I-130 for Spanish/American couple: marriage certificate insufficient

[alanuchi 2]

Hi there,

This question is intended for people from Spain with experience with the I130 application for married couples.

My wife (American) did the petition for me (Spanish) last January, and today we got an RFE that says that the marriage certificate we provided is insufficient and that we need to provide a photocopy of the original marriage certificate. We're confused about this because we sent the "Certificado Literal de Matrimonio", together with its translation. I've called the Civil Registry where we married and they confirmed that what we have is the most official version of the document. I also have a copy of the "Certificado Plurilingue" (that we didn´t send to USCIS), but this contains less information and they told me it's intended for certain countries in Europe only.

They talked to me about the option to legalize the document, which I understand it's obtaining "The Hague Apostille". If I remember properly, while doing research of the documents to send I read specifically that the Hague Apostille is not needed, although maybe I'm wrong on this.

Anyone from Spain can share with me the document that you submitted as marriage certificate, and if you had to do any external legalization or any other step?

Thanks!

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Esta pregunta va dirigida a gente de España que haya pasado por el trámite I130 para matrimonios.

Mi mujer (americana) hizo la solicitud para mí (español) el pasado mes de enero, y hoy hemos recibido un RFE que explica que el certificado de matrimonio que hemos enviado no es suficiente y que tenemos que enviar una copia del original. Estamos sorprendidos porque en su día enviamos el Certificado Literal de Matrimonio, junto con la traducción. He llamado al registro civil donde nos casamos y me han confirmado que el documento que tengo es el más oficial. También tengo una copia del Certificado Plurilingüe (que no enviamos al USCIS), pero ésta contiene menos información y me han dicho que sólo es válida para ciertos países de Europa.

Me han comentado la opción de legalizar el documento, que, si no he entendido mal, es ponerle la apostilla de La Haya. Si no recuerdo mal, cuando estuve mirando que documentos era necesario enviar leí específicamente que la apostilla de La Haya no era necesaria, aunque quizá esté equivocado.

¿Hay alguien de España que me pueda decir que documentos enviasteis, y si tuvisteis que hacer alguna legalización externa o cualquier otro trámite?

Gracias!

[Catalan-American 40]

Hi,

I wish I would have seen this earlier, although I have seen that you have your interview very soon.

It's weird that your marriage certificate was not accepted. We sent ours (Certificado Literal de Matrimonio) with the corresponding translation and it was accepted. It had no apostille at all.

Therefore, how did you solve this issue eventually?

Good luck!

[alanuchi 2]

We found an official website from the Ministry of Justice explaining the different types of marriage certificate available (literal,multilingual,etc.). Luckily enough that website had an English version, so I printed it, and ordered a new original copy of the marriage certificate (both literal and multilingual) with apostille. We ended up submitting the originals for the certificates with the apostille, the website from the Ministry of Justice, and a cover letter explaining everything. Eventually it was approved a few weeks later.

Thanks for the good wishes! I will be doing my interview in few days. It´s encouraging to see from your timeline that your experience at the embassy was so smooth.

[Catalan-American 40]

I hope you had a smooth interview! ;-)

[alanuchi 2]

Interview was nice and sweet Now waiting to get the passport back to travel soon to the US.

How is your experience there so far? Any piece of advice for an incoming immigrant from Spain?

[Catalan-American 40]

Cool!

Did you request a Social Security Number when you filled the DS-260 application? If you did, wait two to three weeks since you arrive in the US to see if you get it via mail. If you didn't or haven't received after three weeks in the US, go to the closest SSN office to request it. That's what I had to do: although I had requested on the immigrant visa application, nobody processed it... So I had to go in person to a SSN office. I got it mailed a week after.

You'll need a SSN to do things like opening a bank account and work.

Getting my green card took almost two months since I arrived in the US, but that's within the stipulated time frame. You should only notify the USCIS if after 60 days in the US you haven't had any notice about the green card.

Be very patient when you get your state ID. You'll need several documents to prove you live at a specific address.

Things that were very easy to get were a library card and a cellphone contract.

I still have one thing to do: I have to register at the local Spanish Consulate as a non-resident citizen for certain purposes like voting in elections.

I hope this information helps you!

When and where do you plan to move? If you plan on sending stuff that will not come with you in suitcases, you might want to see a freight company. We used one called SIC (Sistemes Internacionals de Càrrega) SL that sent most of our stuff by sea. It took like a month and a half, but the price was unbeatable.

If you have a pet and can't fly with you, you might want to take a look at companies like BaggagePets.

Take care and good luck!