Wedding in the US - required documentation

[Badgerella 5]

My wife and I were married in Minnesota 18 months ago. Minnesota law says a Social Security Number is required, but they don't enforce it. In fact, at the time I called an immigration attorney about this and he told me only one county in Minnesota had been enforcing this rule with K1 visas and they had agreed to stop under threat of lawsuit. In Minnesota there is a 5 day waiting period after the marriage license is issued before you can marry. Only one person needs to be present when the license is issued so I got the license on July 18 even though my fiancee did not arrive until August 4. When my wife got copies and translations of her birth certificate and divorce decree she had two sets made and sent one set to me. These were the only official documents I had and I was able to obtain a marriage license with them.

How long does it take to get the SSN?

Does this mean I need to have my birth certificate translated to English, too?

Uhh. The more I read, the more I get confused, actually. =/

[Mary and Jeff 0]

Depending where you live, you could just drive over to South Dakota and get it done in the same day...

Minnesota has a 5 day waiting period and it'll cost you $110 unless you take 12 hours of premarital education then it is $40.

South Dakota has no waiting period and costs $40 regardless...

[SWA2 1]

My wife and I were married in Minnesota 18 months ago. Minnesota law says a Social Security Number is required, but they don't enforce it. In fact, at the time I called an immigration attorney about this and he told me only one county in Minnesota had been enforcing this rule with K1 visas and they had agreed to stop under threat of lawsuit. In Minnesota there is a 5 day waiting period after the marriage license is issued before you can marry. Only one person needs to be present when the license is issued so I got the license on July 18 even though my fiancee did not arrive until August 4. When my wife got copies and translations of her birth certificate and divorce decree she had two sets made and sent one set to me. These were the only official documents I had and I was able to obtain a marriage license with them.

How long does it take to get the SSN?

Does this mean I need to have my birth certificate translated to English, too?

Uhh. The more I read, the more I get confused, actually. =/

No, you will not need a Social Security Number to get married in Minnesota. Yes, you will need a copy of your birth certificate at your interview. Foreign documents usually must be accompanied with English translations. See the attached link. It looks like you may not need a translation for the interview based on the information at the link as long as the birth certificate is in English or Croatian (Slovene, Bosnian, Serbian). However, I would think you would want a translation when you apply for a marriage license as the chances that someone at the county courthouse can read Croatian are probably zero and none.

http://zagreb.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant/checklist.html

[Badgerella 5]

My wife and I were married in Minnesota 18 months ago. Minnesota law says a Social Security Number is required, but they don't enforce it. In fact, at the time I called an immigration attorney about this and he told me only one county in Minnesota had been enforcing this rule with K1 visas and they had agreed to stop under threat of lawsuit. In Minnesota there is a 5 day waiting period after the marriage license is issued before you can marry. Only one person needs to be present when the license is issued so I got the license on July 18 even though my fiancee did not arrive until August 4. When my wife got copies and translations of her birth certificate and divorce decree she had two sets made and sent one set to me. These were the only official documents I had and I was able to obtain a marriage license with them.

How long does it take to get the SSN?

Does this mean I need to have my birth certificate translated to English, too?

Uhh. The more I read, the more I get confused, actually. =/

No, you will not need a Social Security Number to get married in Minnesota. Yes, you will need a copy of your birth certificate at your interview. Foreign documents usually must be accompanied with English translations. See the attached link. It looks like you may not need a translation for the interview based on the information at the link as long as the birth certificate is in English or Croatian (Slovene, Bosnian, Serbian). However, I would think you would want a translation when you apply for a marriage license as the chances that someone at the county courthouse can read Croatian are probably zero and none.

http://zagreb.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant/checklist.html

I know what exactly I need for the interview at the Embassy. None of the documents need translation, at this point.

What I'm not sure is the getting married part, which will be happening in the US.. =/

[scandal 951]

What I'm not sure is the getting married part, which will be happening in the US.. =/

As others have stated, this is all county-specific.

Whereas immigration law is a federal matter and thus we all consistently have the same rules applied regardless of where we live in the US, marriage is very much a local matter (subject of course to US constitutional protections such as the 14th amendment).

Most likely, the county where your finace lives in Minnesota publishes its guidelines online and you can see them for yourself with a simple Google search. If you tell us his county, we can help you locate it. (e.g. does he live in the Twin Cities? Minneapolis/St. Paul? Or in Rochester? Duluth?)

Where I live in Dupage county Illinois, the requirements are online at http://www.dupageco.org/countyclerk/generic.cfm?doc_id=622

Identification and proof of age are required of all persons. Any of the following documents will be accepted:

* A valid U.S. driver’s license.

* A valid U.S. state identification card.

* A valid U.S. passport.

* A valid U.S. military identification card.

If you do not have any of the above forms of identification, then you must present two (2) of the following pieces of identification:

* A certified copy of a birth certificate.

* A baptismal record (the date of birth of the applicant must appear on this record).

* A valid foreign passport.

* U.S. naturalization papers.

* A valid U.S. resident alien card.

* A life insurance policy, which has been in effect for one (1) year (the applicant’s date of birth must appear on the document).

* All consulate identification cards. Affidavits are not acceptable.

Since my fiancee will not have any of the first 4 items, she will need 2 of the latter set. She will have her passport of course - that's one. And she has already obtained her certified copy of Birth certificate as the second item, precisely because of this requirement. I suggest you may want to do the same. It certainly can't hurt, as others have stated.

By the way, you DON'T have to marry in the county (or the state) where you live. Somebody suggested going to South Dakota. You can also consider hopping a flight to Vegas and getting married in an Elvis drive through.

Nevada marriages are famously lax in their requirements: http://www.vegas.com/weddings/legal.html

[Old Dominion 26]

There are many original documents that you will need to carry with you for other reasons than the marriage. Your birth certificate, educational transcripts, records of baptism and confirmation, any national ID card you may have, drivers' license, employment records, etc. etc. Each of these will be useful for different purposes. For example, if you are Catholic or Orthodox, your new home church will need to see your church records. If you plan to take any kind of educational program or one to certify you for work, you'll need transcripts from your high school and college. For getting the green card, your birth certificate and maybe your national ID will be needed. But for marriage, your passport is the only ID you will need to show, along with some proof that you are residing in Minnesota.

[anitacastillo 0]

Does this mean I need to have my birth certificate translated to English, too?

Uhh. The more I read, the more I get confused, actually. =/

I know what exactly I need for the interview at the Embassy. None of the documents need translation, at this point.

What I'm not sure is the getting married part, which will be happening in the US.. =/

After you get married you will be submitting the AOS package. That will require your foreign birth cert and a translation. Suggest you read the AOS guide on VJ.

To get married: passports and divorce papers, if applicable, should be sufficient.

Good Luck!!

[payxibka 10,045]

What county in Minnesota?

moving to Moving here and your new life in America forum

[Badgerella 5]

What county in Minnesota?

moving to Moving here and your new life in America forum

Blue Earth is the county.

[Badgerella 5]

There are many original documents that you will need to carry with you for other reasons than the marriage. Your birth certificate, educational transcripts, records of baptism and confirmation, any national ID card you may have, drivers' license, employment records, etc. etc. Each of these will be useful for different purposes. For example, if you are Catholic or Orthodox, your new home church will need to see your church records. If you plan to take any kind of educational program or one to certify you for work, you'll need transcripts from your high school and college. For getting the green card, your birth certificate and maybe your national ID will be needed. But for marriage, your passport is the only ID you will need to show, along with some proof that you are residing in Minnesota.

How does the translation work? Some of the documents I know I can have issued in English and already adjusted to be used internationally. But what happens with those that don't work that way? Do I just find a certified translator here in Croatia and have them translate and stamp the translation (and have the Croatian originals on me, too)?

Thanks, everyone, for your help! I'm sure I'll be back with even more questions as soon as I start reading the AOS guide.

[Cuchita 1]

Hi there,

I think your consulate or embassy (which ever you have in your city) have authorized translators that can do it, but also anybody here in the USA that works in immigration cases can do the translation.

I'm in New Jersey and here the fiances need to provide a SSN in order to get a marriage licence, so I called the 1800number for the Social security and a lady told me that with the I-94 stamp and the passport and birth certificate they can issue my fiance a number. But she said check with my local office just in case. So I've been trying to call but they put me on hold forever! I will keep researching this.

Take care,

[payxibka 10,045]

What county in Minnesota?

moving to Moving here and your new life in America forum

Blue Earth is the county.

ahh.. Mankato area...

http://www.co.blue-earth.mn.us/dept/license/marriage.php

[Badgerella 5]

Yup, it's Mankato.

As for those translators, I really can't imagine people working at immigration offices in the US speaking fluent Croatian.

[Jasman0717 9]

We were married at the courthouse in Santa Ana and we used Claudeth's passport, birth certificate and my driver's license.

[payxibka 10,045]

Yup, it's Mankato.

As for those translators, I really can't imagine people working at immigration offices in the US speaking fluent Croatian.

Correct, nobody at the consulate/embassy or at the USCIS will do a translation on a document that requires one.