and that's it. I
    > left about 4 days after that, so we didn't have time for the fire and
    > the full-fledged Hindu/Guju ceremony. Now my wife will soon be going
    > for the interview in a few months, and I'm a little concerned about
    > our situation. Will they make a big deal out of the fact that we
    > didn't have the typical wedding?? Do they expect to see the fire and
    > horse and all that jazz? I mean, we have an album from the ceremony
    > that shows us placing the "haar" (wedding garland) on each other,
    > putting the rings on each other, and much of both of our familes were
    > there, and lots of their family friends (most of "my people" are in
    > the US). To add to it all, I do plan on going back in a few months,
    > doing the whole ritual portion, and bringing her back w/ me. I've
    > applied for her as my spouse......Any thoughts or advice??

Post2000

[email protected] (bc) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > We did the same thing but had our engagment and court marriage the
    > same day.
    > The guju maharaj performed the engagment ceremony and the magistrate
    > person came with the marriage certificate to have the guju maharaj as
    > witness. My wife came here on K3 visa as well. Makesure she have the
    > wedding invitation cards from your side and your wifes. Also full
    > Album, not just pictures in an envelope. Your wife will be asked why
    > didn't the religious ceremony performed and why you had to leave so
    > soon. Be truthful. I had sent back a my used plane ticket back to my
    > wife as proof that I did fly out right after the marriage. They
    > didn't ask for it but I didn't want to take any chances.
    > Also when she goes in for the interview makesure she looks like she is
    > a married women (having sindoor and mangalsutra). Also have a new
    > passport with married name (your wife name, then your name then your
    > last name) helped alot. Above all tell her to be confident.
    >
    > Hope it helps out.
    > Good luck
    > bc.

Post2000

Hi everyone. I am new to this post. My situation is simlar to Hero's.
I am a U.S citizen of Indian heritage who has just married an Indian
girl. Like you, we had our engagement and marriage on the same day,
as time was tight during my trip to India. The engagement was done in
the afternoon in a hotel and we had much of both of our families there
(about 100 people). The marriage was performed in the night in a
temple, with only a small number of people (our immediate families- in
all only about 15 people). It was a very quiet and simple affair, and
the priest performed a full hindu marriage. We have a photo album
showing both the engagement and marriage. We registered the marriage
under the Hindu Marriage Act before I came back to the U.S. I am now
applying for a K3 visa for my wife.

Reading some of the posts, I am worried that the consulate will give
my wife a hard time because of our large engagement function, and
small marriage ceremony. bc and Cypher, can you please give an idea
of what specific questions were asked of your wives during their
interviews? And how did they explain the situation to the consulate -
i.e., why did you have a small marriage, or just an engagement
followed by a court marriage. Also, were your marriages registered
under the Hindu Marriage Act, or the Special Marriage Act? I would
greatly appreciate your help, as I am very worried. Thanks.















[email protected] (bc) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > We did the same thing but had our engagment and court marriage the
    > same day.
    > The guju maharaj performed the engagment ceremony and the magistrate
    > person came with the marriage certificate to have the guju maharaj as
    > witness. My wife came here on K3 visa as well. Makesure she have the
    > wedding invitation cards from your side and your wifes. Also full
    > Album, not just pictures in an envelope. Your wife will be asked why
    > didn't the religious ceremony performed and why you had to leave so
    > soon. Be truthful. I had sent back a my used plane ticket back to my
    > wife as proof that I did fly out right after the marriage. They
    > didn't ask for it but I didn't want to take any chances.
    > Also when she goes in for the interview makesure she looks like she is
    > a married women (having sindoor and mangalsutra). Also have a new
    > passport with married name (your wife name, then your name then your
    > last name) helped alot. Above all tell her to be confident.
    >
    > Hope it helps out.
    > Good luck
    > bc.

A. Chakra

I just want to add for the record that my wife DID NOT get her name
changed on her passport or my name endorsed on it after marriage, and
we had no problem with DCF. But then again, we had a full blown
wedding ceremony and ample pictures. But BC is probably right, if your
wife can get a new passport with her married name before you start the
K-3 process, that might make things easier.

[email protected] (bc) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > We did the same thing but had our engagment and court marriage the
    > same day.
    > The guju maharaj performed the engagment ceremony and the magistrate
    > person came with the marriage certificate to have the guju maharaj as
    > witness. My wife came here on K3 visa as well. Makesure she have the
    > wedding invitation cards from your side and your wifes. Also full
    > Album, not just pictures in an envelope. Your wife will be asked why
    > didn't the religious ceremony performed and why you had to leave so
    > soon. Be truthful. I had sent back a my used plane ticket back to my
    > wife as proof that I did fly out right after the marriage. They
    > didn't ask for it but I didn't want to take any chances.
    > Also when she goes in for the interview makesure she looks like she is
    > a married women (having sindoor and mangalsutra). Also have a new
    > passport with married name (your wife name, then your name then your
    > last name) helped alot. Above all tell her to be confident.
    >
    > Hope it helps out.
    > Good luck
    > bc.
    >
    > [email protected] (Hero) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > > I was wondering if you guys can give me some insight about my issue.
    > > I'm a US Citizen, I went to India in March, and I met/married a woman
    > > there. I didn't know about DCF so I came back here and decided to do
    > > the K3. Now, when I was in India, we didn't do a whole ritual
    > > wedding, mainly because we didn't have time. We had about 150 people
    > > invited to a ceremony, where we did a court marriage and that's it. I
    > > left about 4 days after that, so we didn't have time for the fire and
    > > the full-fledged Hindu/Guju ceremony. Now my wife will soon be going
    > > for the interview in a few months, and I'm a little concerned about
    > > our situation. Will they make a big deal out of the fact that we
    > > didn't have the typical wedding?? Do they expect to see the fire and
    > > horse and all that jazz? I mean, we have an album from the ceremony
    > > that shows us placing the "haar" (wedding garland) on each other,
    > > putting the rings on each other, and much of both of our familes were
    > > there, and lots of their family friends (most of "my people" are in
    > > the US). To add to it all, I do plan on going back in a few months,
    > > doing the whole ritual portion, and bringing her back w/ me. I've
    > > applied for her as my spouse......Any thoughts or advice??