K-1 Fiance getting married by an online ordained minister

[RK06Trpt 0]

Hello!

My fiance and I have ran the USCIS gauntlet and she is now here. Our wedding is planned and we are all good to go. We are getting married by a very good friend of mine who was ordained online by the Universal Life Church. We are trying to find out if it is considered legal to be married this way. We called a few local Register of Wills in Southeastern Pennsylvania and they are not allowed to give legal advice, but directed us to laws that would substantiate or refute our marriage. My fiance is checking on them now. In the meantime, I turn to the visajourney.com forums!

Has anyone been married by an online ordained minister? Has anybody been married by a minister who's been ordained by the Universal Life Church? Has anyone had their online-ordained-minister-officiated-marriage contested? Has anyone had their marriage contested in general? How did you proceed after you were contested?

Thank you VERY much!!

[baron555 934]

What does the local county clerk's office say?

[RK06Trpt 0]

They can't give out any legal advice either (we called them before we began calling Register of Wills).

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

Similar themed question from 3 days ago: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/584759-wedding-officiant-ordained-online/

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[NikLR 13,232]

My friend has married his friends after doing some online thing. Heck in Colorado you can marry yourselves (sign a paper at thr DMV and done.)

You need to check with the state rules on who can perform marriages.

Also for example my mother is a minister and married us in BC. But she cannot marry people in other provinces. So my ex friend also asked my mom to marry her but she had to have someone from my mom's church there to sign the legal paperwork.

~~moved to off topic from K1 process and procedures~~

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

So this is kind of interesting. There is conflicting case law in Pennsylvania relating to the validity of marriages conducted by ministers ordained by the Universal Life Church. What is undisputed is that marriage in Bucks County by a ULC minister is valid, pursuant to O'Neil v. Bucks County, which is a 2008 case (you can read it here: http://www.ulccaselaw.com/legalPDF/Bucks-county-valid-ulc-marriage.pdf)However, there is a York County case, Heyer v. Hollerbush, only a year earlier which held that a ULC marriage is not a valid marriage, because the ULC does not have a “regularly established church or congregation” as required under Pennsylvania statute. There's a nice write up on the conflict here: http://ulccaselaw.com/ulc-case-law-legal-blog/introduction-to-pennsylvania-marriage-laws/

[Lee&Ana 88]

Why complicate things? Just get married by the justice of the peace and call it a day. I don't know why people insist on creating hardship for themselves? You are in a delicate situation with the k1 visa and in dealing with USCIS. Just get it done in 90 days. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

You can certainly have a courthouse wedding AND have your friend marry you as well. Just have the marriage license signed at the courthouse.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

My friend has married his friends after doing some online thing. Heck in Colorado you can marry yourselves (sign a paper at thr DMV and done.)

My first marriage in Colorado was self officiated.

Perhaps that is why it did not last.