Translation required of her first Marriage Certificate?

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

Hi all.

My Fiancee and I are filing for the K-1 and I have read the guides and a bit confused about one the requirements that I hope someone more knowledgible than me can clear up.

I know that we will need to have her divorce decree translated but the guides say also any documents that identify a name change. She did not change her name back when she divorced, but I was wondering if we would need to have her original marriage certificate translated?

Dave

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi all.

My Fiancee and I are filing for the K-1 and I have read the guides and a bit confused about one the requirements that I hope someone more knowledgible than me can clear up.

I know that we will need to have her divorce decree translated but the guides say also any documents that identify a name change. She did not change her name back when she divorced, but I was wondering if we would need to have her original marriage certificate translated?

Dave

Yes. With one caveat. When a woman is divorced in Ukraine, she turns in her marriage certificate (supposed to anyway) and gets a "change of name" certificate IF she changed her name with her first marriage. My wife never changed her name for either marriage. She has alwasy used her "maiden name" So she did not get a "change of name" certificate. However, being concerned there may be a question about this, we did manage to get her original marriage certificate...that is another story in itself...to show she had indeed never changed her name. Perhaps it was going overboard. At any rate, ANY document presented at the interview must be translated to English.

[lovica_l 0]

yeah any certificates in other languages need to be translated in english, they need to be written or typed up by someone other than you or your fiance, or any of your family members, and they need be signed by that person. you should have the original copied along with translation

[WROCLAW 0]

Hi all.

My Fiancee and I are filing for the K-1 and I have read the guides and a bit confused about one the requirements that I hope someone more knowledgible than me can clear up.

I know that we will need to have her divorce decree translated but the guides say also any documents that identify a name change. She did not change her name back when she divorced, but I was wondering if we would need to have her original marriage certificate translated?

Dave

[HaPPyFeEt 0]

Any documents NOT IN ENGLISH must be accompanied with translation.

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi all.

My Fiancee and I are filing for the K-1 and I have read the guides and a bit confused about one the requirements that I hope someone more knowledgible than me can clear up.

I know that we will need to have her divorce decree translated but the guides say also any documents that identify a name change. She did not change her name back when she divorced, but I was wondering if we would need to have her original marriage certificate translated?

Dave

not confusing... for USCIS purposes... all documents submitted as evidence not in English MUST be accompanied by an English translation

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

Thanks all for your replies. Just so that I am sure I understand correctly, we will need the original Marriage certificate translated as well as the "Change of Name" document for the initial petition to USCIS.

Thanks,

Dave

[payxibka 10,045]

Thanks all for your replies. Just so that I am sure I understand correctly, we will need the original Marriage certificate translated as well as the "Change of Name" document for the initial petition to USCIS.

Thanks,

Dave

if you include them they need to be translated

[Brad and Vika 129]

I am not sure about the "original" part. A certified copy with a translation should be OK. I think that sending the original decree is asking for trouble.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks all for your replies. Just so that I am sure I understand correctly, we will need the original Marriage certificate translated as well as the "Change of Name" document for the initial petition to USCIS.

Thanks,

Dave

No. For the I-129f you need only the divorce certificate. You will need the marriage OR change of name certificate for the interview.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks all for your replies. Just so that I am sure I understand correctly, we will need the original Marriage certificate translated as well as the "Change of Name" document for the initial petition to USCIS.

Thanks,

Dave

No. For the I-129f you need only the divorce certificate. You will need the marriage OR change of name certificate for the interview.

And to be clear...for the I-129f you need a COPY of her divorce certificate with an ORIGINAL translation.

At the interview, you will need to present the ORIGINAL marriage license OR the ORIGINAL change of name certificate with a copy (of either) and an ORIGINAL translation. They will return the original documents at the interview after looking at them, and keep the translation and copy.

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

Again thanks for the information. We are just starting this journey and I will be leaving to see her on the first and I want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row.

[Sinergy 3]

Hi all.

My Fiancee and I are filing for the K-1 and I have read the guides and a bit confused about one the requirements that I hope someone more knowledgible than me can clear up.

I know that we will need to have her divorce decree translated but the guides say also any documents that identify a name change. She did not change her name back when she divorced, but I was wondering if we would need to have her original marriage certificate translated?

Dave

I think the OP is asking for advice, not ridicule

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Again thanks for the information. We are just starting this journey and I will be leaving to see her on the first and I want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row.

Great Dave. That's what I did on my visits, make sure you can lay your hands on all the documents required by the consulate

1. birth certificates

2. divorce certificate

3. marriage OR change of name certificate (one or the other) If she did not change her name for the marriage (common in Ukraine) go to her attorney to see if you can get the marriage certificate, if she doesn't have it. Ukraininas are supposed to turn in their marraige certificates when they are divorced but it seems many do not. To avoid the run around we did, if she doesn't have it, go straight to her former attorney and start there, if the attorney doesn't have they will be able to tell you where it went. This was the worst document for us to run down.

4. Police certificate for Oksana and any children over 16. The police certificate is good for 1 year.

5. Make sure her passport is up to date and make sure any children have separate passports (they don't have to, they can be in hers if under age 18, BUT it is a pain in the @ss!) If her passport has 2-3 years before it expires, fine, but better to renew it and have it "fresh" It would be great if it is valid longer than the time that she can become a citizen, 3 years after marriage.

6. Get some G-325a forms (or download them) and have her sign a few of them in case you make mistakes.

7. Letters of intent. Get her to sign a couple of generic letters. You can date them later when you are ready to file the petition or go to the interview. The VJ samples work perfectly.

8. Any other documents that apply...absent parent letter, deceased parent letter, military discharge, etc.

Get copies of the documents to take with you, do not take her originals but tell her to guard them with her life, she probably already does this.