Marriage certificate for I-485

[BTalley 0]

Svetlana and I are to be married on Dec. 22. Her K1 expires on Jan. 20.

I talked to the chapel at which I will be married and told them I would need to take the marriage certificate to the records office myself so that I would have a certified copy to send with AOS.

Chapel spokesman says I can have copy with Minister's signature, but that it will not be notarized --- but that Minister's signature is good for many legal things (name change, etc.).

I called USCIS, and they basically read me something out of their handbook which only served to confuse me.

USCIS seemed to say that I can send in a copy of marriage certificate without it being notarized, but that they likely would request a notarized copy later.

But what I need to know is this --- if I apply for AOS before Jan. 20 and send in marriage certificate without it being notarized, will my wife's status be jeopardized?

[TayRivers 4]

Svetlana and I are to be married on Dec. 22. Her K1 expires on Jan. 20.

I talked to the chapel at which I will be married and told them I would need to take the marriage certificate to the records office myself so that I would have a certified copy to send with AOS.

Chapel spokesman says I can have copy with Minister's signature, but that it will not be notarized --- but that Minister's signature is good for many legal things (name change, etc.).

I called USCIS, and they basically read me something out of their handbook which only served to confuse me.

USCIS seemed to say that I can send in a copy of marriage certificate without it being notarized, but that they likely would request a notarized copy later.

But what I need to know is this --- if I apply for AOS before Jan. 20 and send in marriage certificate without it being notarized, will my wife's status be jeopardized?

You take the certificate of marriage that the Minister gives you to your records office where you got the license from and they will send you a Marriage Certificate with the raised seal on it confirming that it is a legal marriage. That is what you send a photocopy of to USCIS along with your application for AOS.

[Dakine 26]

Svetlana and I are to be married on Dec. 22. Her K1 expires on Jan. 20.

I talked to the chapel at which I will be married and told them I would need to take the marriage certificate to the records office myself so that I would have a certified copy to send with AOS.

Chapel spokesman says I can have copy with Minister's signature, but that it will not be notarized --- but that Minister's signature is good for many legal things (name change, etc.).

I called USCIS, and they basically read me something out of their handbook which only served to confuse me.

USCIS seemed to say that I can send in a copy of marriage certificate without it being notarized, but that they likely would request a notarized copy later.

But what I need to know is this --- if I apply for AOS before Jan. 20 and send in marriage certificate without it being notarized, will my wife's status be jeopardized?

You DONOT have to file for AOS before K1 visas expire. You will need a Certified MC from the State/ County where the marriage occurred.

Your wifes status will NOT be a problem unless she leaves the country without AP or GC.

Edited December 4, 2008 by Haole

[aravis227 1]

I believe the marriage certificate does NOT need to be notarized to file for AOS, we received two copies, so we sent a notarized one since we had it...but I think I've read here that it is not required (it used to be, but USCIS changed their policy). The priest should send it on (perhaps if you talk to him ahead of time he can make sure to hurry it on...my priest sent it immediately because he knew how important it was for us). We had the notarized copies from the county clerk within two weeks of our marriage.

[BTalley 0]

You DONOT have to file for AOS before K1 visas expire. You will need a Certified MC from the State/ County where the marriage occurred.

Huh? I thought the entire point was to do it immediately so immigrant would not be illegal.

I know I will get a certified copy from state/county eventually . . . I just need to know 1) if I have to send it with AOS and 2) if I have to apply for AOS before Jan. 20.

If I can file for AOS after Jan. 20, then everything I have read has been unclear.

[aravis227 1]

You DONOT have to file for AOS before K1 visas expire. You will need a Certified MC from the State/ County where the marriage occurred.

Huh? I thought the entire point was to do it immediately so immigrant would not be illegal.

I know I will get a certified copy from state/county eventually . . . I just need to know 1) if I have to send it with AOS and 2) if I have to apply for AOS before Jan. 20.

If I can file for AOS after Jan. 20, then everything I have read has been unclear.

You do NOT have to file before Jan.20 You have to MARRY before Jan.20, which you are. I think you have indefinite time after that to file...the sooner the better, obviously...but you won't be denied for filing afterwards.

[TayRivers 4]

You DONOT have to file for AOS before K1 visas expire. You will need a Certified MC from the State/ County where the marriage occurred.

Huh? I thought the entire point was to do it immediately so immigrant would not be illegal.

I know I will get a certified copy from state/county eventually . . . I just need to know 1) if I have to send it with AOS and 2) if I have to apply for AOS before Jan. 20.

If I can file for AOS after Jan. 20, then everything I have read has been unclear.

you do not need to file before Jan 20th, you can file when you are ready, some people take a few weeks after the I-94 has expired to file and some wait a few years. All it means is that your spouse can not work or leave the US until they have filed for AOS and EAD and AP.

[YuAndDan 153]

simple photocopy of the certificte is all that is needed when filing AOS.

Per USCIS:

USCIS no longer routinely requires submission of original documents or "certified copies." Instead, ordinary legible photocopies of such documents (including naturalization certificates and alien registration cards) will be acceptable for initial filing and approval of petitions and applications.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

[SonoranSongbird 3]

USCIS seemed to say that I can send in a copy of marriage certificate without it being notarized, but that they likely would request a notarized copy later.

But what I need to know is this --- if I apply for AOS before Jan. 20 and send in marriage certificate without it being notarized, will my wife's status be jeopardized?

You take the certificate of marriage that the Minister gives you to your records office where you got the license from and they will send you a Marriage Certificate with the raised seal on it confirming that it is a legal marriage. That is what you send a photocopy of to USCIS along with your application for AOS.

Yes, you need to do what TayRivers suggested. What the minister (and you two and your witnesses) sign does not become a marriage certificate until the County Clerk (or whatever agency it is where you live) puts an official seal on it. So even though you can send a photocopy, it has to be a photocopy of the certified copy of your actual marriage certificate that you get from the county clerk, not just a copy of the signed marriage license.

What USCIS meant--and should have said---was that you can send them a photocopy but need to have a CERTIFIED COPY (certified, not notarized) in case they ask to see this at the interview (and you would need to order a certified copy in order to have something to photocopy in the first place). You will probably need to use copies of this for other things (name change, if she opts to change her name, adding her to your benefits at work, sometimes even adding her name to the utility bills) so the advantage of sending only a photocopy is that you only need to pay for one certified copy.

One other thing---when you bring back the signed marriage license after the ceremony, you can ask them for a certified copy in person rather than having to wait for them to send one to you. This is what we did and had no problems, although it probably varies from county to county. It is worth asking though.

[chris-lei 1]

You have it all mixed up, huh?

MC need not be notarized. You just need to get a certifid copy of your MC at the county record where you are married.

You can file for AOS even after Jan 20. Jan 20 is the deadline of your 90-day limit for the 2 of you to get married. If you file AOS beyond 6 months of your marriage date, you will have to file for I130 together with I485. Added charge for I130, $300++ I think.

So filing for AOS immediately after marriage will actually save you some bucks.

If you dont file for AOS, EAD and AP, your wife can't go outside US and can't work.

[Old Dominion 26]

Just a feeling in my bones, but I suggest you let the minister do what is usually done -- the minister usually sends the paperwork to the court clerk. A few days later you can go get a certified copy or two of your marriage certificate. Asking a clerk to record a marriage on the spot, and issue a certified copy, might overwhelm a typical desk clerk.

[sasaqlain 24]

Here is how we did it. I am here on a B-1 Visa. Got married our own religious way. Mailed the form with just the signatures of the marrying official to the Cityclerk and they sent us the MC in mail within a week. No need to notarize anything. Simply attach a photocopy of your MC to you AOS and good luck.

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Some offices are slower about returning it by mail than others. One of the couples in the Canada forum had to wait about 6 weeks for theirs. Again, it all varies by county. You can ask about it when you get your marriage license. We got ours on the spot with no problem.