marriage and divorce certificates

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

I sent in a copy of my certificate from my first marriage and the divorce decree. Both of these were requested by the attorney filing our case, her reasoning being that if you get a particularly ####### retentive processor, they want to see that there was a valid marriage to be divorced from in the first place...

I ordered my marriage certificate online, made copies and sent a copy in with the I-129F, and kept the original.

Your attorney's reasoning is based upon her ignorance, good reason to run!

The requirement is to prove you are "free to marry", a marriage certificate can not possibly prove you are free to marry, it proves the opposite. Piling on unnecessary doucments to the peition is not a sign of being prudent, it is a sign of being ignorant.

Divorce certificates ONLY are required for the petition.

[Christi and Ian 24]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

I sent in a copy of my certificate from my first marriage and the divorce decree. Both of these were requested by the attorney filing our case, her reasoning being that if you get a particularly ####### retentive processor, they want to see that there was a valid marriage to be divorced from in the first place...

I ordered my marriage certificate online, made copies and sent a copy in with the I-129F, and kept the original.

Your attorney's reasoning is based upon her ignorance, good reason to run!

The requirement is to prove you are "free to marry", a marriage certificate can not possibly prove you are free to marry, it proves the opposite. Piling on unnecessary doucments to the peition is not a sign of being prudent, it is a sign of being ignorant.

Divorce certificates ONLY are required for the petition.

I guess the RFE's my attorney received for this reason are ALSO based on ignorance...

But hey - it's your petition - do what you want - mine is moving along just fine...

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

Often, women need to submit previous marriage certificates to document name changes. The I-129F instructions don't specifically mention this but the I-130 instructions DO. If the divorce decrees don't show the track of name changes, you should provide marriage certificates that do.

Thanks, I just re-read the I-130 instructions and it does say this.

It is not necessary for the I-129f. The I-129f is not the I-130. I-129f has its own instructions. Marriage certificates will be presented at the interview (some consulates do not require this either) and are not needed for the I-129f petition.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

Often, women need to submit previous marriage certificates to document name changes. The I-129F instructions don't specifically mention this but the I-130 instructions DO. If the divorce decrees don't show the track of name changes, you should provide marriage certificates that do.

Thanks, I just re-read the I-130 instructions and it does say this.

It is not necessary for the I-129f. The I-129f is not the I-130. I-129f has its own instructions. Marriage certificates will be presented at the interview (some consulates do not require this either) and are not needed for the I-129f petition.

When a USCIS adjudicator receives a petition from Mary Jones with evidence Mary Smith is a US Citizen and only that marry Jones divorced Jim Jones, they have no evidence establishing Mary Jones was ever Mary Smith. One critical element of petition approval is to establish the petitioner is a US Citizen. Mary Jones cannot establish her US Citizenship with Mary Smith's birth certificate unless she can show that the Mary Jones that divorced Jim Jones was first Mary Smith.

There are ways around this, like showing Mary Jones's passport instead of Mary Smith's birth certificate but in the case of multiple marriages, I would document them with any petition, not just the I-130. As always, YMMV.

Edited October 31, 2009 by pushbrk

[payxibka 10,045]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

Often, women need to submit previous marriage certificates to document name changes. The I-129F instructions don't specifically mention this but the I-130 instructions DO. If the divorce decrees don't show the track of name changes, you should provide marriage certificates that do.

Thanks, I just re-read the I-130 instructions and it does say this.

It is not necessary for the I-129f. The I-129f is not the I-130. I-129f has its own instructions. Marriage certificates will be presented at the interview (some consulates do not require this either) and are not needed for the I-129f petition.

Gary, please explain this from the instructions to the I-129f (page 3, Item 6A)

If either you or the person you are filing for is using a name other than that shown on the relevant documents, you must give USCIS copies of the legal documents that made the change, such as a marriage certificate, adoption decree or court order.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

Often, women need to submit previous marriage certificates to document name changes. The I-129F instructions don't specifically mention this but the I-130 instructions DO. If the divorce decrees don't show the track of name changes, you should provide marriage certificates that do.

Thanks, I just re-read the I-130 instructions and it does say this.

It is not necessary for the I-129f. The I-129f is not the I-130. I-129f has its own instructions. Marriage certificates will be presented at the interview (some consulates do not require this either) and are not needed for the I-129f petition.

Gary, please explain this from the instructions to the I-129f (page 3, Item 6A)

If either you or the person you are filing for is using a name other than that shown on the relevant documents, you must give USCIS copies of the legal documents that made the change, such as a marriage certificate, adoption decree or court order.

I will stand corrected for name changes for the US citizen. My bad. For the foreign beneficiary there are no "relevent documents" presented. But I see where it would be necessary for a US citizen who has changed names and it is a different name than with the petition, a birth certificate, for example. However if one uses the passport as proof of citizenship ansd the name in the passport is current, then no, they would not need to include this information. If no other documents have a name different than the petition presented, there is no problem.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Again, I ask for some help from fellow VJrs, With the I-129F, do we need to send in certified copies of both the marriage AND divorce certificates from previous marriage or just the divorce papers?

And when it comes time for AOS do we need a certified copy of OUR marriage certificate. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Only divorce decrees are required. Who cares about the marriage once you are divorced?

Often, women need to submit previous marriage certificates to document name changes. The I-129F instructions don't specifically mention this but the I-130 instructions DO. If the divorce decrees don't show the track of name changes, you should provide marriage certificates that do.

Thanks, I just re-read the I-130 instructions and it does say this.

It is not necessary for the I-129f. The I-129f is not the I-130. I-129f has its own instructions. Marriage certificates will be presented at the interview (some consulates do not require this either) and are not needed for the I-129f petition.

Gary, please explain this from the instructions to the I-129f (page 3, Item 6A)

If either you or the person you are filing for is using a name other than that shown on the relevant documents, you must give USCIS copies of the legal documents that made the change, such as a marriage certificate, adoption decree or court order.

I will stand corrected for name changes for the US citizen. My bad. For the foreign beneficiary there are no "relevent documents" presented. But I see where it would be necessary for a US citizen who has changed names and it is a different name than with the petition, a birth certificate, for example. However if one uses the passport as proof of citizenship ansd the name in the passport is current, then no, they would not need to include this information. If no other documents have a name different than the petition presented, there is no problem.

I just gave one example and it was for the US Citizen. But if Mary Smith is the beneficiary, now using her maiden name after divorcing Jim Jones, a divorce certificate indicating only that Jim and Mary Jones are divorced, is not evidenc Mary Smith is free to marry. In this case, Mary would need to show that she married the Jim Jones she divorced, in order to make the connection between the Mary Smith named as beneficiary and Mary Jones who divorced Jim.

You must follow the track of name changes and documents before you can know the answer. For example, if either of my former wives were petitioning, their divorce decrees from me, show their maiden names, so THEY wouldn't need certificates of marriage to ME. The devil is in the details and you must first examine the details.