Please Help! Questions about Marriage Registration

[isitasham 1]

We are planing to get married and go the CR-1 route after our K-1 was denied.

Questions are:

1. If we do a religious marriage ceremony and then register it .........we have been told that we will have to wait for 31 days to get the marriage registered in the local town/sub-division. Is that a general rule from anyone elase's experience? I was under the impression that this 31 day rule was for civil marriages only not religious ceremony ones? My problem is I can not stay in Inida for that long.

2. Can we get our marriage registered some place else (e.g. Delhi)? The issue is we can get the regesteration done in Delhi but my finacee's bonafied residence has to be established in this area in Delhi. The lawyer/agent say they can get the residence requirement taken care of and thus get the registeration done within a week or so. Could this cause issues later in the Consulate/interview as they already know she is a resident of another place from our K-1 petition? Even though the marriage registeration/cert. is genuine, the residency requrement has been bypassed in this case..........could this come back to bite us later?

3. Would this 31 day rule be a good enough reason/explanation to refile for a K-1 petition second time (we were refused once)? And would our case be as strong as a CR-1 ?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[sachinky 465]

Firstly: WHY was your K-1 denied? Don't rush to get married/file a CR1 JUST because your K1 was denied before taking care to eliminate ALL the reasons WHY the visa was denied in the first place.

The marriage registration is 30 days. You have to serve intending notice of marriage and then get married after 30 days. Or you may get married and then get it registered. I think this too is 30 days but I have heard it might be possible in 15 days since one is already married. My husband couldn't stay that long either so I filed the notice, and waited for 30 days. He came to India for two weeks and we got married on the 32nd day. We didn't wish to play with fire or try and bypass certain regulations as far as U.S. immigration authorities are concerned.

Edited November 5, 2009 by sachinky

[k.loveh 0]

We are planing to get married and go the CR-1 route after our K-1 was denied.

Questions are:

1. If we do a religious marriage ceremony and then register it .........we have been told that we will have to wait for 31 days to get the marriage registered in the local town/sub-division. Is that a general rule from anyone elase's experience? I was under the impression that this 31 day rule was for civil marriages only not religious ceremony ones? My problem is I can not stay in Inida for that long.

2. Can we get our marriage registered some place else (e.g. Delhi)? The issue is we can get the regesteration done in Delhi but my finacee's bonafied residence has to be established in this area in Delhi. The lawyer/agent say they can get the residence requirement taken care of and thus get the registeration done within a week or so. Could this cause issues later in the Consulate/interview as they already know she is a resident of another place from our K-1 petition? Even though the marriage registeration/cert. is genuine, the residency requrement has been bypassed in this case..........could this come back to bite us later?

3. Would this 31 day rule be a good enough reason/explanation to refile for a K-1 petition second time (we were refused once)? And would our case be as strong as a CR-1 ?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

I had a friend a while back who married her USC in Delhi, (a religious ceremony) and had it registered within 4 days but she had lived in Delhi while waitig for the interview for more than 30-31 days. Like you, her fiance couldn't stay very long as he had school and job committments. She had help from a local attorney there in Delhi.

Does it have to be Delhi? In Goa you're required to have 30 days residency to get married as well, but with the help of an attorney, it could be waived and done in two weeks. As long as your marriage is legally binding though, I don't see how it could create a problem for you anyways.

K.

[kaus&Sanu 0]

What is registered????

I went to India on June 7, 2009, got married on June 10, 2009 and went back home to the states cause I only had 1 month vacation from work.

I was able to get the marriage certs, form teh STATE of AP and HYD WAKF board...

what is registered????

Thanks in advance!

[sachinky 465]

I should clarify that I got married under the Special Marriage Act of 1954 since my husband is a white American.

I came back in June. I had to be physically present in my permanent address for 30 days because I had been out of the country and in the U.S. for nearly six months. I then filed the notice of intending marriage and waited ANOTHER 30 days. I still can't believe they made me wait 60 days to get married.

I was told by the Marriage Registrar and a lawyer that while it ordinarily wouldn't be a problem if we were going to continue to live in India but since U.S. immigration would be involved at some point (and COs are usually knowledgeable about country's marriage laws), it'd be best not to break any rules or try to bypass them because if all regulations aren't followed and it is challenged in a court of law, the marriage could very well be declared null and void. So like I said, I didn't want to take any chances.

Registered marriage is a civil marriage. In India, both civil AND religious marriages are considered to be legal, however the Supreme Court has recently ruled that everyone must have their marriage registered. That is, get a marriage certificate. Mine looks pretty ordinary, a green long sheet of paper.

Edited November 5, 2009 by sachinky

[isitasham 1]

Thanks everyone for the input,

In my particular case the denial reason was that the CO didn't find the fiance relationship evidence submitted was enough to establish the relationship existed and then they just let the 1-129 petition expire.

My attorney has recommended that marriage might be a better way to go.......ofcourse, you are right that I need to find out the detailed reasons..........by filing FOIA (has anyone done this and what is the process?)

Regarding marriage, its quite confusing because marriage registeration laws vary from state or locality. In my case its the locality in that state which has this 30/31 day requirement...........and this in turn causes the residency issue and therefore, a potential problem.

For these reasons I was considering filing K-1 again. Has anyone filed a K-1 for the second time?

Thanks

[isitasham 1]

I should clarify that I got married under the Special Marriage Act of 1954 since my husband is a white American.

I came back in June. I had to be physically present in my permanent address for 30 days because I had been out of the country and in the U.S. for nearly six months. I then filed the notice of intending marriage and waited ANOTHER 30 days. I still can't believe they made me wait 60 days to get married.

I was told by the Marriage Registrar and a lawyer that while it ordinarily wouldn't be a problem if we were going to continue to live in India but since U.S. immigration would be involved at some point (and COs are usually knowledgeable about country's marriage laws), it'd be best not to break any rules or try to bypass them because if all regulations aren't followed and it is challenged in a court of law, the marriage could very well be declared null and void. So like I said, I didn't want to take any chances.

Registered marriage is a civil marriage. In India, both civil AND religious marriages are considered to be legal, however the Supreme Court has recently ruled that everyone must have their marriage registered. That is, get a marriage certificate. Mine looks pretty ordinary, a green long sheet of paper.

Hi SachinKy,

Thanks for elaborating your situation. It is precisely for that reason I hesitate to take a shorcut and then get stuck again because of a technical reason. Thats why I was thinking of a K-1 again the problem is that those expire in 4 months.......and the COs use it to their advantage.

Its a catch 22.........

[sachinky 465]

Where is your fiancee from? Where does she live? Where is her place of permanent residency? Do you belong to same or different religions?

I believe you have to be a resident for at least 30 days in the district in which you file. Something along those lines. Which would have made sense if I wanted to get married in Delhi or elsewhere but despite the fact that Calcutta is my place of birth and residence, they STILL made me sit around for 30 days. Something about being physically present at the address because I was out of the country before that. Rubbish. But I did it anyway.

I'd consult a local marriage registrar and/or a lawyer.

I think it MIGHT be possible to get married religiously first and then get it registered in a fewer number of days. But that would depend on whether the marriage falls under the Hindu, Muslim or Special Marriage Act. Maybe in 10-15 days as opposed to 30 days (under the SMA) maybe fewer under the Hindu Marriage Act (like a week or so), but I would definitely clarify this. Look up the Act under which you fall and read it through.

Edited November 6, 2009 by sachinky

[Amit-N-Melody 11]

Thanks everyone for the input,

In my particular case the denial reason was that the CO didn't find the fiance relationship evidence submitted was enough to establish the relationship existed and then they just let the 1-129 petition expire.

My attorney has recommended that marriage might be a better way to go.......ofcourse, you are right that I need to find out the detailed reasons..........by filing FOIA (has anyone done this and what is the process?)

Regarding marriage, its quite confusing because marriage registeration laws vary from state or locality. In my case its the locality in that state which has this 30/31 day requirement...........and this in turn causes the residency issue and therefore, a potential problem.

For these reasons I was considering filing K-1 again. Has anyone filed a K-1 for the second time?

Thanks

I flew to India on July 12, I converted to Hinduim on July18, we married in a religious ceremony on July 25th and had our marriage reg on July 27th.... took the certificate to the us embassy in delhi to make sure it was ok, they gave me a thumbs up. I came home and mailed the I-130 I have my first NOA1 and now I have sent in my I-129F .... I was also in a time contrant..... lets see how it goes

[isitasham 1]

Thanks everyone for the input,

In my particular case the denial reason was that the CO didn't find the fiance relationship evidence submitted was enough to establish the relationship existed and then they just let the 1-129 petition expire.

My attorney has recommended that marriage might be a better way to go.......ofcourse, you are right that I need to find out the detailed reasons..........by filing FOIA (has anyone done this and what is the process?)

Regarding marriage, its quite confusing because marriage registeration laws vary from state or locality. In my case its the locality in that state which has this 30/31 day requirement...........and this in turn causes the residency issue and therefore, a potential problem.

For these reasons I was considering filing K-1 again. Has anyone filed a K-1 for the second time?

Thanks

I flew to India on July 12, I converted to Hinduim on July18, we married in a religious ceremony on July 25th and had our marriage reg on July 27th.... took the certificate to the us embassy in delhi to make sure it was ok, they gave me a thumbs up. I came home and mailed the I-130 I have my first NOA1 and now I have sent in my I-129F .... I was also in a time contrant..... lets see how it goes

Hi Amit-N-Melody,

Thanks!! Which area within the Embassy did you go with your marriage registration to get it validated? Was is the Consulate Section? Did they endorse it or just gave you a verbal approval/nod ? Was your registration done in the Delhi area?

Just making sure.........thanks.

[k.loveh 0]

I should clarify that I got married under the Special Marriage Act of 1954 since my husband is a white American.

I came back in June. I had to be physically present in my permanent address for 30 days because I had been out of the country and in the U.S. for nearly six months. I then filed the notice of intending marriage and waited ANOTHER 30 days. I still can't believe they made me wait 60 days to get married.

I was told by the Marriage Registrar and a lawyer that while it ordinarily wouldn't be a problem if we were going to continue to live in India but since U.S. immigration would be involved at some point (and COs are usually knowledgeable about country's marriage laws), it'd be best not to break any rules or try to bypass them because if all regulations aren't followed and it is challenged in a court of law, the marriage could very well be declared null and void. So like I said, I didn't want to take any chances.

Registered marriage is a civil marriage. In India, both civil AND religious marriages are considered to be legal, however the Supreme Court has recently ruled that everyone must have their marriage registered. That is, get a marriage certificate. Mine looks pretty ordinary, a green long sheet of paper.

Hi SachinKy,

Thanks for elaborating your situation. It is precisely for that reason I hesitate to take a shorcut and then get stuck again because of a technical reason. Thats why I was thinking of a K-1 again the problem is that those expire in 4 months.......and the COs use it to their advantage.

Its a catch 22.........

Yeap, did the research and 30 days residency requirement for sure, so no shortcuts if you don't want problems. In Goa though, they are trying to change the law there to make it more attractive for those who are non-indians and want to marry there, and there are a lot. Hopefully they'll get their way.