Marriage Certificates for K-3/CR-1 filings

[Sockmonkey 0]

I have both a short form and long form (international use) of our marriage certificate. For the I-130 and I-129F, which should I use? The long form has an additional certification page from the State Department stapled to it, as well as two other additions (a stamp with another stapled piece over it) on the back. Copying all of the stuff on the long form would be quite involved. I assume we'll want the long form for the eventual interview(s), but should we be using the long form all along? There's so much to it, it might be confusing/cumbersome for the folks at the Service Center. Opinions?

Still waiting for some of my husband's documentation to come before I can send off the I-130. *taptaptaptaptaptaptap* I can't wait to get this thing in the mail!

[lucyrich 20]

From your timeline, it looks like you were married in the US. If that's not true, much of what follows may be wrong, because different places do their certificates differently.

It sounds like the "long form" you're describing is a certified copy with an apostille certificate added.

The apostille certificate authenticates the county clerk's seal, and is often required by foreign governments (we used one to register our marriage with Venezuelan authorities), but it isn't needed by the US government. However, it won't hurt, either.

I don't know what the "short form" you're describing is. It might be an ordinary certified copy of the marriage certificate, or it might be a ceremonial copy that has no legal standing.

Anyway, what you will eventually need for the interview is a "certified copy" of your marriage certificate. This will be a copy that is generated by the government agency that maintains the original record of your marriage in a vault somewhere. A certified copy will have a raised or embossed seal on in somewhere, and near this seal it will have something like a county clerk's signature saying something to the effect of "I certify that this is a true and accurate copy of the document that is recorded in the county clerk's record books".

Certified copies will probably cost some money to obtain, and you obtain them directly from the government office that recorded your marriage. That would probably be the county courthouse or similar.

When you send your initial petition, you can make an ordinary photocopy (xerox) of the certified copy and send that in. At your interview, they'll want to see the actual certified copy. And you should bring yet another photocopy of that certified copy, because they'll want to keep a copy of what you give them at the interview (nevermind the fact that they already have one photocopy of your marriage certificate).

[Sockmonkey 0]

From your timeline, it looks like you were married in the US.

It sounds like the "long form" you're describing is a certified copy with an apostille certificate added.

I don't know what the "short form" you're describing is. It might be an ordinary certified copy of the marriage certificate, or it might be a ceremonial copy that has no legal standing.

Thanks, Lucyrich. We did marry in the US, and yes, you've described the long form accurately. The short form is certified/has a raised seal - I went back to NYC from South Carolina last week (where the license was issued) specifically to get additional certified copies and to walk a long form through the system (which by mail would've taken 8-12 weeks!) so there would be no doubt we'd have everything we need and then some. A little excessive, perhaps, but I'm sure I'll save us a heart attack somewhere along the way by being so obsessive-compulsive! Of course, the thing that's gonna reach up and bite us is probably the one thing I haven't prepared for ... .

I also ordered a couple of additional certified copies of my long-form birth certificate, in case somebody wants originals. Beware, native Pennsylvanians, the copy they send when you order online is a bizarrely uninformative short form that doesn't even mention parentage, even if you note that it is for immigrations use. I had to phone them and blow another $17 to get what I need.