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nw25th
Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Location: Daejeon
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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Okay. Someone let me grasp details here (Marriage is slated in the next couple of months), and I don't want to somehow ruin an F-2 visa.
What is it that K-immi isn't recognizing as official documents, their own, or the ones that 'were/are' issued from our embassies?
Is a way around this to simply go to your native country and get a marriage license there?
Should one wait to do Korean documents here until they go to their own country (US/CAN) and get the license there? (someone is saying you can't get married twice---is this referring to the Embassy doc that isn't recognized anymore?)
)@(#$*& this is confusingly stupid. |
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wooden nickels
Joined: 23 May 2010
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| hondaicivic wrote: |
| Radius wrote: |
| So what does this mean, if you get married to a Korean in Korea you can't get an F class visa? You're stuck with an E2? I'd shoot myself. |
Just do yourself a favor and don't get married. Period. |
I'm happily married.  |
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War Eagle
Joined: 15 Feb 2009
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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I received a couple pms and there are many questions asked. I am going to the gu office, the embassy and immigration this afternoon. I will respond when I return.
Wish us luck. |
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crossmr

Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| nw25th wrote: |
Okay. Someone let me grasp details here (Marriage is slated in the next couple of months), and I don't want to somehow ruin an F-2 visa.
What is it that K-immi isn't recognizing as official documents, their own, or the ones that 'were/are' issued from our embassies?
Is a way around this to simply go to your native country and get a marriage license there?
Should one wait to do Korean documents here until they go to their own country (US/CAN) and get the license there? (someone is saying you can't get married twice---is this referring to the Embassy doc that isn't recognized anymore?)
)@(#$*& this is confusingly stupid. |
The document that was issued before was a kind of joint document. You started at your embassy, swore you aren't already married, took it to the gu office they stamped it and then you took it back to the embassy for a final stamp. That doc is no longer being issued. It was your marriage certificate from the embassy, essentially. You can still get married, the problem is the korean marriage certificate is insufficient they want proof from your home country that you're married, but most countries don't actually don't do that. |
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nick70100
Joined: 09 Sep 2005
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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| crossmr wrote: |
| nw25th wrote: |
Okay. Someone let me grasp details here (Marriage is slated in the next couple of months), and I don't want to somehow ruin an F-2 visa.
What is it that K-immi isn't recognizing as official documents, their own, or the ones that 'were/are' issued from our embassies?
Is a way around this to simply go to your native country and get a marriage license there?
Should one wait to do Korean documents here until they go to their own country (US/CAN) and get the license there? (someone is saying you can't get married twice---is this referring to the Embassy doc that isn't recognized anymore?)
)@(#$*& this is confusingly stupid. |
The document that was issued before was a kind of joint document. You started at your embassy, swore you aren't already married, took it to the gu office they stamped it and then you took it back to the embassy for a final stamp. That doc is no longer being issued. It was your marriage certificate from the embassy, essentially. You can still get married, the problem is the korean marriage certificate is insufficient they want proof from your home country that you're married, but most countries don't actually don't do that. |
To add a bit more detail, from what I understand, immigration wants to know that the mariage is "registered" and legally recognized in your home country, including verification that you weren't already married to someone else back home. They're trying to crack down on marriage scams apparently. The document that the embassy used to issue was basically meaningless. They had you sign a sworn affidavit that said you weren't already married but they didn't actually do any checking to verify it. The reason is because they simply can't do it. The federal government and hence the embassy have no access to this sort of information. In the US, marriage licenses are issued by state governments.
This is the stand-still as far as I understand it. Korean immigration is asking for a document that the US embassy simply can't give. In Korea it's as simple as a government worker typing a person's id number into a computer and printing out his or her marriage status. So they're expecting the same thing from foreigners. The problem is no such centralized database like this exists in the US. |
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Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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| This won't affect renewing an F-2 you all ready have, will it? |
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sonicmatt
Joined: 04 Oct 2007
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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| so if i want to get married this year, would just getting married in korea suffice? or would we have to get married back in a us territory and come back here? |
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nw25th
Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Location: Daejeon
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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Yikes.
Okay. So, what I should do is wait until the both of us are back in the US (two months after our wedding here in Korea) to get a marriage license from my state? Then we would do Korean wedding documentation here after?
Would getting Korean documents done here first then create a problem for getting a marriage license in the US? Or is this irrelevant? Is this main problem because when people have gone to the US Embassy they get this affidavit that states "you're married," and that is now a legal binding federal document that isn't recognized by Korea?
Bottom-line...is it fine to sign Korean wedding documents before going back to the US and getting a marriage license? |
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ThingsComeAround

Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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this is FUBAR.
probably a reach to stop marriage scams, but that won't really stop. As a man seeking to settle down in a few months, I'd like to stay on top of this topic.
crossmr, what other embassies worked out deals? I'm guessing ASEAN countries to keep farmers happy? |
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Drew10
Joined: 31 Mar 2009
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank god I got married in the states...this sounds like a giant nightmare. |
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eat_yeot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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| conrad2 wrote: |
| So are you saying that you were married at the US embassy after January 1st 2011 and that they issued you a marriage certificate? |
Got married after Jan 1 of this year. Got my F-2 visa a couple weeks ago. American, FWIW. |
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crossmr

Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:41 am Post subject: |
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| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
this is FUBAR.
probably a reach to stop marriage scams, but that won't really stop. As a man seeking to settle down in a few months, I'd like to stay on top of this topic.
crossmr, what other embassies worked out deals? I'm guessing ASEAN countries to keep farmers happy? |
I think I heard someone say Ireland worked out a deal. I don't know what other countries have worked out deals.
| Quote: |
| Would getting Korean documents done here first then create a problem for getting a marriage license in the US? Or is this irrelevant? Is this main problem because when people have gone to the US Embassy they get this affidavit that states "you're married," and that is now a legal binding federal document that isn't recognized by Korea? |
The problem is that you more or less can't. You're married in Korea. the US recognizes that marriage and it's valid, but I don't think you can get a marriage certificate issued from there because you weren't married there. Hence the initial problem. |
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War Eagle
Joined: 15 Feb 2009
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:13 am Post subject: |
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| UPDATED in OP. |
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eat_yeot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 4:22 am Post subject: Re: New F-2 Rules for US Citizens (Updated) |
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| War Eagle wrote: |
With that said, the lady at Immigration did recommend for us to legalize the marriage in the US as it would save us a lot of headache. |
Been there, done that. Not necessary.
Go to the embassy to get the notarization.
Go to the gu office to get married.
Go back to gu office for marriage certificate (or some other official document. Not sure exactly what it was. You may be able to get it on your first visit, but my wife had to go back and get it.)
Go to immigration for F-2.
In addition to the documents you listed (didn't ask for financial guarantee), they asked for photos from our wedding. |
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War Eagle
Joined: 15 Feb 2009
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 4:29 am Post subject: Re: New F-2 Rules for US Citizens (Updated) |
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| eat_yeot wrote: |
| War Eagle wrote: |
With that said, the lady at Immigration did recommend for us to legalize the marriage in the US as it would save us a lot of headache. |
Been there, done that. Not necessary.
Go to the embassy to get the notarization.
Go to the gu office to get married.
Go back to gu office for marriage certificate (or some other official document. Not sure exactly what it was. You may be able to get it on your first visit, but my wife had to go back and get it.)
Go to immigration for F-2.
In addition to the documents you listed (didn't ask for financial guarantee), they asked for photos from our wedding. |
I am sorry man. But, the order you listed those things doesn't make sense to me. You visited the Embassy for a notification BEFORE the legal marriage at the gu office and you didn't have to go to the Embassy AFTER the legal marriage? You just took your Korean Marriage Cert to Immi?
Can you provide the dates that you completed the paperwork please.
EDIT: Changed Immi to Embassy (It's been a long day) |
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