Police Clearance Certificate from India (Same Sex Married Couple)

[Patricia n Nathan 0]

Hey Forum,

We were hoping we could use you all as either a sounding board, and better yet, get suggestions from other couples in our situation.

A bit of context, we are a same sex married couple awaiting the CR-1 Spouse Visa/Green Card. The beneficiary is from and in India.

We are looking into getting the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) from India and are stumped on the Marital Status portion of their e-Form.

We are legally married in the United States (New York), but unfortunately the Indian Government probably doesn't recognise this marriage as it is technically not legal in India. In the eyes of the Indian Government, the Indian citizen is probably still Single.

They are two possible ways we can overcome this hurdle but both have their own pitfalls.

Firstly, we could state Single for the Indian citizen (beneficiary) and hope that the US Embassy and officials coming across the PCC do not judge the case on the basis of the Indian PCC stating that the beneficiary is single. However, we are not even sure if the certificate states martial status (anyone able to provide insight?). If questioned during an interview, we can try to explain the reasoning behind putting Single. However, if a judgement on our case is made before an interview and taking into the fact that the PCC shows the beneficiary as single... *gulp* well, we don't want to think the worse.

Secondly, we could state Married for the Indian citizen (beneficiary) on the form. However, we are then required to enter the full name of the spouse. The pitfall with this being that the name of the spouse will reflect the same sex as the beneficiary. This could lead to trouble with the Indian official, if they want to be a jobs-worth and/or homophobic. And if they are being a jobs-worth, they could also question why the name of the spouse is not reflected in the beneficiary's passport. Yup - Indian passports do have a space for that. We have read that the only document required for issuance of PCC is the passport, but luckily no marriage certificate.

So this is the dilemma. We would be grateful to hear from other forum members on their experience and with suggestion. Thank you.

And best of luck with your applications

[AnnaMaria 68]

I mentioned yesterday to another same-sex couple that you need to remember one thing when you are going through this process. You are applying for a U.S. Visa, therefore you are granted the right to immigrate being in a same-sex marriage. I read today about a judge upholding a ban in Louisana in the states (This is relevant, because it gives you an idea of what you could do) and that since same-sex marriage is not legal or recognized in Louisana, people have to fill out Single on state tax forms and other documents.

The point being, you need to contact the U.S. Embassy in India. You are most definately not the first same-sex couple to apply for a visa, and you won't be the last. I would be willing to bet they will already know the answer without having to do any further research. Most embassies accept calls from U.S. citizens during a certain window of time during the day, you need to check out what time the embassy in India can take your call. Some embassies also have no phone support for visa related questions, but do offer an e-mail.

Here ya go, got the link for you. Do yourself a favor, make the quick phone call or type up a quick e-mail, they SHOULD respond pretty quickly assuming they aren't overly swamped like the Philippines with people trying to come to the U.S.

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/nonimmigrant_visas/contact-information.html

Good luck.

[Patricia n Nathan 0]

Thank you AnnaMaria. Makes me wonder why that slipped my mind

We'll update with their response.

[Ian H. 207]

Yes, you definitely want to contact the embassy for clarification. Most likely, since India doesn't recognize your marriage, you are single in India, and therefore cannot state you are married in any Indian documents, etc. The embassy clearly would know that this is an issue, so it's likely they won't even question it. Do not be concerned, as long as your marriage was legal and recognized where it was performed, it will be recognize for immigration purposes. It has no effect on your case whether or not India recognizes your marriage. Good luck!

[bk2014 34]

Hey Forum,

We were hoping we could use you all as either a sounding board, and better yet, get suggestions from other couples in our situation.

A bit of context, we are a same sex married couple awaiting the CR-1 Spouse Visa/Green Card. The beneficiary is from and in India.

We are looking into getting the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) from India and are stumped on the Marital Status portion of their e-Form.

We are legally married in the United States (New York), but unfortunately the Indian Government probably doesn't recognise this marriage as it is technically not legal in India. In the eyes of the Indian Government, the Indian citizen is probably still Single.

They are two possible ways we can overcome this hurdle but both have their own pitfalls.

Firstly, we could state Single for the Indian citizen (beneficiary) and hope that the US Embassy and officials coming across the PCC do not judge the case on the basis of the Indian PCC stating that the beneficiary is single. However, we are not even sure if the certificate states martial status (anyone able to provide insight?). If questioned during an interview, we can try to explain the reasoning behind putting Single. However, if a judgement on our case is made before an interview and taking into the fact that the PCC shows the beneficiary as single... *gulp* well, we don't want to think the worse.

Secondly, we could state Married for the Indian citizen (beneficiary) on the form. However, we are then required to enter the full name of the spouse. The pitfall with this being that the name of the spouse will reflect the same sex as the beneficiary. This could lead to trouble with the Indian official, if they want to be a jobs-worth and/or homophobic. And if they are being a jobs-worth, they could also question why the name of the spouse is not reflected in the beneficiary's passport. Yup - Indian passports do have a space for that. We have read that the only document required for issuance of PCC is the passport, but luckily no marriage certificate.

So this is the dilemma. We would be grateful to hear from other forum members on their experience and with suggestion. Thank you.

And best of luck with your applications

Indian PCC will only contain name & Passport number & passport issue date and place. It will not contain any other info...So, you can just state single in Indian passport to obtain PCC. Just explain this situation to CO if asked at embassy.