IR-5 (Mother) no marriage certificate

[shivani_raj 0]

Hello All,

We filed immigrant visa petition for my mom and she has interview on Jan 30th, 2014 in mumbai consulate, India. So far, to the NVC, we only sent affidavits (from family friends who attended her marriage) for her marriage certificate but in the appointment letter they have mentioned marriage certificate to be brought to the interview. Her marriage is not registered and since my father is not doing well and is very old, they can't go to the registrar office to do it now. Now we need to submit the documents before the interview at the OFC office in Chennai. Has anybody been in this situation before ? What can be done about the original marriage certificate, if its not available ? We have the marriage invitation and photo albums. Please do let me know.

thanks.

[scienceworks 64]

From DOS website.

The Hindu and Muslim communities do not usually register marriages, however, marriages by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs may be voluntarily registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of l955. This Act does not apply to Muslims, Parsis, Jews or Christians, who may register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act of l954, or the Christian Marriage Act. Marriage certificates for marriages registered under these Acts may be obtained from the offices of Government Registrar of Marriages, which are located in the headquarters of each district. The certificate will be issued by the Registrar only if the bride and groom personally appear before the official and pay the required fee.

A certificate of marriage between Muslims is usually issued by the priest who performed the ceremony. The document is in the Urdu language, and a certified translation is required. Marriages between Christians are usually obtainable from Church records. If the marriage has not been officially registered, then two sworn affidavits giving the names, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, and the date and place of marriage, as well as the names of the parents of both parties are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

From the name I assume it a Hindu marriage.

Also get an affidavit from Notary (Govt Pleader) in a stamp paper, which states that they are legally married couple under so and so Hindu marriage act and that during that time ( I guess there were married pre '90s) registration of marriage was not common and not mandatory (ask the pleader for details if this statement is needed). State the date and place of marriage and name of parents of each (father and mother) This info should match on all records and G-325A. If possible get someone older close relative who was present at the time of wedding .

Edited January 17, 2014 by scienceworks

[shivani_raj 0]

From DOS website.

The Hindu and Muslim communities do not usually register marriages, however, marriages by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs may be voluntarily registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of l955. This Act does not apply to Muslims, Parsis, Jews or Christians, who may register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act of l954, or the Christian Marriage Act. Marriage certificates for marriages registered under these Acts may be obtained from the offices of Government Registrar of Marriages, which are located in the headquarters of each district. The certificate will be issued by the Registrar only if the bride and groom personally appear before the official and pay the required fee.

A certificate of marriage between Muslims is usually issued by the priest who performed the ceremony. The document is in the Urdu language, and a certified translation is required. Marriages between Christians are usually obtainable from Church records. If the marriage has not been officially registered, then two sworn affidavits giving the names, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, and the date and place of marriage, as well as the names of the parents of both parties are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

From the name I assume it a Hindu marriage.

Also get an affidavit from Notary (Govt Pleader) in a stamp paper, which states that they are legally married couple under so and so Hindu marriage act and that during that time ( I guess there were married pre '90s) registration of marriage was not common and not mandatory (ask the pleader for details if this statement is needed). State the date and place of marriage and name of parents of each (father and mother) This info should match on all records and G-325A. If possible get someone older close relative who was present at the time of wedding .

Hi scienceworks,

Thanks for the detailed reply. Yes we are Hindus and my mom was married in 1968. I already got affidavits from two close friends who were present at the wedding and notarized it. Do you mean I need to get the affidavit itself from the notary that the registration of marriage was not common ?

thanks

[scienceworks 64]

From the instructions, it looks like they need an affidavit that states the details of the marriage and need to executed by parents of couple or relatives if the parents are deceased. I am not sure what the difference is between affidavit executed by and what you have.

On a second thought my suggestion about including the statement "registration is not common" can be ignored, since the instruction says Hindu marriage are not typically registered (In reality from what i understand, all marriages need to be registered these days.

I am not sure what kind of document you have. Getting an affidavit from pleader in stamp paper is not costly I suppose, compared to the hassle of going to consulate and then getting a request for more documents. Talk to an experienced pleader, What city are you from? There is a chance he/she might have written one of these if your place has a significant NRI population.

[shivani_raj 0]

From the instructions, it looks like they need an affidavit that states the details of the marriage and need to executed by parents of couple or relatives if the parents are deceased. I am not sure what the difference is between affidavit executed by and what you have.

On a second thought my suggestion about including the statement "registration is not common" can be ignored, since the instruction says Hindu marriage are not typically registered (In reality from what i understand, all marriages need to be registered these days.

I am not sure what kind of document you have. Getting an affidavit from pleader in stamp paper is not costly I suppose, compared to the hassle of going to consulate and then getting a request for more documents. Talk to an experienced pleader, What city are you from? There is a chance he/she might have written one of these if your place has a significant NRI population.

My mom is in Chennai. I got an affidavit from a family friend (who attended the wedding) again with the details you mentioned before (father/mother names). Got it attested by notary public (notary public is pleader right ?). I also have the marriage photo album of my parents. Also made mom (beneficiary of IR5) sign a letter I drafted explaining her why she doesn't have marriage certificate (it was not common or mandatory in those years) and requesting to consider the affidavits and other documents (wedding photos and invitation). Will this be enough ?

[scienceworks 64]

Yes pleader is notary. I used that term to avoid confusion with US notary public who is not an attorney.

Are the documents in a stamp paper with a court fee stamp? My understanding is in India, documents like this need to be in a stamp paper with proper court fee stamps

Edited January 22, 2014 by scienceworks

[shivani_raj 0]

Yes pleader is notary. I used that term to avoid confusion with US notary public who is not an attorney.

Are the documents in a stamp paper with a court fee stamp? My understanding is in India, documents like this need to be in a stamp paper with proper court fee stamps

Yes, they are in stamp paper with court fee stamp.

[scienceworks 64]

then all good. Good luck.

[shivani_raj 0]

then all good. Good luck.

Thanks scienceworks ! It worked. My mom got her immigrant visa ! I really appreciate the abundance information in this website thats extremely valuable for this process. Thanks to everyone !

regards.

[scienceworks 64]

glad to hear that.