US Citizen getting married IN Venezuela - Documents help

[spectrrr 14]

I'm moving to Venezuela in April to marry my fiance. We're planning the wedding for a few weeks after I arrive.

To the US citizens who have gotten married in Venezuela, I have a couple questions about the documents needed.

This is what the the local authority that will handle the civil ceremony said are the required documents for me to have. I'm trying to get them together now and send them to my fiance via fedex (but not the passport of course).

1) documento de nacimiento (birth certificate)

2) una carta de solteria (what the heck is this? internet searches have turned up a huge array of different things)

3) passport

And here's the part where my confusion really kicks in: "estos documentos debes traducirlos con un traductor certificado y aportillado por el consulado." WHO has to do the translating? a specific subset of "certified translators IN venezuela"?? Anyone in the USA who is fluent and can translate it and stamp it? What kind of "certification" stamps is the venezuelan offical looking to see???? "aportillado por el consulado" - which consulate? who?

Thanks in advance!

Edited February 3, 2013 by spectrrr

[Andrea&Henry 311]

hola!! me again!

la carta de solteria is some sort of letter/document in which states that you are truly free to get married. You need to get this in Venezuela. You must go to a notario publico with your passport, a Venezuelan ID (if you have one), and 3 witnesses (18 or older, with cedula de identidad, it can't be a close relative) they need to testify that you are single. After they issue the carta de solteria, you need to take it to al Ministerio Popular de relaciones exteriores to have it apostillada. no consulates involve.

Is quite a journey! I know all this cause when my now husband proposed to me, we wanted to get married in Venezuela and applied for a CR1. I even got my carta de solteria issued, but then, after talking to a lawyer, we found out how much time it takes to get a cr1 visa and we freaked out. And in our plans wasn't my husband moving to Venezuela. He couldn't quit his jobs and his responsabilities, but spending 10 month separated after our marriage, it was awful...so we changed our minds and decided that the k1 visa was the right path for both of us.

La apostilla is stamp who give any venezuelan document an international acceptance. When you file for a cr1, most of your fiance's documents MUST be apostillado.

The translation must be make by an certified translator. If you through the press and internet, there are lawyers and professional who works as a certified translators. Is not something you can do and having it stamp. This professional have a license number and know the format. Most of the law firms in Venezuela provide this kind of service. If you need any information email me. good luck

[spectrrr 14]

hmmm... I wonder if it is possible for me to obtain una carta de soltera aqui en los EEUU.... perhaps a letter from the state of Ohio (my state) that says they cannot find any records of my marriage, and a letter signed and notarized by my friends that I am not married, and then everything translated. Then perhaps I only must go to the Ministerio Popular de relaciones exteriores to have it apostillada, rapido cuando llego a Venezuela....

Perhaps a translation service like this one is "certified" and can do things correctly? http://www.foxtranslate.com/

Really, it is important that I can do all or most of the documents here in the USA. We will not have time to do it before the civil ceremony in Venezuela. I will only arrive a week before the wedding. Es triste, pero tengo demasiado cosas aqui de mi madre que todavia falta a terminar, no puedo ir mas temprano.... :/

The time waiting for the CR1 really does not bother us. We can come to the United states anytime, January 2014 hasta June 2014, pero no mas tarde. She will need to apply for admission to Universities before the end of September, 2014.... and then classes will begin in September, 2015.

Thank you for all of the help!

I spent weeks researching every possible option for visas.... But it was two years ago, now I do not remember many of the requirements, I am learning it all again....

[Andrea&Henry 311]

It's ok! Well, you can do most of the paperwork here la carta of solteria I'm not quite sure. The reason is that is not a secret that venezuelan goverment is totally against to any american gasp of culture (but they lovvvvee to spend all their money in Miami bunch of hypocrits) back to topic, so my biggest concern would be, if they will accept all your american documents. And venezuelan's procedure takes time.

[spectrrr 14]

I don't know... MANY MANY countries require something like the carta de soltera... it is just a document that proves you are single.... but what is that here in the USA? If not for Venezuela, certainly someone here (hellllooooooo VJ?) has had to obtain a similar document in the USA for marriage in a different country. What did you do?I've been asking around on other forums too, and so far, nothing. I can't believe I'm the only one that's gotten married outside of the USA and had to come up with a clear idea of what this stupid document is!

Edited February 11, 2013 by spectrrr

[NickD 203]

Married my wife here by a federal judge to make our USCIS happy. Another reason is that Wisconsin State Law requires me to get our marriage license here in my county, or I could be in for a $10,000 fine.

We went down to the Chicago Venezuelan consulate to register our marriage with them, we also went down to Venezuela for kind of a wedding reception, heck, most people just want the reception only, the heck with the church or the court house. Everything worked out fine.

Those notaries will rob you blind, want money under the table, or will make mistakes like crazy or make you wait, then all the stuff has to be translated if you are planning on living here.

Worse yet, the Bolivar is to be worth 46% less the day after tomorrow, we are upset about that as well as have a lot of money down there we can't bring here.

Good luck.

[spectrrr 14]

Which Notaries are you talking about? The ones in Venezuela? Which documents will I have to get through them?

[NickD 203]

Wife was working for Johnson & Johnson, the Band-Aid people in Caracas, except handled over 5,000 different types of medical products, each with a different tariff. So she did know good attorneys they called notaries over there. Unfortunately, they have all left that country since then, so can't even give you a recommendation.

This site may help:

http://www.gestionesenvenezuela.com/indexcs.htm

Thinking about here with our USCIS, the only way they would have known my wife was previously married is she told them she was. They are so sloppy down there, couldn't get copies of her marriage certificate, she did have the original marriage certificate, but was loaded with typos . Had to pay a small fortune to get that corrected in their courts before her divorce could be finalized. Another butchered up piece of paper was her daughter's birth certificate, was also expensive to get that corrected and properly translated.

I had the same problem with the State of Illinois, they converted all the written documents to a database using illiterate people to do so. Took me three months to get that squared way, sending all kinds of original proof to Springfield, but only cost me six bucks. In that long process, I found my original birth certificate so presented that to the USCIS. Heck, when was the last time anyone wanted to see my birth certificate? Last I recall is when I was drafted, it was buried in with my military records that I just happened to save.

You will find the legal system in Venezuela to be very corrupt. I saved bank transfers to banks in Miami to prove that, don't know why, non-deductible on US tax forms. Just about any judge or notary I have met in Venezuela has a Miami bank account.