Marriage Certificate Required with I-485?

[JeffPerren 1]

The guidelines on this excellent site say that the marriage certificate should be included with the package for the I-485 (Adjustment of Status). My Colombian fiancee entered the country Jan 12, 2012 and our wedding date is set for Mar 22, 2012, about three weeks before her I-94/K-1 (90 days) expires. I'm concerned about waiting so close to the end date. Does anyone know whether it is really mandatory to include the marriage certificate? (I don't see it mentioned in the instructions for the I-485.) If so, can it be sent later, after the initial package? (Yes, I'm aware this can delay or confuse things; life is always a balancing of risks.)

[Note: My apologies if this question has been asked before. A Google search from within the site didn't return any results that appeared to address is. There was one similar question from a K-3 visa holder but that's already included with an I-130 and they already had the certificate.]

By the way, we DO have the marriage license - unsigned, of course, since there's been no legal ceremony yet nor filing with the court clerk.

Thanks in advance to anyone with helpful guidance on this question.

[3t3rnal 3]

the marriage license doesn't mean you're married, just means you both are legal to be married, and for AOS, you have to already be married and a marriage certificate is the proof that you're already married legally

most likely you'll get a RFE, & ur AOS process might just be prolonged a bit, but w/e ur SO is in the USA already

but to be on the safe side, my advice is that you should just go to the court clerk & pay the $40 or w/e for them to marry you legally

then do your big ceremonial wedding in front of your family & friends

[JeffPerren 1]

the marriage license doesn't mean you're married, just means you both are legal to be married, and for AOS, you have to already be married and a marriage certificate is the proof that you're already married legally

most likely you'll get a RFE, & ur AOS process might just be prolonged a bit, but w/e ur SO is in the USA already

but to be on the safe side, my advice is that you should just go to the court clerk & pay the $40 or w/e for them to marry you legally

then do your big ceremonial wedding in front of your family & friends

Thank you for the rapid reply.

Yes, I understand the marriage license does not indicate that we are married. I mentioned it only on the off chance that maybe it would be a semi-useful substitute or some such thing. I'm not sure what "w/e ur SO" means but I think I got the gist. We've already scheduled with the court to be married on Mar 22 (the only day that worked, for a variety of reasons that don't need to be discussed here) and plan to have a second ceremony this summer for the family.

Thank you again for the helpful reply.

P.S. From what I've read it's not necessary to be already married to file the I-485. I could be wrong but I believe I read that from one of the guidelines or FAQs on this site.

Edited February 15, 2012 by JeffPerren

[milimelo 4,477]

You're serious? You'd just be giving ammo to USCIS to take your money, see there is a relationship requirement missing aka marriage certificate and deny you. And no, marriage license does not satisfy the relationship requirement - marriage certificate does.

So, once you get married, ask the judge or whoever marries you for you to WALK the certificate to the court clerk and get it registered then and there. Also get several copies of the certificate - you will need it.

[kcoyclay1 98]

You have to be legally married for AOS. There is no category that adjusts fiancée. They need proof. Get all you need before you begin the process because they will shelf your petition until they have all required documents.

[Moomin 292]

Yep, the marriage certificate is the primary proof of being eligible to adjust status when entering US on a K1. Without it, there's simply no adjusting status.

As long as you're married within the 90 days USCIS doesn't care if it was the first of last week.

The marriage license doesn't prove anything in this case, and is not what USCIS is asking for.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

P.S. From what I've read it's not necessary to be already married to file the I-485. I could be wrong but I believe I read that from one of the guidelines or FAQs on this site.

If you think this is true then you have missed huge swaths of the instructions. Here, I found it on the very first page of the form itself!

See Part 2 of the I-485. "Application Type (check one)"

Edited February 15, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[Dave&Roza 748]

Thank you for the rapid reply.

Yes, I understand the marriage license does not indicate that we are married. I mentioned it only on the off chance that maybe it would be a semi-useful substitute or some such thing. I'm not sure what "w/e ur SO" means but I think I got the gist. We've already scheduled with the court to be married on Mar 22 (the only day that worked, for a variety of reasons that don't need to be discussed here) and plan to have a second ceremony this summer for the family.

Thank you again for the helpful reply.

P.S. From what I've read it's not necessary to be already married to file the I-485. I could be wrong but I believe I read that from one of the guidelines or FAQs on this site.

As the others have mentioned, you must be married to file AOS. That is the whole purpose of this step--your fiance(e) arrives in the US and you get married within the 90 time frame. After that you file for AOS. You do not have to file before the I-94 expires--there are some minor conquenses should you have a run in with CBP, but those are rare unless you live near the southern boarder. For us we got married at the courthouse at 4:30 pm and I walked the marriage certificate signed by the judge and the witnesses to the Clerk and Recorder's office on the second floor. I requested 6 certified copies which she made and signed. The original was kept to be recorded and was mailed back to me in about 4 days. I still have the original. I took it to the interview for AOS along with another certified copy. The IO looked at the original and kept another copy of our marriage certificate. We filled for AOS about 1.5 months after the wife's I-94 expired even though we got married within 2 weeks of her arrival.

Relax. Get married. Get the marriage certificate and then file for AOS. I would get the fiance's SSN before the I-94 is within 2 week of expiring. That is one of those things that most forget to do unitl it is too late and then you have to wait for the GC or EAD card before being able to get the SSN.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited February 15, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The guidelines on this excellent site say that the marriage certificate should be included with the package for the I-485 (Adjustment of Status). My Colombian fiancee entered the country Jan 12, 2012 and our wedding date is set for Mar 22, 2012, about three weeks before her I-94/K-1 (90 days) expires. I'm concerned about waiting so close to the end date. Does anyone know whether it is really mandatory to include the marriage certificate? (I don't see it mentioned in the instructions for the I-485.) If so, can it be sent later, after the initial package? (Yes, I'm aware this can delay or confuse things; life is always a balancing of risks.)

[Note: My apologies if this question has been asked before. A Google search from within the site didn't return any results that appeared to address is. There was one similar question from a K-3 visa holder but that's already included with an I-130 and they already had the certificate.]

By the way, we DO have the marriage license - unsigned, of course, since there's been no legal ceremony yet nor filing with the court clerk.

Thanks in advance to anyone with helpful guidance on this question.

There is no requirement to file AOS within those 90 days, only to get married. You will get married before the I-94 expires, so there is no problem to wait until you have the certified marriage certificate from the court. Keep the original from the court and send a copy with your I-485. It is definitely needed.

Also, it does state it is required in the I-485 instructions, Page 4 - #12 - Evidence of eligibility -

B. Based on admission as the K-1 fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen and subsequent marriage to that citizen

Attach a copy of the fiancé(e) petition approval notice, a copy of your marriage certificate, and your Form 1-94, Arrival/Departure Document.

One more thing, the instructions also tell you that your spouse is eligible to file for AOS based on a K-1 and getting married to you within 90 days of arriving in the US. You need to be married in order for your wife to be able to file for adjustment, otherwise there is nothing to base her eligibility to do so on. Read through the instructions again. You have missed a lot.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Jay-Kay

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Concur with Harpa and Jay. If you have missed the quite obvious references to including the marriage certificate then you've probably missed a heck of a lot more.

If you don't send the marriage cert worst case scenario they accept your money then deny because without a marriage cert you're not eligible. It could happen and I wouldn't risk it.

[JeffPerren 1]

Many thanks to all those who replied. The clarifications (and specific page #, etc on the instructions) were very helpful.

We already have her SSN, and from what I understand based on the replies, it takes only a few days to obtain the certificate, at most. It may not appear so based on my question or comments but we have been VERY careful to date to follow all instructions and supply the needed documents, etc. So, while I appreciate the concern, rest assured we rarely miss things. For example, I didn't miss that the marriage certificate was to be included in the package with the I-485 application. I only thought perhaps it could be sent later, if I-94 expiration date arrived and it became necessary to file for AOS anyway. With the clarifications I now see that isn't a scenario to be worried about.

Again, my gratitude to all those who supplied helpful information.

Edited February 17, 2012 by JeffPerren

[JeffPerren 1]

For example, I didn't miss that the marriage certificate was to be included in the package with the I-485 application.

Re-reading my initial question, I see that I was wrong to say I didn't miss that. I did miss it on the initial read. Sorry for the misstatement.

[jingo 38]

I would think they'd rather see a valid marriage license which was sent in a couple days late than an application without one that was sent in early.

Just have all your forms ready to go, and add the marriage license copy as soon as you have it, and send it that day.

[MAFER 0]

On 2/15/2012 at 5:36 PM, KayDeeCee said:

There is no requirement to file AOS within those 90 days, only to get married. You will get married before the I-94 expires, so there is no problem to wait until you have the certified marriage certificate from the court. Keep the original from the court and send a copy with your I-485. It is definitely needed.

Also, it does state it is required in the I-485 instructions, Page 4 - #12 - Evidence of eligibility -

B. Based on admission as the K-1 fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen and subsequent marriage to that citizen

Attach a copy of the fiancé(e) petition approval notice, a copy of your marriage certificate, and your Form 1-94, Arrival/Departure Document.

One more thing, the instructions also tell you that your spouse is eligible to file for AOS based on a K-1 and getting married to you within 90 days of arriving in the US. You need to be married in order for your wife to be able to file for adjustment, otherwise there is nothing to base her eligibility to do so on. Read through the instructions again. You have missed a lot.

Hi, did you send your marriage license or a marriage certificate?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[KimchiLumpia 315]

17 hours ago, MAFER said:

Hi, did you send your marriage license or a marriage certificate?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Certified marriage certificate