Legalization of documents for Marriage in Vietnam

[JackKarlson 0]

Hello everyone,

I am currently trying to get my marriage papers in Vietnam, before I can file for my new wife's visa. I am confused by the legalization process. I have obtained the following documents in the United States and brought them with me:

My former marriage divorce papers

My birth certificate

My affidavit of Single Status

A photocopy of my passport

A paper from my county's clerk of courts stating I have been divorced for over two years and have no marriages since then

ALL of these papers i have had notarized at my bank (for free), then stamped by my county clerk of courts ($3 per document), and then finally, Apostilled by the Ohio Secretary of State. They all have the fancy little stamps verifying that they are true documents. I was going to send those documents to Washington for the Federal level, but I was informed that the Vietnamese will recognize the stamp of the Secretary of state for certain states. I also had to acquire paperwork about my mental state, that I procured here in vietnam. So here's my question:

The paperwork I brought with me is already notarized. Do i have to still have it notarized by the American Embassy, even though its been stamped three times already? I would like to avoid this, as it says each stamp per document is $50! Add to that, that each document is supposed to be stamped by the Vietnamese embassy for another $50. So if i have seven documents, I have to pay $700 before i even pay for the actual marriage certificate?! The paperwork and hassle in this country is crazy. Add to the fact that once we have all this paperwork done, we have to travel to Dong Nai, Long Khanh, where my wife grew up. NEver mind that she has lived in Saigon for the last three years. Vietnamese have this little book for their house that requires them all to travel home. This is an extra pain, since her mother is from Hue, and has had to travel all the way here to handle this part of the cluster @#$)@#. This will be the second time she has traveled here, because there is no way to call and get any information at the government offices. I am thoroughly irritated and annoyed with this whole process, and I haven't even started to file for her USA visa! I'm sure that will be loads of fun too....

sorry for the exasperated and irritated tone of this message. I am so frustrated by how everything takes ten times as long here, and at each turn there is another fee or bribe to be made. We recently had to travel to District 5 to get the Mental Health certificate stating that I'm not insane to marry her (Though it feels like a catch-22, because anyone who would subject themselves to this amount of hassle, headache, and heartache must be crazy!) When we got there, we were second in line. OF course others showed up and the office opened arbitrarily after lunch (they take a siesta in the afternoon and since they are governement workers they don't care about anyone) When the finally opened the door, everyone bumrushed it. I've discovered the idea of a line is foreign to Vietnamese and anyone, anywhere will jump in front of you. ( I was pleasant initially when i first got here two years ago, but now i physically move the munchkins, since I weigh 100 kilos and they weigh half!) By the time we got processed, after filling out 3 different forms, answering questions about what I do for a living, what my parents do, where I went to college---all of which are none of their business----we were informed if we pay an additional $20, we can get our paperwork NOW, instead of having to return next week. Obviously, we paid the extortion, rather than deal with this place again....

Anyway, anyone who can shed light on the process, I will truly be grateful. I love the people of this country, but WOW, i never thought bureaucrats could get worse than in the United States! To think it was possible for governement workers to care and do less, didn't seem possible. I stand corrected!

[frontgear 194]

That's how the communists run the country: Money in my pocket or out the door you go.

[No name 88 48]

That brings back memories. My mental health check consisted of one question. What is your name?

To tell you the truth all you need is the affidavit of single status and most Justice Departments will only accept the one from the US consulate. You bring your divorce papers to the consulate, no appointment needed. Fill out the application and pay the fee. They issue the affidavit on the spot. You take the affidavit to the Vietnamese department of foreign affairs which is a short walk down the street; the consulate will give you the address. They will take the affidavit and have it for pick up in 24 hours after certifying that the certifier is certified.

I had to get a certified translation of my passport from the peoples community in her home town for $20. I paid more to get it back the same day.

I don't ever remember needing my birth certificate.

Be prepared for the mandatory waiting periods for the marriage certificate which can drag on for ever.

[ricewanted 3]

Jack, wait!!!

Don't do legaization of marriage by VN Embassy in USA unless you've a reliable agency/attorney to help you. I had bad experiences myself. Below is my respond in a post (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/486632-visa-to-go-to-vietnam-went-up-in-price/?p=6891917)

".......I, myself, had really bad experiences with legalization of marriage documents process with the San Francisco, CA. They cashed my money order check but asked me to send additional $$ because I've more than the # of pages they allowed before they can send the documents back to me. Ran out of time, I ended up abandoned all my ~$200 worth of documents: single status, certified divorce cert, and other certified docs together with WA Secretary of State stamps.

That's how I ended up with a K-1. Due to a bad experience with VN Embassy in the USA here."

Todd&Hanh's advice is great. I wish that I had known this prior to that bad experience, I could have been avoided the hassles, threats and waste of $$. As there're other ways to get marriage certificate, but it's already late now. My fiancee will have her K-1 visa, we will marry here in USA... the sad part is that we both don't have relatives in USA, I'm even thinking of finding ways to get her parents & siblings come here for Tourist Visa so they can be witnesses and join us the ceremony at my Buddhist Temple. But it seems difficult, her parents must take care the farms: fish, pigs, chickens... wouldn't be plausible, they travel -> the animals will be starving to death.

Speak of the truth, Jack, can we be friend/acquaintance? My fiancee's home is in Long Khanh, Dong Nai. Her parents & her birthplace was in Central VN, approx 50miles north of Hue. Our "engagement" ceremony was taken in Long Khanh.

I'm going back to Long Khanh this summer to accompany my fiancee back to the States as well as going to attend a wedding of my fiancee's relative. When will your ceremony be? is it in Long Khanh as well?

Best regards & have a great Spring.

[luckytxn 2,264]

I wish everyone that marries a VN babe and bring her to the U.S. finds and reads this forum thoroughly before they make their choice about going through with everything. Maybe they will change their mind and not marry that babe they thought they were going to spend the rest of their life and have kids.

[ricewanted 3]

I wish everyone that marries a VN babe and bring her to the U.S. finds and reads this forum thoroughly before they make their choice about going through with everything. Maybe they will change their mind and not marry that babe they thought they were going to spend the rest of their life and have kids.

Love overcomes every rocks & boulders. If the boulder is too big to get over it, then goes around it.

[jerezblack 1]

Honestly, you should get your marriage certs and everything done here in the states. If you decide to get the marriage certs in Vietnam, get ready to open up your wallet as wide as possible. Everything will cost you alot of money bc they know you are foreign and you will pay no matter what the cost is regardless if you think you should or not. You should do a fiance visa as it is much easier and less time consuming.

[No name 88 48]

In my case we coughed up 600. A UK man who had been waiting a year for a marriage certificate approval was so pissed at me that I did this as he refused to play the game. I only waited 2 weeks before I folded. The wife and I didn't realize we were married until we were in the parking lot. Not very romantic. But my wife is my world and more than worth all the trouble. There is no price on true love and I never believed it existed before I met her. She has given me everything in my life that had been missing and I'm grateful. The bull ####### has actually made our relationship stronger in every way both personal and physical.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Todd&Hanh

[frontgear 194]

When a hefty amount of $$$ is being offered as an incentive, ie $30K or more, there's NOTHING too much of a hassle to not able to overcome!

Speaking from experience, eh?