RFE seeking proof never married from Colombian agency

[RobertonVJ 0]

Carlos, who arrived on a K-1 visa, got an RFE in the green card process stating, "If you have never married, you must submit letter(s) from the government agency authorized to issue such letters certifying that there is 'No Record' of marriage under your name."

From browsing online, it appears that a marriage in Colombia would be documented in a Registro Civil de Matrimonio issued by the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil.

Does anyone know how to get a letter from the Registraduria that USCIS is asking for -- something like, "We have searched our records and no Registro Civil de Matrimonio exists for (name, date of birth)"?

The Colombian consulate here in Miami doesn't seem to know how to do this. People are suggesting things like getting two witnesses to swear before a notaria that he has never been married, but that is not what USCIS asked for.

Thanks for any advice!

Robert

[ryna 132]

Carlos, who arrived on a K-1 visa, got an RFE in the green card process stating, "If you have never married, you must submit letter(s) from the government agency authorized to issue such letters certifying that there is 'No Record' of marriage under your name."

From browsing online, it appears that a marriage in Colombia would be documented in a Registro Civil de Matrimonio issued by the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil.

Does anyone know how to get a letter from the Registraduria that USCIS is asking for -- something like, "We have searched our records and no Registro Civil de Matrimonio exists for (name, date of birth)"?

The Colombian consulate here in Miami doesn't seem to know how to do this. People are suggesting things like getting two witnesses to swear before a notaria that he has never been married, but that is not what USCIS asked for.

Thanks for any advice!

Robert

It's been over 5 years but if I remember correctly, he'll need a "Registro Civil sin notas marginales" from where he was born. That just means that no marriages have been recorded on his birth certificate (which, I guess, happens after one gets married in Colombia). It is strange for those of us born in the U.S. because our birth certificates never change. It's also why the 'Registros civiles' in Colombia expire after 2 (or 3) months. They can change after birth.

[RobertonVJ 0]

Thanks for the prompt reply, Ryna. He has a copy of the birth certificate obtained just before filing the I-485, and it has no marginal notes. His mom could get another one, but I am sure it will be identical. I just worry about persuading USCIS that the absence of notes of marriage on a birth certificate is evidence that he was never previously married. They ask for a letter stating that and we need to figure out how to get the Registraduria to do that (and pretty quickly).

Robert

[ryna 132]

Thanks for the prompt reply, Ryna. He has a copy of the birth certificate obtained just before filing the I-485, and it has no marginal notes. His mom could get another one, but I am sure it will be identical. I just worry about persuading USCIS that the absence of notes of marriage on a birth certificate is evidence that he was never previously married. They ask for a letter stating that and we need to figure out how to get the Registraduria to do that (and pretty quickly).

Robert

Yeah.. That's a different issue.. We had no problems with that... I guess that leaves getting the two witnesses to swear in front of a notaria that he has never been married. I don't know if it would need to be apostilled or not for USCIS to accept it... That;s not exactly what they are asking for but it is should be a legal substitute.

Edited June 10, 2016 by ryna

[RobertonVJ 0]

Meanwhile, I found something tantalizingly close to what we need here:

http://consultasrc.registraduria.gov.co:8080/ProyectoSCCRC/

It lets you look up a Registro Civil de Matrimonio, and, if one is not found, generate a letter of non-existence. HOWEVER, we were forced to either enter a date of marriage or leave it blank. The resulting letter (which has a nice Registraduria letterhead) says, in essence, "no marriage record was found for this person for a marriage celebrated on dd/mm/20xx." But that won't prove to USCIS that there is no record of a marriage celebrated on ANY date.

So we have to keep digging. There is an online help feature on the Registraduria website and we will be there at 8 a.m. Monday to see if we can get a live person to help.

In the meantime, advice welcome.

(P.S. does anyone agree/disagree that this question about supposed prior marriages was really something to be addressed by the Embassy in Bogota when ruling on the K-1 visa application, rather than something to raise in the green card process?)