Is this reasonable/feasible?

[Shub 78]

My visa just arrived in the mail and I'm starting to plan the trip and we (my fiancée and I) are starting to plan the actual wedding. We would like to try and get married before the deadline of the new USCIS fee (July 30). I'll probably enter the US between July 1st and 15th, roughly (can't really be more accurate at this point in time, although we'll do our best to make it happen as close to July 1st as possible).

Basically, will it be a problem to get the SS number and, subsequently, the marriage license within that kind of timeframe? We're not looking at an actual wedding, just a civil marriage at the courthouse to get the "paperwork" part behind us, and we'll do the proper wedding a bit later, so there's no planning involved right now.

I'm a bit concerned because http://usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_st...nia/index.shtml says to apply for the marriage license at least a month before getting married, while the web site of the courthouse of our county says the license will be issued at the time of application (but won't be valid before 3 days later).

Also, is having an SS number ABSOLUTELY mandatory, or do they make exceptions for K-1 visa people considering the circumstances? Because naturally that would make things a lot faster, as it's my understanding that it's best to wait like 2 weeks before applying for SS so I'm in their system.

Hope I'm making sense; thanks for your help!

[Dan J 277]

Get married in Vegas. Every state has thier own laws, some require waiting period and or SSN. Nevada requires neither.

[Shub 78]

We can't very well make the trip from Philadelphia to Las Vegas due to budget constraints.

[Dan J 277]

Well are there nearby states that you can travel to that have more flexible marriage laws? There is no reason you need to get married in the state where you reside, though generally thats the easiest thing to do.

[Shub 78]

The problem is that I'm not sure what Pennsylvania's marriage laws are. Like I said, that web site I linked to (www.usmarriagelaws.com) says to apply for the license at least a month before getting married. Why, I have no idea. Then again, I looked at various states on that same site and they all say the same thing.

By comparison, the web site of our county's courthouse says the license can be obtained right away when applying, and it can then be used as early as 3 days later, which would be great. I'm inclined to believe the courthouse's site over www.usmarriagelaws.com.

The courthouse's site also specifies that a social security number is required, hence my question on whether this is a strict requirement that cannot be waived, or if the K-1 visa + I-94 are adequate for our purpose. Because if I need the SS number, then it may take too long and we're not going to be able to apply for AOS before the new USCIS fees come into effect. We will manage if we fail to meet that deadline, but we will do our best to avoid it if we can, hence my question on whether the whole plan sounds feasible. That's what I'm trying to find out based on other people's experiences! And we will also call the county seat tomorrow to ask that same question on SS number vs. K-1 visa + I-94.

[Dan J 277]

You can call your county courthouse and ask. Its pretty much up to them.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

The problem is that I'm not sure what Pennsylvania's marriage laws are. Like I said, that web site I linked to (www.usmarriagelaws.com) says to apply for the license at least a month before getting married. Why, I have no idea. Then again, I looked at various states on that same site and they all say the same thing.

By comparison, the web site of our county's courthouse says the license can be obtained right away when applying, and it can then be used as early as 3 days later, which would be great. I'm inclined to believe the courthouse's site over www.usmarriagelaws.com.

The courthouse's site also specifies that a social security number is required, hence my question on whether this is a strict requirement that cannot be waived, or if the K-1 visa + I-94 are adequate for our purpose. Because if I need the SS number, then it may take too long and we're not going to be able to apply for AOS before the new USCIS fees come into effect. We will manage if we fail to meet that deadline, but we will do our best to avoid it if we can, hence my question on whether the whole plan sounds feasible. That's what I'm trying to find out based on other people's experiences! And we will also call the county seat tomorrow to ask that same question on SS number vs. K-1 visa + I-94.

MD, OH, VA and MI do not require SSN; of these MD, VA and MI do not require blood-testing either (OH does).

(I checked out MD and VA marriage laws before even the visa interview, as I assumed the registered marriage would be done in one of these; in the end, a "combined" church/registered marriage was done in MI--and Pras only got SSN in late November, a good seven months after the wedding)

[ivona 0]

I didn't have my SSN when we applied- I just showed them my passport instead.... and we had to wait for three days....

your safest bet is just calling the courthouse, or rather the office that issues m.licences and see what they say...

[Reba 2]

The may have an affidavit waiver for you to sign that will say pretty much that you are not a USC so are not eligible for a SSN and that'll suffice. That's all I had to do here in North Carolina. Call them to find out.

[KarenCee 3]

My husband didn't have to provide a SSN when we applied for our marriage license either, nor did we have to do blood tests. We live in Georgia. However, we did apply about a month before we married.

[*JG* 2]

It is feasible. Andre came here on June 15th of last year. We married on the 29th. We could've done it sooner if we wanted to. We did not apply for AOS until a month later; but could've sent it in sooner had we married sooner and then gotten our officially stamped marriage certificate from the State sooner.

The state of Missouri had no waiting period. Missouri does not require a SSN to apply for a marriage license....we needed only his passport and birth certificate. We applied on Thursday for the license and I picked it up on Monday. Check with your state. It took only a week to get back the officially stamped marriage certificate.

The waiting period to get that official certificate may be the one thing that needs to be addressed. Because of that, you may have to push up the wedding date.

[Shub 78]

Thank you all for the answers.

I called the county courthouse yesterday and they said it would be fine if I don't have the SSN yet. Just bring my valid passport with the visa and the I-94 card, along with the rest of the required paperwork (such as my birth certificate, I guess). So basically I think we're good to go.

[featherB 1]

Thank you all for the answers.

I called the county courthouse yesterday and they said it would be fine if I don't have the SSN yet. Just bring my valid passport with the visa and the I-94 card, along with the rest of the required paperwork (such as my birth certificate, I guess). So basically I think we're good to go.

Yay - sounds like you are. I was going to reply to this thread about half an hour ago (then went to make a cup of tea and got distracted!) & say that you might be ok, as our county's website says you need an SSN to get a marriage licence, but when I phoned them and asked (as I didn't have one at the time), they said it didn't matter. We applied for it online and I just filled in zeros for mine!

Anyway, that's irrelevant now 'cos you have your answer!

[athena_ny 1]

I know in FL, they don't require an SSN - my husband used his (expired) passport - the I-94 had never been stapled in and it had expired 4.5 years prior anyway. Sounds like PA is a little stricter but you should be able to manage.

[flutter95 4]

You have to be a Resident Alien or be here on a student visa to get Federal Student Aid.

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw0304/help/fotw14a.htm

Hi! I live in north western PA and got the marriage license with my passport, I-94 and visa, and that was all. We had to wait 3 days and go back and get it then it was all good.

I got married within 2 weeks of entering the US and got applied for my SSN about a week after that, good luck!