what to do immediately pre & post marriage (India)

[rkk1 34]

Hello,

I had already submitted a K-1 visa for my fiance last week, but we are thinking to instead get married when I travel to India in November and apply afterwards for CR-1. We are planning to have a Hindu wedding there with family and friends. I'll only have just over a week in India (about 8-9 days) since I am a full-time student and have to get back home, so we need to make sure that everything is done properly during the short time that I am there.

I was looking for any guide/info on this forum regarding what to do step-by-step immediately pre and post wedding to streamline the process, but I haven't seen anything yet. If anyone knows any such threads, I'd be happy to be directed to those, otherwise, I'd love to have feedback regarding people's own suggestions of what they'd have done differently to simplify the process in their spouse's country. Post wedding, I don't want to be stuck at the Indian marriage registrar's office only to find out that I needed proof that I was never married previously from the US government, nor do I want to be back in the US finding out that I needed some document in my application to be notarized in India.

At this point, the only things I can think that I'll need are:

-lots of wedding pics

-marriage certificate to take to the registrar (does this need some notary signature?)

This is all I'm aware of. Do I need anything else? Do I need some kind of proof that I've never been married before, and if so, where would I get this (i.e. in the US before I leave for India, or would this be from the US embassy in Delhi, India)? Anything else that I'd need to do?

Thank you so much for all the help!!!

[rkk1 34]

Just to add further info... though I'm American, I'm of Indian origin. My name is Indian. We know that there are 2 marriage acts: Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act. I don't have any proof anywhere of being Hindu, but since my name is Indian and I look Indian, I think we'd be allowed to register the Indian wedding through the Hindu Marriage Act (?). I really don't know. Personally, I'd rather just register the marriage under the SMA as I don't want all the religious hoopla associated with things, but I think the SMA requires me to stay in India for sometime...? Again, I don't know much about this, but I have no idea who to ask about it. Since I only have about 8 days in India (only of which 2-3 days will be in Delhi), I think perhaps registering under the HMA will be the best. I'd be so grateful for any guidance if anyone here knows their facts... as I don't know where to find all the info.

[flyingm14 0]

Not sure about what needs to be done pre and post marriage but I definitely recommend you go to india in November and get married there. K1 is a very risky visa. We almost got rejected because they thought we are married even though we are not. We took a vacation together with family but somehow they thought that that was the honeymoon. My fiancees interview lasted for 8 hours. I wouldn't recommend K1 to anyone anymore.

[Crysis2 0]

Just to add further info... though I'm American, I'm of Indian origin. My name is Indian. We know that there are 2 marriage acts: Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act. I don't have any proof anywhere of being Hindu, but since my name is Indian and I look Indian, I think we'd be allowed to register the Indian wedding through the Hindu Marriage Act (?). I really don't know. Personally, I'd rather just register the marriage under the SMA as I don't want all the religious hoopla associated with things, but I think the SMA requires me to stay in India for sometime...? Again, I don't know much about this, but I have no idea who to ask about it. Since I only have about 8 days in India (only of which 2-3 days will be in Delhi), I think perhaps registering under the HMA will be the best. I'd be so grateful for any guidance if anyone here knows their facts... as I don't know where to find all the info.

Yes, getting married under the Hindu Marriage Act is easy because all you have to do is show up and sign the papers(no religious ceremony is required) but you WILL have to prove that you are a Hindu and eligible under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Under the Special Marriages Act, you have a 30 day wait because you have to file an Intent to Marry form with the Registrar who displays it in his office. The purpose of this is that if someone has any objections, they can raise it within that 30 day period. You don't have to stay in India for the 30 day period and in fact, you can get married anytime after the 30 day period is over. Just make an appointment for the date that is convenient for you, bring three witnesses that are over 21 and have them bring them their IDs and two photos each and you are good to go.

Technically, you are supposed to wait for 14 days and then you get the Marriage Certificate but if you don't wanna wait, just talk the Registrar into issuing it to you right then and there. We did and it worked.

[Harsh_77 718]

Legally to be married under the Hindu marriage act both the parties have to be Hindu.

If one of them is not Hindu then you have file under the special act.

You can file the paper work in advance for the day you want to be married, you don’t have to be in India for 30 days there is no such requirement, but you do have to give the notice 30 days in advance. Your other half living in India can take care of it.

I had gone ahead and spent extra money on lawyer, just to make sure he would care of the logistics and it kinda worked as he took care of lot of things for me.

You don’t have to spend extra money if you don’t want to.

[rkk1 34]

Legally to be married under the Hindu marriage act both the parties have to be Hindu.

If one of them is not Hindu then you have file under the special act.

How do I 'prove' that I am Hindu? Since I'm of Indian origin, my name is Indian (Hindu). Does that in itself prove Hinduism? I don't have any particular documents certifying my faith, although we ARE planning to get married under the Hindu Marriage Act (to avoid the whole 30 day issue, as my trip to India will only be 10 days... as we are marrying on the 3rd day of my arrival, and then will spend the rest of the days on the marriage registration and honeymoon). My parents are US citizens (former Indian nationals in their early life) and speak Hindi fluently plan on accompanying us to the marriage registrar's office after the wedding in case they can be of any assistance.

Also the other thing I'm wondering is... how long does it take to get the marriage certificate and registration? We are thinking that we should give a couple of business days to take care of getting the marriage certificate and getting our marriage registered (before we depart on our honeymoon). I know that I will have to bring a 'Single Status Certificate' with me (and possibly also a 'No objection' certificate as well, though I wasn't sure if they were the same thing). If I have this stuff, then how many days should I plan to stick around his city before we leave for our honeymoon? In most cases, does it only take 1 day to take care of the administrative work, or longer?

Thanks!

Edited October 7, 2011 by rkk1

[Harsh_77 718]

Sorry, I have not seen that you had posted a question.

I don’t think there is anything that you have to show to prove you are Hindu, we did not had to show anything other than identity proof, It just by your declaration.

You personally do not have to be in India 30 days ahead of your wedding. All you need to send is completed and signed copy of your form.

My wife came to India week before the wedding and I had filed the paper work 30 days before the day we wanted to get married on.

I thought u were doing register marriage (in court) and not doing the traditional wedding. If you are doing a register marriage then you don’t have to file for marriage certificate, it is produced automatically by the registrar.

Mine was available in 3 days in Mumbai, if you need it earlier than that I am sure you can find someone in registrar’s office and they can do it for you.

If you getting married in traditional way, then you will have to go to registrar’s office and submit a form with few things like wedding invitation, pics etc and they would generate a marriage certificate for you.

Please message me if you have any other questions.

How long you want to stay in India can depend on you and the length of your visa if you are restricted by visa.

[rkk1 34]

Thanks so much, Harsh. My fiance and I are facing some roadblocks right now (as I posted on my other thread), so it would really help us to learn from your experiences, as we really don't know what to do and our marriage is only 1 month away. Both my fiance and I are starting to get very tense, as I cannot come back to India for over 2 years to get remarried to him if our marriage doesn't get registered properly this time. I have added you as a VJ friend. Thanks!