Will this be a successful approach? Need good advice

[beejay 123]

I know I cannot actually file the I-130 from Nairobi because they recently stopped accepting DCF unless the person resides there. But perhaps she may still be able to interview there. Still, I fear for some of the negative fallout of never registering in her own country. Also, I wonder if her having a daughter complicates things specifically as it relates to the issued raised in this post... i.e., will Colombia require for her to prove she is married before letting her leave with her daughter to live in another country? Or should a permission for the daughter's father be all that is needed?

And yes, I was on here before and the situation has evolved

Even without DCF you can send your petition to the appropriate address in the US from Rwanda (currently it is the lockbox in Chicago). You can use your Rwandan address when filling out the forms. I would search this site for "I130 filing from abroad" or now and again when it gets closer to the time that you will file.

If you are worried about being able to register your marriage with Colombian authorities you could always try and do it after your married at the nearest Colombian embassy while you are in Rwanda. I would assume that would also be in Kenya. If there is a process for it you should be able to do it from there even if your marriage was not in Colombia.

[nebodihome 0]

Yeah, you would need an exception granted....it is in the realm of possibilities though...1994 is a long time ago for the apostille, but the information is still good and legit...just have to convince the notary of that...

Although I have found a service based in Russia that seems legit and is willing to apostillize Russian documents for those abroad.

But... if we wed in T&T, why even go through all of this? I would honestly much rather just go to T&T, present my passport, get married, go live in Africa and later she can interview in Kenya or in Colombia or something. What's the point of getting it registered in Rwanda? It's the U.S. gov. that counts in this case.

[Mononoke28 135]

OK, I get what you're asking now so here goes, the only reason you would need to register your marriage in Colombia is so that it can be valid there for whatever situation that may arise such as dividing your Colombian assets in case of a divorce, child custody, seeking Colombian citizenship, etc. You don't have to register it if you're filing for a US visa of any kind because as I said earlier, the US recognizes most marriages that take place outside of the US and you would only have to deal with the US embassy and no one else.

As beejay said earlier, you can still file an I-130 from outside the U.S., since you say Rwanda no longer has DCF you will have to send it to the USCIS and ask to have the CR1 or IR1 interview at the nearest US embassy. Again, the fact that you didn't register your marriage in Colombia has nothing to do with this since you will only be dealing with the US.

For the child, she only needs a signed, notarized permission from the father issued no more than 30 days before leaving Colombia. She will show this to the DAS person before boarding. That's it, they only care about getting the father's permission to leave the country, they don't care about where they're flying to nor how long they'll be there for.

Diana

[beejay 123]

Here's a few current threads on nonDCF I-130 filers outside of US

Thread from Jan 25 2012

Thread from Jan 18 2012

Thread from Jan 25 2012

[Orando 57]

Although I have found a service based in Russia that seems legit and is willing to apostillize Russian documents for those abroad.

But... if we wed in T&T, why even go through all of this? I would honestly much rather just go to T&T, present my passport, get married, go live in Africa and later she can interview in Kenya or in Colombia or something. What's the point of getting it registered in Rwanda? It's the U.S. gov. that counts in this case.

Yeah, T&T sounds like a reasonable option for you....The US recognizes foreign marriage certificates, maybe Rwanda does, maybe Colombia does?

[Mononoke28 135]

Yeah, T&T sounds like a reasonable option for you....The US recognizes foreign marriage certificates, maybe Rwanda does, maybe Colombia does?

No, Colombia doesn't recognize foreign marriages unless they are registered in Colombia, thus the reason for his initial question. But since he only has to deal with US authorities to get his wife a CR1/IR1 visa, he won't need to register the marriage in Colombia.

Diana

[Orando 57]

No, Colombia doesn't recognize foreign marriages unless they are registered in Colombia, thus the reason for his initial question. But since he only has to deal with US authorities to get his wife a CR1/IR1 visa, he won't need to register the marriage in Colombia.

Diana

Ok, we are saying the same thing then. They do recognize foreign marriage certificates, a person needs to follow the rules in Colombia to have the marriage certificate recognized. The US is easy, you just have to present the foreign marriage certificate, no need to go through any registration process. I am sure it varies from country to country as to what a person needs to do to process the certificate into the country's system. If Colombia did not recognize foreign marriage certificates, then a person would never be able to be considered married in Colombia because the certificate would carry no value and they would presumably need to get married again in Colombia.

[Mononoke28 135]

Ok, we are saying the same thing then. They do recognize foreign marriage certificates, a person needs to follow the rules in Colombia to have the marriage certificate recognized. The US is easy, you just have to present the foreign marriage certificate, no need to go through any registration process. I am sure it varies from country to country as to what a person needs to do to process the certificate into the country's system. If Colombia did not recognize foreign marriage certificates, then a person would never be able to be considered married in Colombia because the certificate would carry no value and they would presumably need to get married again in Colombia.

LOL. Yes I think we're saying the same thing and that last sentence is a true statement. The only way the Colombian government will recognize a marriage that took place outside of Colombia is if they register it there. Some people don't know this, never register it and carry on with their lives thinking their marriage is valid in Colombia when it's not. So yes, as far as the law is concerned, a person is not married in Colombia if they never register it there, even if they have a marriage certificate from another country saying that he is. In that case they either have to register it there or get re-married in Colombia.

Diana

[Orando 57]

LOL. Yes I think we're saying the same thing and that last sentence is a true statement. The only way the Colombian government will recognize a marriage that took place outside of Colombia is if they register it there. Some people don't know this, never register it and carry on with their lives thinking their marriage is valid in Colombia when it's not. So yes, as far as the law is concerned, a person is not married in Colombia if they never register it there, even if they have a marriage certificate from another country saying that he is. In that case they either have to register it there or get re-married in Colombia.

Diana

Cool beans...speaking of Colombia...I am going to Barranquilla in a few weeks to see the wife! It is not good for my babe to be without me for so long, not good at all, she is so ready for us to be living together, soon, God willing!

[Orando 57]

LOL. Yes I think we're saying the same thing and that last sentence is a true statement. The only way the Colombian government will recognize a marriage that took place outside of Colombia is if they register it there. Some people don't know this, never register it and carry on with their lives thinking their marriage is valid in Colombia when it's not. So yes, as far as the law is concerned, a person is not married in Colombia if they never register it there, even if they have a marriage certificate from another country saying that he is. In that case they either have to register it there or get re-married in Colombia.

Diana

Cool beans...speaking of Colombia...I am going to Barranquilla in a few weeks to see the wife! It is not good for my babe to be without me for so long, not good at all, she is so ready for us to be living together, soon, God willing!