Divorced or not when filing petition

[Slade&Natasha 7]

The lady at rags told my girl they stopped issuing divorce certificates in June of 2010 and the law now states the final document for divorce is the certified court papers

Finally, something that makes sense!

I suspect that once you get a hold of someone in the consulate, they'll confirm that a certified copy of the court decision is sufficient.

In any case, good luck!

[spectec 12]

I guess I am not doubting they stopped issuing them, seems wierd the consulate has not caught up to the news. Can your fiancee get something in writing from them to that effect? At any rate, call the consulate and ask.

I hope the number I gave you is still good, it was not a regularly published number, it was still the correct number as of last year. The site used to list another number for the consulate but it was not the visa section. A friend of mine used to work in the Kiev consulate and is now in Bucharest. He happened to be traveling with me when I met Alla. She didn't like him. He transferred to Bucharest shortly thereafter and was not there when Alla interviewed.

Seriously it will be good information for everyone here, that is the idea of this forum, to keep up on regional news and changes.

Well it turns out there was a law passed in Ukraine on July 1, 2010 which amended article 116 or their family code which now includes judicial decisions (i.e. court divorce papers) as being a document which allows a person eligibility to remarry. Prior to July 2010 only a certificate of divorce from ZAGS was accepted. It appears if you were divorced prior to this date you are expected to have a certificate of divorce to prove your eligibility to remarry. Since July 2010 ZAGS has not been issuing these certificates of divorce.

I have not contacted the embassy to confirm they will accept the court papers solely as proof but it only makes sense because you can't obtain the certificate document they claim is required on their visa page. I will post after I contact them and verify.

Here is a link to the family code with revisions. http://search.ligazakon.ua/l_doc2.nsf/link1/T022947.html You will need a translator unless you know Ukranian. look at article 116. If you click on the words judicial system you will see how the wording was revised.

I'm not so worried now.

[baron555 934]

Emailing the Embassy should have been your first resort. Don't be afraid of them; their USCs also and most speak your language.

[spectec 12]

Emailing the Embassy should have been your first resort. Don't be afraid of them; their USCs also and most speak your language.

I did email them and they haven't responded.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I did email them and they haven't responded.

At one time they were really good and would respond to emails within 24 hours (on business days) Now it seems like 2-3 weeks and the responses are far less personal and descriptive. I always had good luck calling them and even went over all the documents for our interview over the phone with them. The last time I emailed or called the consulate was June 2009.

[spectec 12]

At one time they were really good and would respond to emails within 24 hours (on business days) Now it seems like 2-3 weeks and the responses are far less personal and descriptive. I always had good luck calling them and even went over all the documents for our interview over the phone with them. The last time I emailed or called the consulate was June 2009.

I just received a response from Kiev on the court papers as proof of divorce question. Here is their response. I would suggest a note being added to the Kiev consulate section of VJ.

Thank you for your inquiry of January 30, 2012.

Please be informed that we do accept the court decree.

We hope this information will assist you.

Sincerely,

Public Liaison Unit

Consular Section

U.S. Embassy,

Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel.: +38/044/521-54-60

Fax: +38/044/521-54-25

[baron555 934]

There you go.....another example of how easy it becomes when you just ask the Embassy!

[spectec 12]

There you go.....another example of how easy it becomes when you just ask the Embassy!

Actually how easy it is when they finally answer you. I asked them 4 days ago. A direct phone call to them only got me a "we can't tell you anymore than is on the embassy page"

[visaveteran1 33]

Actually how easy it is when they finally answer you. I asked them 4 days ago. A direct phone call to them only got me a "we can't tell you anymore than is on the embassy page"

All's well that ends well.

[spectec 12]

All's well that ends well.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I just received a response from Kiev on the court papers as proof of divorce question. Here is their response. I would suggest a note being added to the Kiev consulate section of VJ.

Thank you for your inquiry of January 30, 2012.

Please be informed that we do accept the court decree.

We hope this information will assist you.

Sincerely,

Public Liaison Unit

Consular Section

U.S. Embassy,

Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel.: +38/044/521-54-60

Fax: +38/044/521-54-25

Good news, and glad to see they are responding on a timely basis, hopefully it is the norm now.

Needless to say...bring a copy f the email to the interview AND maybe forward it to the person who's fiancee is in AR for the saem thing. Someone's got some 'splainin' to do.

[payxibka 10,045]

Actually how easy it is when they finally answer you. I asked them 4 days ago. A direct phone call to them only got me a "we can't tell you anymore than is on the embassy page"

Please, 4 days is decent response time and you called the appointment line

[spectec 12]

Please, 4 days is decent response time and you called the appointment line

Ok. Agreed. 4 days isn't so bad but surely you can appreciate the anxiety of awaiting an answer to a question about bringing your loved one to you.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Ok. Agreed. 4 days isn't so bad but surely you can appreciate the anxiety of awaiting an answer to a question about bringing your loved one to you.

Not really. We had all the documents for the interview prepared before we sent the petition, except the I-134. Including getting a new divorce certificate for Alla. we did not make the first step until we had everything we needed for the journey. Right through to citizenship which we did yesterday.

If you try to do this in chunks at the last minute you ARE going to have problems.

Edited February 2, 2012 by Gary and Alla