Are you wondering if engagement rings or wedding rings are required by immigration?
Hi, I’m Attorney Megan Pastrana of Immigration for Couples and my firm is dedicated exclusively to assisting couples across the nation and across the world in navigating the US immigration process.
We receive this question a lot recently from our clients who are going through the interview phase of their case or from individuals who are just starting out on their immigration journey. There seems to be a rumor going around that engagement rings or wedding rings are required. That immigration is going to require or want to see that as part of your relationship evidence.
The answer is no, that’s actually not an official requirement but it’s important to remember that in the immigration process, you’re applying for a benefit. You’re applying to receive an immigration benefit for your green card and part of that requirement is showing immigration that you have a real relationship.
There are a lot of different categories of relationship evidence. Sentimental evidence include photos, letters of support from friends, and wedding rings or engagement rings are included as well. None of them are necessarily required but it’s your burden at the end of the day, to show immigration that you have a real relationship based on love.
What we tell our clients to do is just do you. What would you do as a couple outside of the immigration context? And if engagement rings or wedding rings would be part of that, then do that. If not, then you’ll just want to be prepared to answer questions about why you might not have an engagement ring.
We’ve even had couples where engagement rings or wedding rings weren’t their thing but they got a tattoo with each other’s names or some kind of special symbol to memorialize their union.
The short answer is no, it’s not required but you are still required to prove your relationship and it’s just a matter of telling your unique story of love to immigration.
