Quick marriage license question (Florida)

[mirrortraveler 1]

Hello all,

First of all the good news: We got married two days ago! Yay! It was wonderful and all went well.

Going to the Clerk of Courts today here in Titusville, FL to finish the paperwork.

When we first went, we were given a marriage license right away (no 3-day waiting period!) and it was filled out at the wedding itself as we not only had our legally ordained minister and witnesses there, but also our officiator/notary who immediately placed her official government-sanctioned stamp on it.

Now, we were told by the clerk of courts last time that we just needed to hand the finished and filled-out marriage license back in and then we could get certified copies of that license right away. But does completed and stamped marriage license equal a marriage certificate in Florida or are we completely off. Will we need another document for USCIS? If yes, how can we get it asap?

Thank you very much for your help!

[Enigma23 68]

For USCIS you need a few things but from the Court House you just tell them you need two "certified copies" for Immigration purposes and they should give them to you. There is sometimes a fee for the second "certified" copy but I explained why I needed them and my fear of needing another copy later and having to rush around to get one so they actually gave me 4 copies for free!! LOL

I sent one officially stamped & certified one and two copies of that same marriage lic... one with each form because I treated each form (I-485, I-765 and I-131) as if I sent it solo...

Also I kept a folder in the crack of my seat with copies and "certified" copies/originals of our Marriage License, I-797 for K-1, I-94 Entry stamp and a Internet printed one, passport Bio Page, Visa and Stamp pages, Affidavit of Residence for Social Security Office ,Drivers License, Bank changes, etc.. While you are changing everything keep them SUPER HANDY you'll probably need something from that packet at every turn... and you don't want to go back home or panic trying to find.

I'll sen d you a copy of the Checklist I made and sent to USCIS.. Maybe it will help you organize everything easier... it does have redundancies but I have not gotten and RFE so far so I feel good about it.

[mirrortraveler 1]

Thank you for the quick reply, Enigma23. Just one question, though: A couple of years ago, a forum member said that in Florida, the marriage license and the marriage certificate are two different documents and to get the marriage certificate using this form: http://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/certificates/marriage/_documents/DH_261_App_Marriage.pdf

Are you sure it won't be needed?

[TBoneTX 46,167]

When you take the executed marriage license to the courthouse, get more than two copies of the marriage certificate. Multiple copies come in handy.

[agnesb 47]

. But does completed and stamped marriage license equal a marriage certificate in Florida or are we completely off. Will we need another document for USCIS? If yes, how can we get it asap?

Thank you very much for your help!

In Florida marriage licence document becomes marriage certificate After the "certificate of marriage" part at the bottom of the licence has been filled, so when you'll request additional copies all you'll get is a (photo)copy of the same picece of paper (marriage lice ence) with clerks red stamp on it. Edited February 16, 2015 by agnesb

[mirrortraveler 1]

Ah, okay. Thank you agnesb! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't confusing things. I didn't know it was a for sure/current thing that licenses always turn into certificates. Might have sounded like a stupid question on my behalf but I was just dotting all my i's and crossing all my t's, as they say around here.

[mirrortraveler 1]

And thanks again, I just came back from the Clerk of Courts office. They didn't even want to see my ID this time. The clerk's stamp was blue, but otherwise exactly as you said. I asked them to give me 5 additional copies (to be on the safe side) and paid a fee of $12 in cash. Walked out. Took about 5 minutes.

[agnesb 47]

And thanks again, I just came back from the Clerk of Courts office. They didn't even want to see my ID this time. The clerk's stamp was blue, but otherwise exactly as you said. I asked them to give me 5 additional copies (to be on the safe side) and paid a fee of $12 in cash. Walked out. Took about 5 minutes.

Glad all went well. Good luck with your AOS :-)