Marriage License - London DCF

[Dbkrantz 16]

Hi everyone,

I am just getting started on the London DCF for my husband.

My question is as follows: do you need both marriage license AND marriage certificate?

On the checklist I found from the US embassy website, they wrote this:

Marriage Certificate: Please provide a marriage certificate issued by a public authority to show that a public record exists of the marriage between you and your spouse. We will require a copy of your marriage license plus marriage certificate to show that it has been publicly registered in the state/country.

My problem is, I signed a wedding license but never got a copy, I do have originals / copies of the wedding certificate though.

As a detail: my husband and I got married in New Hampshire a couple days ago but we are now back in the UK.

Any help would be great, I know it's a little far down the line but I am wondering what to do about this. Is it the case of: it's a marriage that took place in the US so they will be able to track it...?

Thanks everyone,

Deborah

[lost_at_sea 995]

I found that line totally confusing when I was doing it, because the UK don't issue marriage licences, per say (they only post public banns), so we only submitted a marriage certificate and it was fine.

If the US actually issues licences, though, I'd be inclined to say you should get one. Can you order a copy from the courthouse? Perhaps they could fax you a scan of it now (so you can get it sent off immediately - you only need copies for the I-130 filing) and send you the physical copy in the mail?

Also - congratulations on your wedding!

[lost_at_sea 995]

Oh, also, you could email them and check if they definitely need the licence if you have a valid US certificate. This email is really handy (when I've used it, I've had replies within hours!): USCIS.London@uscis.dhs.gov

[Dbkrantz 16]

Thanks,

I'll email them right now and I will contact the town I got married in to ask for a copy of the license tomorrow.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

A FYI to Lost-- every state does they own thing with regards to marriage licenses and certificates. Ours for example.

Buy a license at county clerk office.

Sign it.

Get married and marriage officiant signs it.

Go back to county clerk and hand over license.

She adds her county official bit about recording in the records, then signs and embossed with the county seal.

Voila! The former marriage license is now a marriage certificate.

So there is no license photocopy to retrieve. The one and only piece of paper became a certificate when the clerk did her thing and put it in the county records.

So it would be a problem for many I imagine. I've always wondered if that was poor wording on the website, but this was discussed some time back amongst UK folks and somebody said they were told (in London) it has to be both. Others have ignored that and been fine, like you.

[Dbkrantz 16]

Thanks for your reply,

our certificate and license are two different papers, so I am just going to call the town clerk tomorrow and ask for her to send me a copy just in case. Hopefully, that will be possible for her to do it quickly.

[lost_at_sea 995]

A FYI to Lost-- every state does they own thing with regards to marriage licenses and certificates. Ours for example.

Buy a license at county clerk office.

Sign it.

Get married and marriage officiant signs it.

Go back to county clerk and hand over license.

She adds her county official bit about recording in the records, then signs and embossed with the county seal.

Voila! The former marriage license is now a marriage certificate.

So there is no license photocopy to retrieve. The one and only piece of paper became a certificate when the clerk did her thing and put it in the county records.

So it would be a problem for many I imagine. I've always wondered if that was poor wording on the website, but this was discussed some time back amongst UK folks and somebody said they were told (in London) it has to be both. Others have ignored that and been fine, like you.

Yeah, I figured that was likely the case (both the magical turning licence into certificate method and probably two distinct items in some places).

I wondered if London is really just covering for other countries, too, where there really are two very separate pieces of paper and both are only valid with the two?

I bet the OP would be fine with just the certificate. Worst case, they RFE for the licence, but likely they accept US certificates because, you know, it's the US embassy and they should know what's valid from their own country (ha ha ha)?

The UK is super interesting because we just have a public posting of banns (which is the equivalent of a licence, I guess). I was just at a wedding this weekend, so we were talking about how weird/old-world all that is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banns_of_marriage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_license#United_Kingdom

Edited July 7, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[Dbkrantz 16]

Hi everyone,

Please help !

So, I called the town clerk who married us in New Hampshire and she said she could not provide a copy of the marriage license. As far as my understanding goes, she said that the marriage certificate is the official copy of the marriage license with the official seal, the date of the ceremony etc... She said that the marriage license is sent to the State of NH which is why she could not provide a copy.

I know that in the UK, the marriage license and certificate are two very different things but what about the US?

Help?

This is driving me crazy and I barely even started... This is going to be fun!

[lost_at_sea 995]

Hi everyone,

Please help !

So, I called the town clerk who married us in New Hampshire and she said she could not provide a copy of the marriage license. As far as my understanding goes, she said that the marriage certificate is the official copy of the marriage license with the official seal, the date of the ceremony etc... She said that the marriage license is sent to the State of NH which is why she could not provide a copy.

I know that in the UK, the marriage license and certificate are two very different things but what about the US?

Help?

This is driving me crazy and I barely even started... This is going to be fun!

Did you try emailing the embassy yet?

In my opinion, I think you'll be fine with only the certificate (particularly with the description the town clerk has given you).

[Dbkrantz 16]

I emailed the embassy but they weren't very helpful. In the end, they said to just send the certificate.

[lost_at_sea 995]

I emailed the embassy but they weren't very helpful. In the end, they said to just send the certificate.

Yeah, then go with that. I think it'll be fine.

Also, for filing the I-130, you only need to send a photocopy of the certificate. Don't mail them your original (keep it for the interview).

[Dbkrantz 16]

No I would never send originals. Although I asked for several originals just in case!

by the way:

THANK YOU!

[lost_at_sea 995]

No I would never send originals. Although I asked for several originals just in case!

by the way:

THANK YOU!

No probs. I'm just excited that you're just about to start the DCF!