Help! City Hall is closed!

[gyselle 4]

Hi all,

I just found out that San Francisco City Hall is closed from Dec 9 to the New Year.

In short, they will not be issuing any marriage licenses, or conducting any ceremonies there.

My POE is Dec 12 (the date cannot be changed) and I was hoping to get married ASAP so that I can apply for my work visa ASAP.

Can anyone advice what my other options are? For example:

1. Can my fiance collect our marriage license beforehand, and we find a celebrant to marry us? (but..i think we need both parties to be around to get married)

2. Can we travel to somewhere nearby? Maybe Napa and get it done there? Vegas is an option...but...trying to see if there is anything nearby.

Why would a government office be closed for so long?! it's unheard of where i come from!!

[Tahoma 2,292]

Here is some info from the SF City Hall website.

[EminTX 131]

It's a 9 hour drive to Vegas. Closer if you just pick another city. Go. Have a celebratory good time. Remember that fun for the rest of your lives.

[Research 0]

Hi all,

I just found out that San Francisco City Hall is closed from Dec 9 to the New Year.

In short, they will not be issuing any marriage licenses, or conducting any ceremonies there.

My POE is Dec 12 (the date cannot be changed) and I was hoping to get married ASAP so that I can apply for my work visa ASAP.

Can anyone advice what my other options are? For example:

1. Can my fiance collect our marriage license beforehand, and we find a celebrant to marry us? (but..i think we need both parties to be around to get married)

2. Can we travel to somewhere nearby? Maybe Napa and get it done there? Vegas is an option...but...trying to see if there is anything nearby.

Why would a government office be closed for so long?! it's unheard of where i come from!!

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

14.

Beneficiary travels to and enters the U.S.

Beneficiary travels from their country to be with the U.S. Petitioner (Fiance(e)) in the US.

*Must enter the US within (typically) 6 months of the K-1 being issued.

5-20 minutes 15.

Point of Entry (POE) in U.S.

Beneficiary arrives at Point of Entry (POE) in U.S. and shows K-1 to the immigration officer.

1 hour 17.

Apply for marriage certificate

Apply for marriage certificate. Must marry within 90 days of entering the U.S. on a K-1 visa.

So as long as entry is before 6 months its fine and marriage should be within 90 days your time line shows 2011-12-12 as the intended entry date so as long as you marry within 90 days of that date its fine.

If you really want to have the specific wedding date in mind or for work you can marry anywhere in the US. Road trip Vegas Baby!!

Good luck and congrats on your approval

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi all,

I just found out that San Francisco City Hall is closed from Dec 9 to the New Year.

In short, they will not be issuing any marriage licenses, or conducting any ceremonies there.

My POE is Dec 12 (the date cannot be changed) and I was hoping to get married ASAP so that I can apply for my work visa ASAP.

Can anyone advice what my other options are? For example:

1. Can my fiance collect our marriage license beforehand, and we find a celebrant to marry us? (but..i think we need both parties to be around to get married)

2. Can we travel to somewhere nearby? Maybe Napa and get it done there? Vegas is an option...but...trying to see if there is anything nearby.

Why would a government office be closed for so long?! it's unheard of where i come from!!

1. Possibly, ask at city hall

2. You can get married anywhere in the USA

Government offices will be closed for as long as the people electing them continue to vote for the people in charge. If the people of SF made it an issue and UNelected the people who seem to want long holidays at taxpayer expense...it would change.

[Bryan and Isabel 29]

You have 90 Days to get married, enjoy the mini vacation before you join the workforce.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Government offices will be closed for as long as the people electing them continue to vote for the people in charge. If the people of SF made it an issue and UNelected the people who seem to want long holidays at taxpayer expense...it would change.

Uhhh..those long holidays at taxpayer expense are actually unpaid furloughs...but don't let facts get in your way.

[baron555 934]

Uhhh..those long holidays at taxpayer expense are actually unpaid furloughs...but don't let facts get in your way.

OK.....if the people elected officials who did their jobs as true representatives of the people, those governments wouldn't have to resort to these tactics, my own state can be included in this knuckle-headed bunch !

[Krikit 1,164]

You can get a license and marry in another jurisdiction. It doesn't have to be SF.

Moving from K-1 Process to General Immigration Discussion.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hi all,

I just found out that San Francisco City Hall is closed from Dec 9 to the New Year.

In short, they will not be issuing any marriage licenses, or conducting any ceremonies there.

My POE is Dec 12 (the date cannot be changed) and I was hoping to get married ASAP so that I can apply for my work visa ASAP.

Can anyone advice what my other options are? For example:

1. Can my fiance collect our marriage license beforehand, and we find a celebrant to marry us? (but..i think we need both parties to be around to get married)

2. Can we travel to somewhere nearby? Maybe Napa and get it done there? Vegas is an option...but...trying to see if there is anything nearby.

Why would a government office be closed for so long?! it's unheard of where i come from!!

You're not applying for your work VISA you're applying for your AOS (to get GC) and your EAD (work permit) and AP (travel permit).

As others stated, you can get married wherever you want. I'd do vegas. Cliche, but fun

[Tahoma 2,292]

OK.....if the people elected officials who did their jobs as true representatives of the people, those governments wouldn't have to resort to these tactics, my own state can be included in this knuckle-headed bunch !

What does that have to do with calling unpaid furlough paid holidays? Please read my previous post again. They aren't paid holidays.

[gyselle 4]

thanks all!

Other than vegas, does anyone know where near SF we can have a "quick wedding"?

we are doing all the ceremonial stuff in Asia anyway..we just want something quick.

Also....would getting married in Vegas raise eyebrows when we go for our Green card interviews?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

thanks all!

Other than vegas, does anyone know where near SF we can have a "quick wedding"?

we are doing all the ceremonial stuff in Asia anyway..we just want something quick.

Also....would getting married in Vegas raise eyebrows when we go for our Green card interviews?

Alameda County Clerk's office in Oakland. They are closed this year on December 26th. I got married there on December 29th in 2009. They even got a JP for us that spoke Vietnamese so we had a bilingual ceremony. You can go in, get a marriage license, have a civil wedding, and be out with a certified copy of the marriage certificate in about 30 minutes.

http://www.acgov.org/auditor/clerk/ceremony.htm

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

thanks all!

Other than vegas, does anyone know where near SF we can have a "quick wedding"?

we are doing all the ceremonial stuff in Asia anyway..we just want something quick.

Also....would getting married in Vegas raise eyebrows when we go for our Green card interviews?

Basically just bounce down the different municipalities.

Alameda was mentioned.

There is Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, Albany in the East.

San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma in the North.

San Bruno, Palo Alto, San Carlos etc to the South.

If you want a guaranteed show up wedding spot there is always Reno NV which is about 3-4 hours away...beware of I80 closures though.

[gyselle 4]

Thanks all!

In the end, it was a false alarm.

the bookings only open 90days in advance. Fiance was too early.

we now have the date