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Hello Gents,

Just want to know if it is possible to be married ceremonially or religiously BEFORE being legally married in Colombia? Will a minister marry a couple without all the legal paperwork.

I do realize such a marriage won't be legally valid but it perhaps could carry some weight for the couple.

~Henry Andre'

... in response to Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by hwalker7 on Jun 17, 2003

We got married in a Catholic church then returned some time later to pick up some document at the church office. This had to be brought to the bishops offices in El Centro for verification or something. We had to return the next day to pick it up so that we could then take it to the notory. The notory had it for a week before we finally got our certified marriage certificate. We started to leave with one original and my wife said no she better go back for a second, that the embassy would only accept an original. What embassy!?! I asked. Why the US embassy she replied. So that little notion is still ticking away in her head. Who was it said "Hope springs eternal"?

... in response to Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by hwalker7 on Jun 17, 2003

I have read some of the responses to your post, but don't agree... I personally know that YES, you can have a priest perform a marriage ceremony without having a prior civil ceremony in Colombia... Then you are still open to pursue a K-1 fiancee visa and have a civil ceremony in the USA...

Some have followed this course because they feel that being married in the USA offers some advantage... Especially if things don't go well in the marriage and you have to get a divorce...

... in response to Re: Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by wizard on Jun 18, 2003

Well, I'm neither the Bishop of Cali nor a Colombian lawyer, so I could be wrong, but....of course the priest will do a wedding cermony without their being a prior civil ceromony, but what the priest WON'T do is perform a 'doesn't count' church wedding...a Catholic wedding IS legally binding in Colombia (and therefor, also legally binding as far as BCIS is concerned) and I've never met a priest yet (or for that matter, any ordained Protestant minister either) who will say "Sure, just come on down to my church and we'll put on a show for her parents and the photographer".....it's the full deal or no deal.

If hwalker7 is trying to have a cermoney for her family and still perserve their K-1 rights, the best he can do is have a nice reception. If, at the reception, the couple wants to make a speach professing their love for each other, there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

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It's a real shame that the US law doesn't expand the K-1 rights from 'must marry within 90 days after s/he enters' to say 'or, after the visa is granted, the couple may marry in the the foreign partner's home country and the visa is still valid up to 30 (or even 60) days after the ceremony'......that would make a lot of ladies (and their families) extreemly happy and would be no skin off the US government's nose, because the fees would still be paid, the background checks etc. would still be done....sounds a lot like the K-3, doesn't it? But not quite, with a K-3 you are already married before you file (and do the long wait as a married couple who can't be together, unless the groom is rich enough to blow off his job and live in her country 4 to 6 months), the way I'm suggesting, you do the long wait as fiancees, just like you do now, but you CAN have a legit ceremony in her home country (maybe even in the church she was christened and/or had her first communion in...if the lady is pretty devout or sentemential, that could mean a lot to her) and of course what father does NOT want to walk his little girl down the isle? The current US law is pretty unfair, in that it denies her family the right to participate in her wedding.

Sorry for the rant, it's not aimed at you or hwalker7 in particular, just stating that our Congress could have thought it through a little better and spared a lot of good people a lot of greif.

... in response to Re: Re: Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by Michael B on Jun 18, 2003

No offense taken... Sometimes you just gotta rant once in a while...

I know a girl from Colombia that had a church ceremony in Bogota, then came to the US on a K-1 and married a gringo in a civil ceremony in the US... Maybe this was an exception, but I know for a fact it happened...

... in response to Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by hwalker7 on Jun 17, 2003

Actually if I ever come around to marry Colombian woman, I want to have a ceremony in Colombia so her family can attend and it is much much cheaper. Then bring her in on fiancee visa and conduct an official marriage. I am sure ceremony is easily arranged in Colombia.

... in response to Re: Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by Kit on Jun 18, 2003

Not likely.

No priest would conduct the ceremony on an unmarried couple, and for 95% of Colombians the only ceremony that family would attend would be at a notary or one conducted by a priest.

... in response to Ceremonial Marriage In Colombia?, posted by hwalker7 on Jun 17, 2003

What exactaly is it you're trying to accomplish? "Carry some weight" What does that mean??? Sure you could have a ceremony, if you can find a preacher who is willing, but I doubt you will find such a preacher. You could also jump over a broom or throw feathers in the air, if that's your thing, but neither "carries any weight" with the US for visa purposes nor with Colombia, I expect.  

Most people ask this question because the want her family and friends to be able to attend but don't want to ruin their pending K-1......again, what is it you're trying to accomplish?

... in response to ???, posted by Michael B on Jun 18, 2003


"Carry some weight" simply means getting married in the eyes of God, commitment, and honoring the family. As acknowledged in my initial post, I know that such a "marriage" is LEGALLY invalid.

If in fact no preacher would do it, then it is all a moot point.

Thanks,

Henry Andre'