Marriage Certificate for AOS & AP

[Axle314 12]

Hello!

My wife and I are trying to attend a milestone birthday for her grandmother's 90th birthday in a few months, AFTER we get married. We did the math, assuming it'll take about 90 days to get AOS & AP done, we have basically 12 days to get married AND submit AOS Paperwork.

Question is on the Marriage Certificate. We are thinking of getting married either in Los Angeles ( 6-8 weeks?! ) or Orange County ( 10 business days!)

If we got married, TOOK the Marriage License to the County Recorder, can we get a copy ( with official stamp / seal) of the marriage certificate on the spot, if we wait in line, etc. etc.

We basically want to shotgun the paperwork right away, because we realized that the timing is really too close!

Does it have to be a certified copy after the County records it?

Anyone with experience on this matter, particularly in Los Angeles / Orange County in California would be greatly appreciated to speak on the matter!

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to AOS from Family Based Visas - topic is AOS, not K-1 ~

[Hypnos 6,576]

It needs to be a certified copy.

Given your timeline, I wouldn't get your hopes up about making that trip.

[lilac_ 3]

Well AOS won't likely be done in 90 days but people frequently get their AP approved within that. Yes it needs to be a certified copy.

[baron555 934]

Hello!

My wife and I are trying to attend a milestone birthday for her grandmother's 90th birthday in a few months, AFTER we get married. We did the math, assuming it'll take about 90 days to get AOS & AP done, we have basically 12 days to get married AND submit AOS Paperwork.

Once you enter the US, you have to get married within 90 days. There is no time requirement within which to AOS.

Question is on the Marriage Certificate. We are thinking of getting married either in Los Angeles ( 6-8 weeks?! ) or Orange County ( 10 business days!)

If we got married,

To get married you need a Marriage License, which is issued by the County Clerk. In Will County that took one week.

TOOK the Marriage License to the County Recorder, can we get a copy ( with official stamp / seal) of the marriage certificate on the spot, if we wait in line, etc. etc.

No. We got married by the county judge who took the marriage license and then processed it. We had to pay the fee for however number of copies of the certified Marriage Certificate at the Courthouse, following the marriage.

Took about another two weeks to receive those (get multiple copies).

We basically want to shotgun the paperwork right away,

Why?

[NikLR 13,227]

Go to vegas for the weekend? Even in Colorado you can marry yourselves.

[ricnally 258]

We had the same issue and spent a LOT of time calling around to various licencing offices to see if we could get the thing any sooner. When you make the calls, don't just ask "how long does it take?". Ask if there's any way to get it on the same day. If they say no, ask if they're sure, or ask to speak to a supervisor. (It's worth remembering that not everbody who works in a gov't office knows all the protocol. Sometimes you have to be pushy). In the end, we used the office in Lompoc, CA, in Santa Barbara County about 2 1/2 hours north of LA. I POE'd on a Friday, we were there when the office opened on the following Monday morning to get the licence, married by 10:30 am, paperwork back to the office by 11, and marriage certificate in hand by the end of the day. I've written about this subject before on here, and I think I remember someone saying you could also get same-day service in San Diego, or somewhere near there. PM me if you want more details.