Question on marriage certificate - DCF London

[americanjetset 0]

Hello! I am hoping to go through the DCF route as the field office sounded optimistic that I was eligible (keeping fingers crossed!).

However, I have one question.

The I-130 checklist states that We will require a copy of your marriage license plus marriage certificate to show that it has been publicly registered in the state/country. (cited from http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/dhs/i130-checklist_for_spouse.pdf )

However, when I phoned my registrar, they said that they don't know what a marriage licence is and that they do not give out the paper that is on public display for 15 days after you give notice.

What do I do? Is there a marriage licence that you can obtain in the UK? Is it called something else (or is there an equivalent that I need to ask for)? Don't want to be rejected just for this when I have my marriage certificate.

Thank you VJers!

[jenyadenise 4]

Hello! I am hoping to go through the DCF route as the field office sounded optimistic that I was eligible (keeping fingers crossed!).

However, I have one question.

The I-130 checklist states that We will require a copy of your marriage license plus marriage certificate to show that it has been publicly registered in the state/country. (cited from http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/dhs/i130-checklist_for_spouse.pdf )

However, when I phoned my registrar, they said that they don't know what a marriage licence is and that they do not give out the paper that is on public display for 15 days after you give notice.

What do I do? Is there a marriage licence that you can obtain in the UK? Is it called something else (or is there an equivalent that I need to ask for)? Don't want to be rejected just for this when I have my marriage certificate.

Thank you VJers!

Hi americanjetset,

Neither my husband or I are British (he's Mexican and I'm a USC), but we met and married in the UK. So, we got our marriage certificate there. They don't call it a marriage "license" in the UK. It's a marriage certificate. After we got married in the UK, we moved to Mexico and we filed DCF here. When we filed our I-130 at the USCIS office in Mexico City, they accepted our UK marriage certificate without any issues. Also, I was able to change my name on all important documents in the US (SSN, Passport, Driv License...) using a copy of my marriage certificate from the UK.

Have you already married there? The 15 days that you mention is the waiting period that they require in the UK from the time you "give notice" that you intend to marry to the time you are allowed to have the ceremony. They require that your name is publicly displayed for 15 days before getting married - I guess to allow someone to object or something.

Hope this helps! But, also, hopefully someone who did DCF in the UK can chime in with some information for you about their experience there.

[diath 6]

We just mailed the marriage certificate. This is what they told us at the Embassy down in London is all we need.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Weird. I was just asking exactly the same Q in the London section. We've just sent our certificate, as I cannot find any evidence that physical "licences" exist in the UK.

If you're not married yet, I found this resource useful - but basically it's super easy to marry in the UK. http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/relationships_e/relationships_living_together_marriage_and_civil_partnership_e/getting_married.htm

The only special note is that if you're marrying someone subject to immigration control, you need to give notice of intent to marry at a "Designated Office" (most towns seem to have one, and London has multiple - we just married at one that happened to also be one after giving our required days notice (it's 15, iirc - we got married 1 month after giving notice) http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/while-in-uk/marriageandcivilpartnership/registrar/

Edited May 7, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[Owen_London 65]

Hi americanjetset,

Neither my husband or I are British (he's Mexican and I'm a USC), but we met and married in the UK. So, we got our marriage certificate there. They don't call it a marriage "license" in the UK. It's a marriage certificate. After we got married in the UK, we moved to Mexico and we filed DCF here. When we filed our I-130 at the USCIS office in Mexico City, they accepted our UK marriage certificate without any issues. Also, I was able to change my name on all important documents in the US (SSN, Passport, Driv License...) using a copy of my marriage certificate from the UK.

Have you already married there? The 15 days that you mention is the waiting period that they require in the UK from the time you "give notice" that you intend to marry to the time you are allowed to have the ceremony. They require that your name is publicly displayed for 15 days before getting married - I guess to allow someone to object or something.

Hope this helps! But, also, hopefully someone who did DCF in the UK can chime in with some information for you about their experience there.

In the US, you receive a marriage license that allows you to get married. In Texas, the marriage license actually forms the back of the marriage certificate.

The UK marriage certificate is equivalent to the US certificate, not to the marriage "license". There is no equivalent to the "license" in the UK, and the US embassy in London knows this.