Special marriage act in India. Does the USC have to be physically present at the time of filing?

[GaganGoel 7]

Hi VJ community, I need your help and advise!

There seems to be some confusion around if the US citizen has to be in India twice for a civil marriage through the special marriage act (once for filing and once for registering the marriage after 30 days). What I am trying to figure out is if it OK for one of us (say my fiance in India) to be present at the time of filing, and then I go to India after 30days of waiting, and we get married through the special marriage act. When I talk to lawyers in India with regards to this, I get different answers from different lawyers. Does anyone know what is the legal requirement here? Also if the lawyer says that only having my fiance at the time of filing will suffice, does it cause any problems later on?

Thanks in advance! This is an amazingly useful forum.

Gagan

[pgupta 19]

Hi VJ community, I need your help and advise!

There seems to be some confusion around if the US citizen has to be in India twice for a civil marriage through the special marriage act (once for filing and once for registering the marriage after 30 days). What I am trying to figure out is if it OK for one of us (say my fiance in India) to be present at the time of filing, and then I go to India after 30days of waiting, and we get married through the special marriage act. When I talk to lawyers in India with regards to this, I get different answers from different lawyers. Does anyone know what is the legal requirement here? Also if the lawyer says that only having my fiance at the time of filing will suffice, does it cause any problems later on?

Thanks in advance! This is an amazingly useful forum.

Gagan

There is no need to wait 30 days for registration, you can register marrige immidietely after normal marriage. and Yes you need to be present for register your marriage.

You need NOC from US consulate in India for Marriage registration which you can get same day of applying.

Edited September 24, 2012 by pgupta

[GaganGoel 7]

There is no need to wait 30 days for registration, you can register marrige immidietely after normal marriage. and Yes you need to be present for register your marriage.

You need NOC from US consulate in India for Marriage registration which you can get same day of applying.

I am not getting a normal marriage done. Instead I am going for marriage through the special marriage act in which you have to wait for 30 days after filing the application (or what is known as "Notice of Intended Marriage"). See the "Requirements" section here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Marriage_Act,_1954

What I am trying to figure out is if both the parties have to be present at the time of filing the "Notice of Intended Marriage". I know that at the time of "solemnization" (which happens after 30 days of waiting) both of us have to be present, but I am not sure about the time when you are the filing the application (aka notice of intended marriage).

[RnS 0]

I am not getting a normal marriage done. Instead I am going for marriage through the special marriage act in which you have to wait for 30 days after filing the application (or what is known as "Notice of Intended Marriage"). See the "Requirements" section here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Marriage_Act,_1954

What I am trying to figure out is if both the parties have to be present at the time of filing the "Notice of Intended Marriage". I know that at the time of "solemnization" (which happens after 30 days of waiting) both of us have to be present, but I am not sure about the time when you are the filing the application (aka notice of intended marriage).

Every court has their own set of rules, you better hire an attorney for this who can help you filling notice without USC. If they accept notice without NOC from Embassy and you can submit it at the time of solemnization of marriage; IF you are not successful in this you have to stay in India for more than 40 days as every court is slow even it is 30 days notice.

If both of you are Hindu, you better chose to get married in some Arya Samaj temple. You can get registered with in two week in this way.

Where do you live in India?

Good Luck.

Edited September 24, 2012 by RnS

[TimeTravel 78]

What I am trying to figure out is if it OK for one of us (say my fiance in India) to be present at the time of filing, and then I go to India after 30days of waiting, and we get married through the special marriage act. When I talk to lawyers in India with regards to this, I get different answers from different lawyers. Does anyone know what is the legal requirement here? Also if the lawyer says that only having my fiance at the time of filing will suffice, does it cause any problems later on?

No, that won't work out like this. At the time of filing, you both must present at marriage registrar office. There is no exception for such situation. As far as concern about after 30 days, I am not sure whether they will be okay to give certificate to your husband or would need you guys to present again.

Do the things in proper and real way! If you guys use any bypass using corrupt lawyer, then it may cause you trouble at the time of interview. During interview, everything would be reviewed very carefully by American and Indian officials.

[GaganGoel 7]

No, that won't work out like this. At the time of filing, you both must present at marriage registrar office. There is no exception for such situation. As far as concern about after 30 days, I am not sure whether they will be okay to give certificate to your husband or would need you guys to present again.

Do the things in proper and real way! If you guys use any bypass using corrupt lawyer, then it may cause you trouble at the time of interview. During interview, everything would be reviewed very carefully by American and Indian officials.

I called the DC offices at few places in India today (I was surprised that they pick the phone!). Some of them (like the Chandigarh DC office) told me that only one person can be present at the time of filing. So the legality of this seems to depend on where you file it. I feel there is a very divided opinion on VJ about this topic of who has to be present at the time of filing. [There should be a way to reach a consensus on this forum and educate the future newbies about certain topic more affirmatively.]

[hamigirl710 112]

I called the DC offices at few places in India today (I was surprised that they pick the phone!). Some of them (like the Chandigarh DC office) told me that only one person can be present at the time of filing. So the legality of this seems to depend on where you file it. I feel there is a very divided opinion on VJ about this topic of who has to be present at the time of filing. [There should be a way to reach a consensus on this forum and educate the future newbies about certain topic more affirmatively.]

You may want to keep in mind that this is a self-help site and the major majority here on this site are not lawyers and are answering from their knowledge and experience. I do not see how everybody is going to reach a consensus here 100% of the time. It is best to read the answers you are given and wisely choose the best answer that fits your needs. Also, many people come and go and do not sit here just waiting to answer questions so it may take several days to get an answer. There have been times that I have asked questions and I get an answer for 2 weeks or a month later. I am glad you called India today and got your answer and best of luck to you.

[GaganGoel 7]

You may want to keep in mind that this is a self-help site and the major majority here on this site are not lawyers and are answering from their knowledge and experience. I do not see how everybody is going to reach a consensus here 100% of the time. It is best to read the answers you are given and wisely choose the best answer that fits your needs. Also, many people come and go and do not sit here just waiting to answer questions so it may take several days to get an answer. There have been times that I have asked questions and I get an answer for 2 weeks or a month later. I am glad you called India today and got your answer and best of luck to you.

Totally agreed. What I was proposing that there should be a way to mark the thread as a "starred" thread which should mean that some sort of consensus was reached or the author of the post thought that he got a concrete answer. Moreover, author should be able to mark one of the replies as a best answer. Just a proposal. No harm in proposing one.

[hamigirl710 112]

Totally agreed. What I was proposing that there should be a way to mark the thread as a "starred" thread which should mean that some sort of consensus was reached or the author of the post thought that he got a concrete answer. Moreover, author should be able to mark one of the replies as a best answer. Just a proposal. No harm in proposing one.

yes that would be a great idea

[TimeTravel 78]

I called the DC offices at few places in India today (I was surprised that they pick the phone!). Some of them (like the Chandigarh DC office) told me that only one person can be present at the time of filing. So the legality of this seems to depend on where you file it. I feel there is a very divided opinion on VJ about this topic of who has to be present at the time of filing. [There should be a way to reach a consensus on this forum and educate the future newbies about certain topic more affirmatively.]

The person who picked up the phone, he may not be main official ( he could be just some newbie guy ), and his advice may not be right. Ask your husband to visit the office, and check out the real story there with official. I don't see how they can accept a marriage application if one of person is not present to sign and appear in-front of official to ensure the authenticity. ( esp when you are a US citizen and out of country )

Anyway, good luck!

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to India regional forum; topic is about marriage procedures in India and not about the US spousal visa process.

[catknit 144]

It completely depends on the local office you are working with. There are some users on vj that have successfully registered for the Special Marriage Act with only the Indian citizen at the office. Whether or not that is technically legal is a whole other conversation. But, yes, it has been done.

I would suggest visiting the website indiamike.com and taking a look at their marriage forum. Many, many questions about this same issue are answered there including those that can be back tracked to specific locales thus giving you an idea if it will work in your neck of the Indian woods.

[Aschenbecher 16]

OMG ! First of alll forget about lawyers and courts. They will take you for a ride !

Just go to your Registrar office , ask the officer if he will accept a form filled out by USC while USC is not present ? in our case the officer requested that USC mail the application filled out directly to the Registrar office. I emailed the application to my USC wife in US , she filled it out and mailed it back to me she used FedEx so we could track the application and know when it will reach the office and i was present at the registrar office right when the FedEx guy delivered the application from my USC wife to the officer. The officer then gave a go ahead. Our notice was put up on the board. and after 30 days my USC wife came over and we got married. simple.

Mind you we have to give small gift to the officer. You always doo !

[UsUs 0]

I called the DC offices at few places in India today (I was surprised that they pick the phone!). Some of them (like the Chandigarh DC office) told me that only one person can be present at the time of filing. So the legality of this seems to depend on where you file it. I feel there is a very divided opinion on VJ about this topic of who has to be present at the time of filing. [There should be a way to reach a consensus on this forum and educate the future newbies about certain topic more affirmatively.]

Did you happen to call a DC in bangalore? If so can only one person can be present at the time of filing there?