What is 'Certificate of Marriage Registration"

[panteraboy 0]

I am getting married at the Manhattan City Clerk office. What is "Certificate of Marriage Registration?"

[panteraboy 0]

This is what I have found out from NYC Office of City Clerk website

http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/ceremony.shtml :

# A Certificate of Marriage Registration is the official documentation of your wedding that lists the date, time, location, Marriage Officiant's name and title, and any changes in surname.

# If you get married in the City Clerk's office, you will receive your Certificate of Marriage Registration at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Does this mean, it's the Official Marriage Certificate aka "certified copy of marriage certificate ?"

Can I just send PHOTO COPY OF original marriage certificate for AOS ?

How long does it take to get Marriage certificate ? Based on the website, it says same day given they are talking about marriage certificate.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

They give it to you when you leave the Courthouse. It is the certified marriage certificate. It's the official one. You can send a photocopy and bring the original to your interview.

(Should be posting in the forum you originally posted in:))

Good luck.

[panteraboy 0]

They give it to you when you leave the Courthouse. It is the certified marriage certificate. It's the official one. You can send a photocopy and bring the original to your interview.

(Should be posting in the forum you originally posted in:))

Good luck.

Thank you for your prompt response. This makes it clear, so the fancy word is actually Marriage Certificate !

[Haarp425 26]

This is what I have found out from NYC Office of City Clerk website

http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/ceremony.shtml :

# A Certificate of Marriage Registration is the official documentation of your wedding that lists the date, time, location, Marriage Officiant's name and title, and any changes in surname.

# If you get married in the City Clerk's office, you will receive your Certificate of Marriage Registration at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Does this mean, it's the Official Marriage Certificate aka "certified copy of marriage certificate ?"

Can I just send PHOTO COPY OF original marriage certificate for AOS ?

How long does it take to get Marriage certificate ? Based on the website, it says same day given they are talking about marriage certificate.

The AOS documentation states to send the certified marriage certificate. DO NOT make copy of the certified marriage certificate and then submit. You have to send the actual certified marriage certificate.

Here in the Everett, WA, the marriage certificate you carry after the marriage ceremony at the courthouse has to be be brought back to the marriage license office. The clerk at the marriage license office will take your marriage certificate and make a note of the receipt date. You will be asked how many certified marriage certificate you want (you have to pay for this $$). This is where the clerk will put a stamp/seal. These are the certified marriage certificate that you have to submit to the USCIS for AOS.

[pixie77 2]

I sent a photocopy of our marriage certificate notarized..no problems. I was told it wasn't necessary to have it notarized. If they want an original copy they will ask for it. They never ask for ours, I brought the originals of all our paper works during the interview though.

Good luck!!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

The AOS documentation states to send the certified marriage certificate. DO NOT make copy of the certified marriage certificate and then submit. You have to send the actual certified marriage certificate.

Here in the Everett, WA, the marriage certificate you carry after the marriage ceremony at the courthouse has to be be brought back to the marriage license office. The clerk at the marriage license office will take your marriage certificate and make a note of the receipt date. You will be asked how many certified marriage certificate you want (you have to pay for this $$). This is where the clerk will put a stamp/seal. These are the certified marriage certificate that you have to submit to the USCIS for AOS.

This is incorrect. The I-130 instruction (OP adjusting from F-1 visa) specifically note that photocopies are all that is required, and NY is not WA. In NY Courthouse, the marriage cert you get while leaving after your ceremony is the real deal, as I said.

Edited February 27, 2011 by Harpa Timsah

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The AOS documentation states to send the certified marriage certificate. DO NOT make copy of the certified marriage certificate and then submit. You have to send the actual certified marriage certificate.

Here in the Everett, WA, the marriage certificate you carry after the marriage ceremony at the courthouse has to be be brought back to the marriage license office. The clerk at the marriage license office will take your marriage certificate and make a note of the receipt date. You will be asked how many certified marriage certificate you want (you have to pay for this $$). This is where the clerk will put a stamp/seal. These are the certified marriage certificate that you have to submit to the USCIS for AOS.

ACTUALLY the instructions state COPY they do not state Certified copy. Please check the instructions before making such assertions. Here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-485instr.pdf top of page 3 explains that unless original is specified ordinary legible PHOTOCOPIES may be submitted. Page 4, 12B states "COPY of marriage certificate".

The VJ guide states copy as well. There is also a thread in my signature that has the actual required document list and you'll see that it too mentions copy.

Edited February 27, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[panteraboy 0]

Thank you everyone. Just to summarize: Photo Copy is all that is needed to apply for I-485 and I-130. NYC Office of City Clerk gives Marriage Certificate at the end of the ceremony, which is OFFICIAL in itself. Great !

[Haarp425 26]

This is incorrect. The I-130 instruction (OP adjusting from F-1 visa) specifically note that photocopies are all that is required, and NY is not WA. In NY Courthouse, the marriage cert you get while leaving after your ceremony is the real deal, as I said.

I guess NY is not WA.

We have actually 3 documents in WA:

1 Certificate of Marriage (souvenir),

1 Marriage License (The person who performs the marriage ceremony (officiant) will retain this copy for their records),

1 WA Dept of Health Certificate of Marriage (to speed things up, this is the document we bring back to the Marriage License Office to get stamped and obtain a certified marriage certificate immediately after the marriage ceremony).

So, the document we obtain after the marriage ceremony is not done deal yet until we bring it back to the Marriage License Office and they will take it away from us to get it stamped and dated. Immediately, we then obtain a certified of the Certificate of Marriage with the Marriage License Office seal. So we never get to keep the original Marriage License because the officiant keeps it for their records.

So, I guess in NY. Since you get the original documents back, the copy is sufficient.

Here in WA, we can only obtain a certified copy of the Certificate of Marriage.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Topic moved from AOS from a family visa to AOS from a Work, Student & Tourist Visa as OP is adjusting from F1.

[mrclean 3]

The copy you get after your civil ceremony is not necessarily "certified". You can tell if the copy is certified if you can feel a raised seal on the certificate. Any copies you order from the Records Room in the same building where the civil ceremony is performed in Manhattan.

[Little_My 464]

In New York (and we did this 2 weeks ago)

1. You get your marriage license - you can apply for it online, but both of you will have to go and get the license, with IDs. License must be obtained at least 24 hours before ceremony, costs $35 and is valid for 60 days.

2. You go and get married. Once the ceremony is over, you will Immediately be given your marriage certificate. Official, stamped, signed, real deal. That is ALL you get, and all you need. You can make a notarized copy if you wish, don't know if that is required or not - we got ours notarized because the information on that seems to vary.

In any case - in New York, you DO get the certificate immediately after the ceremony and don't have to separately apply for it or do anything additional to get it.

[Haarp425 26]

In New York (and we did this 2 weeks ago)

1. You get your marriage license - you can apply for it online, but both of you will have to go and get the license, with IDs. License must be obtained at least 24 hours before ceremony, costs $35 and is valid for 60 days.

2. You go and get married. Once the ceremony is over, you will Immediately be given your marriage certificate. Official, stamped, signed, real deal. That is ALL you get, and all you need. You can make a notarized copy if you wish, don't know if that is required or not - we got ours notarized because the information on that seems to vary.

In any case - in New York, you DO get the certificate immediately after the ceremony and don't have to separately apply for it or do anything additional to get it.

I have question though. How does the NYC State knows that your marriage ceremony was completed and who notifies the NYC State Marriage License Division?

If you are immediately given your marriage certificate after your marriage ceremony and you try to use that document immediately and some agency tries verify with NYC State, it will not show the marriage is completed since the NYC State was not notified yet.

I would assume that in NYC you get back the Marriage Certificate and the person who conducted your marriage ceremony has the signed Marriage License then brings in the signed Marriage License to the NYC State Marriage License Division. So, before the person who conducted your marriage ceremony brings your signed Marriage License to tne NYC Marriage License Division to be recorded, your marriage is still not on the NYC State official records.

If USCIS accepts your copy of the marriage certificate immediately after marraige, then good for you. However, I am with "mrclean" regarding certified marriage certificate.

I go by this document and step 8:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos

8. A copy of your marriage certificate. Note: While a regular copy is allowed, submitting a certified copy is preferred as some members have received an RFE asking for this (so if one is available use that instead).

[mrclean 3]

I have question though. How does the NYC State knows that your marriage ceremony was completed and who notifies the NYC State Marriage License Division?

If you are immediately given your marriage certificate after your marriage ceremony and you try to use that document immediately and some agency tries verify with NYC State, it will not show the marriage is completed since the NYC State was not notified yet.

If you did a civil ceremony, you get your marriage certificate right then and there. If you had your ceremony outside of city hall, the officiant is supposed to mail in your signed marriage license and I believe you get your marriage certificate in the mail. Your signed marriage license is not your marriage certificate.

Also, there are two types of marriage certificates:

Standard form: this is what you typically get. If you opt for the civil ceremony, your copy may not have the raised seal on it (certifying it as authentic).

Extended form: this marriage license is certified, notarized and is typically for "foreign use" (re: apostille's and the like). You don't need an extended form for the AOS package. Just the photocopy of the standard certificate that bears the raised seal.

Edited February 28, 2011 by mrclean