Marriage Registration: India / Canada

[gladiator80 0]

Hi

I got married to a US citizen in India last year in a religious ceremony and later found that we cannot get it registered in the time frame that we had (first it is done under special marriage act and second it u have to give a 30 days notice period before getting it registered and both set of parent have to stay put in india for this duration. we had our flights booked) . my wife and her parents went to US and I came to canada. Now for applying my Immigrant Visa we got married here in Canada- a civil marriage after about a month of coming back, got the certificate and applied for my CR1 visa.

Now the dilemma that i have is that whether i can tell the interviewer that we had a religious marriage ceremony in india and then got married in Canada again. I am not sure if you can do that. Secondly as it was just a civil marriage and none of our parents were here in canada for the ceremony which might raise suspicion in the minds of the interviewer. They do ask for pictures of the wedding where your parents and relatives need to be present for which i would need to show them the wedding albums from india.

Please advise

Thanks in advance

Edited January 16, 2010 by gladiator80

[canadian_wife 1,808]

Sure you can tell the CO that you had a ceremony in Inida, why not? You're legally married and applying for a spousal visa. Submit the documentation from Canada but include that you were part of a religious ceremony in India.

Good luck.

[gladiator80 0]

However dont you think that they would have a problem with me getting married twice. I mean can you legally do that? We were already married in India when we applied for a marriage licence and a civil marriage in Canada. Only reason was that we couldnt get it legally registered in the time frame that we had.

Please show some light on the dilemma. I would really appreciate it.

[canadian_wife 1,808]

Is the marriage in India legally recognized in the US? If it is not, then you simply had a ceremony in Inida and a wedding in Canada (which is what I thought when I first read your post since you said it was not registered)

[gladiator80 0]

the marriage in india is not legally valid. Generally in India you have a religious wedding and then afterwards get it registered with local marriage registrar (which is not compulsary). We also went to the office and were told that it is not possible to register it under Hindu marriage act( as she was a US citizen living abroad) and that we will have to do a civil marriage under special marriage act . The time it would have took was like atleast 30 days and thus we couldnt do it in india. So Imidiately after coming to canada we applied for a civil marriage and got married.

I need serious advice on the matter... I would really appreciate it..

Edited January 17, 2010 by gladiator80

[canadian_wife 1,808]

In this situation I don't seen any cause for concern. You had a legal wedding and a hindu ceremony. Many, MANY couples have a religious ceremony and a civil wedding and that is not an issue. Your ceremony in India was not a legal marriage so you did not get married twice.

You should submit your marriage cert. from Canada and explain your hindu ceremony in India. You did nothing wrong and I don't even see a reason to be concerned.

Good luck.

[trailmix 77]

I'm not sure why you are concerned, if you are absolutey 100% sure that your marriage in India was not a 'legal' marriage (in the eyes of the government).

Perhaps this will help, this is the description the Department of State gives in their reciprocity table, regarding marriage certificates from India:

Marriage Certificates link

Available. The Hindu and Muslim communities do not usually register marriages, however, marriages by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs may be voluntarily registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of l955. This Act does not apply to Muslims, Parsis, Jews or Christians, who may register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act of l954, or the Christian Marriage Act. Marriage certificates for marriages registered under these Acts may be obtained from the offices of Government Registrar of Marriages, which are located in the headquarters of each district. The certificate will be issued by the Registrar only if the bride and groom personally appear before the official and pay the required fee.

A certificate of marriage between Muslims is usually issued by the priest who performed the ceremony. The document is in the Urdu language, and a certified translation is required. Marriages between Christians are usually obtainable from Church records. If the marriage has not been officially registered, then two sworn affidavits giving the names, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, and the date and place of marriage, as well as the names of the parents of both parties are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

Note: A document termed as "Marriage Agreement" or "Deed of Marriage" to live as man and wife (under the Registration Act of l908) is not confirmation of a marriage solemnized legally under the Indian Marriage Acts now in force. Such a document does not confer upon the contracting parties’ legal marital status under the law.

[gladiator80 0]

thanks trailmix and canadian wife. i agree with you...

Any more views on this anyone?

[sdhiman 0]

Gladiator:

I did the same, religious wedding in India and court wedding in Toronto. As TM and Canadian_wife mentioned, the wedding in India is just considered a ceremony not legal wedding. I had my personal reasons for chosing to do so but since the marriage is not registered in India, you should be OK

[gladiator80 0]

Thank you so much Sdhiman. Please do let us know how the interview goes. And yes , wish you all the best for feburary.