Divorce Certificates

[TomD 4]

In the Government information pages it is stated "Applicants who have been previously married must obtain evidence of the termination of EACH prior marriage. Evidence must be in the form of original documents issued by a competent authority, or certified copies bearing the appropriate seal or stamp of the issuing authority, such as:

FINAL divorce decree

Death certificate

Annulment papers

Okay I have the copies of my Final Divorce Decree which was sent to me by my Lawyer via Email. It has the official recorders stamp from the court house on it but it is not what we would call the Wet Ink Original of the old days but these are different times. Is this considered adequate or do I need to request a fresh stamp re-certifying this already stamped document? I dont know how ####### retentive to get with all of this stuff. Will the NVC answer these question for me if I have not gotten a # yet?

[bobby_kvisa 7]

It seems to me that during the process they want to see Original Civil Documents whenever they request them.

Most likely, since the NVC wants to have original Marriage Certificates and Birth Certificates, they will want original Divorce Certificates as well.

You could call the NVC and ask them to confirm - even if you don't have a case number, they are pretty friendly folks. If you don't get an answer from them or from VJ, you could also try to ask your Congressman if you still want a firm answer.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

Well, I dont know if it was because I didnt copy the stamp on the back of mine or they just needed more proof that it was actually filed, but I got an RFE for not haveing the stamp. Where is yours stamped? The court stamped the back of mine, so if it was scanned, it would be hard to tell and you would have to get a printer with duplexer. I would get at least 2 copies from the courthouse your divorce was filed at. If you are not close to the courthouse, you can have someone go there and do it for you. It is public record and all they need is your case number to get the file and make copies of the final decree and have the court certify it. Make sure your wife has the actual stamped one for the interview and CFO....they took the copy my wife had at the CFO. The embassy never asked for it but I think that is because I had to send them an original. So you sent the e-mailed version that was printed out? Hopefully it passes, but get the actual stamped one just in case to be ready for later or an RFE.

[Darnell 8,479]

NVC is very specific.

If you are reading the links I supplied to you, from yer prior post, you should be able to glean that WHAT YOU HAVE via EMAIL is not adequate.

re: level of being #######-retentive. Full, 100 percent, slider bar at max.

also - at this stage, note that 'applicant' = 'beneficiary' = 'foreign spouse', never the US Citizen.

Good Luck !

Edited April 21, 2010 by Darnell

[TomD 4]

NVC is very specific.

If you are reading the links I supplied to you, from yer prior post, you should be able to glean that WHAT YOU HAVE via EMAIL is not adequate.

re: level of being #######-retentive. Full, 100 percent, slider bar at max.

also - at this stage, note that 'applicant' = 'beneficiary' = 'foreign spouse', never the US Citizen.

Good Luck !

I did read the post. The Document I have is the only document I ever received from my Attorney. (Original If you will) Its is stamped but its a stamp that shows it was recorded as part of the court records not stamped for certification. My stamp which is clearly shown on the front of my Document is not the original as that would have been sent to the County Clerks for filing in their records file in the county courthouse.

You know not all government offices act or interpret things in the same way. I have never dealt with the State Department on Visa issues before. Although I did do work for them in Baghdad. Different animal... The items that they discuss are not law they are policies adopted by their organization. What works for one does not apparently work for other government offices. Maybe fraud is at a higher level in the Visa world.

Thanks for your help and or opinions. I will contact the two court houses and request Certified copies with original ink...

[OBX 51]

Well, I dont know if it was because I didnt copy the stamp on the back of mine or they just needed more proof that it was actually filed, but I got an RFE for not haveing the stamp. Where is yours stamped? The court stamped the back of mine, so if it was scanned, it would be hard to tell and you would have to get a printer with duplexer. I would get at least 2 copies from the courthouse your divorce was filed at. If you are not close to the courthouse, you can have someone go there and do it for you. It is public record and all they need is your case number to get the file and make copies of the final decree and have the court certify it. Make sure your wife has the actual stamped one for the interview and CFO....they took the copy my wife had at the CFO. The embassy never asked for it but I think that is because I had to send them an original. So you sent the e-mailed version that was printed out? Hopefully it passes, but get the actual stamped one just in case to be ready for later or an RFE.

This is the route I took even though I did have one certified copy on hand. I actually had the courthouse prepare three copies just in case. A bit of overkill but I felt better having extra copies left after I sent one to NVC. Good luck.

[Darnell 8,479]

Just to be clear -

a photocopy of the USCs and Foreign Spouse's divorce certificate, submitted for I-130 submittal, is ok. I'm going by the I-130 instructions dated 07/07/07, page 2, left column. I'll take a look at the current instructions, though, see if that's changed. I've just reviewed the new instructions, from 05/27/08, page 2, right column, and it still says copy. I do note that the I-130 Guide here on VJ at http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1 does say 'court certified' for the copy, but that's a bit wrong - a photocopy SHOWING the copy certification stamp, is sufficient. Others have gotten dinged when submitting photocopies without the stamp in the photocopy, via an RFE, but the stamp itself must be visible in the photocopy, and not an 'original stamp, wet ink on paper' (to use your terms).

There is NO requirement to show the USCs original divorce certificate during NVC processing.

The USC's original or certified copy of the divorce certificate is to be shown, if asked for it, on interview day.

And that's IT.

For a Foreign Spouse, any divorce certificate must be submitted during NVC processing, and it must be original or certified copy (with the certification coming from the original issuing entity ) .

Good Luck Tom - let us know how it's working, with NVC processing, ya ?

Most ppl gather up the foreign spouse's required original documents on or about the NOA-2 date, as it's about 1 month from then to being able to submit them with the DS-230.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Darnell

[Scott and Mhay 57]

Just make sure the COPY has the stamp from the court on it....I messed that one up. Had I done that it would have saved me 30 days on the whole process.

[Darnell 8,479]

stamps are important !!!

[TomD 4]

stamps are important !!!

Yes they are. Well the good thing is my wife has never been married before and I have decided to not risk it and to remove all doubt by having the court houses mail me certified copies of my final Judgements. It might cost few buck but at this point Time is more valuable than money... Thanks All

[Darnell 8,479]

Great - she'll need to show yer official divorce document on Interview Day - so you have some time.

Good Luck !

[TomD 4]

Great - she'll need to show yer official divorce document on Interview Day - so you have some time.

Good Luck !

Sorry Darnell I missed this. Are you saying I need to provide my wife with original/certified copies of my divorces papers? I though I was going to mail that in with the I-864 AOS package. Do we both need to provide them? Of course I was going to send her copies of all that I generate but those would be copies.

[pushbrk 13,188]

I did read the post. The Document I have is the only document I ever received from my Attorney. (Original If you will) Its is stamped but its a stamp that shows it was recorded as part of the court records not stamped for certification. My stamp which is clearly shown on the front of my Document is not the original as that would have been sent to the County Clerks for filing in their records file in the county courthouse.

You know not all government offices act or interpret things in the same way. I have never dealt with the State Department on Visa issues before. Although I did do work for them in Baghdad. Different animal... The items that they discuss are not law they are policies adopted by their organization. What works for one does not apparently work for other government offices. Maybe fraud is at a higher level in the Visa world.

Thanks for your help and or opinions. I will contact the two court houses and request Certified copies with original ink...

Many of us simply ordered certified copies of our divorce decrees from the Court Clerk or State Records as applicable. I suggest you do the same. Just google "certified copy of divorce decree your state".

[TomD 4]

Many of us simply ordered certified copies of our divorce decrees from the Court Clerk or State Records as applicable. I suggest you do the same. Just google "certified copy of divorce decree your state".

Thanks for the advice. I dont think I have a choice. Although both of my copies are electronic and have stamps showing the recording of the divorce document, I dont believe this is the same as certified.

I will get with the Superior Courts in the county's I was divorced in and request Certified copies. I think they cost about $15 for each copy. Do you think One for each case is enough or do I need multiple certified copies so that I can send my new wife one and keep one for myself?

[pushbrk 13,188]

Thanks for the advice. I dont think I have a choice. Although both of my copies are electronic and have stamps showing the recording of the divorce document, I dont believe this is the same as certified.

I will get with the Superior Courts in the county's I was divorced in and request Certified copies. I think they cost about $15 for each copy. Do you think One for each case is enough or do I need multiple certified copies so that I can send my new wife one and keep one for myself?

You just need one certified copy for each divorce. With the petition, you send a photocopy of the certified copy. Expect an RFE for this.

Edited April 25, 2010 by pushbrk