Question for UK embassy interviews

[Linababe 0]

Just reading and asking in a post on the K1 forum but thought I would put it in here. For those UK citizens who went for their K1 interview in London recently and have been married before......

Do you need/do they request to see your marriage certificate or is the Decree Absolute enough proof that you are legal to marry? I got divorced over 7 years ago and my solicitor took my marriage certificate then so all i have physically is my Decree Absolute. I thought that is all that was needed but there is a thread on the K1 forum where people have said the actual certificate of marriage is needed also. I dont know if my solicitor's office will still have that on record as it was years back (I know the solicitor that dealt with my divorce is no longer there).

Any advice on this is very much appreciated. Thanking in advance

Lina (UKC)

[crashandcari 0]

Just reading and asking in a post on the K1 forum but thought I would put it in here. For those UK citizens who went for their K1 interview in London recently and have been married before......

Do you need/do they request to see your marriage certificate or is the Decree Absolute enough proof that you are legal to marry? I got divorced over 7 years ago and my solicitor took my marriage certificate then so all i have physically is my Decree Absolute. I thought that is all that was needed but there is a thread on the K1 forum where people have said the actual certificate of marriage is needed also. I dont know if my solicitor's office will still have that on record as it was years back (I know the solicitor that dealt with my divorce is no longer there).

Any advice on this is very much appreciated. Thanking in advance

Lina (UKC)

You need the Decree Absolute showing the first marriage is over. The only time you need a marriage certificate is when you going for the CR1 and have to show you are married (but then you also need the Decree showing DUH you were divorced before you got married LOL)

Cari

Edited March 29, 2006 by crashandcari

[Miranda&James 8]

Lina - I just posted this in another thread asking about marriage certificates. This is what it says on the London Embassy webpage.

On the day of the formal visa interview all applicants for immigrant, fiancé(e), Kii and V visas, including children and babies, will be required to present the following documents where applicable. All documents, except passports and photographs, must be submitted in single copy, with the original document or certified copy bearing the appropriate seal or stamp of the issuing authority. If only the original of the birth, marriage and/or other certificates is available, the applicant may submit one photocopy thereof but must bring the original(s) with him/her to the interview for inspection by the consular officer.

Under materials that may be presented at the interview:

Marriage certificate* - the original or certified copy bearing the appropriate seal or stamp of the issuing authority for each of the applicant's marriages.

Termination of Prior Marriages* - applicants who has been previously married must obtain evidence of the termination of each prior marriage such as final divorce decree, death certificate or annulment. Evidence must be in the form of the original document issued by a competent authority, or a certified copy bearing the appropriate seal or stamp of the issuing authority.

I don't see any mention of decree absolute on that page. If I were you I would email the London Embassy and explain your situation to them. I'm not well-versed in English marriage law!

Here is the website: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/docs169.html

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/docs169.html

[perfect 39]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application. Then when you attend for interview you have to take the original marriage certificate with you (you can get copies from the Registrar's office) along with the original divorce certificate to prove that this marriage was terminated.

They may not ask you for it, but the point is you have to take it with you in and be prepared to show it to them if they do ask.

The same when you come to AOS. You have to provide copy of all previous marriage certificates and copies of all divorce certificates relating to those marriages. Our AOS was nearly not approved because they couldn't find the copy of my husband's first marriage certificate which happened nearly 30 years ago!

Be prepared!

[TracyTN 237]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application.

Be prepared!

Where do the instructions of the K1 petition say that you have to submit the marriage certificate for any previous marriages?

I read the I-129 just yesterday and all it said about previous marriages was proof that they had been legally terminated.

[Miranda&James 8]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application.

Be prepared!

Where do the instructions of the K1 petition say that you have to submit the marriage certificate for any previous marriages?

I read the I-129 just yesterday and all it said about previous marriages was proof that they had been legally terminated.

It may not say it on the I-129 but they (marriage certificates) are asked for at the interview stage for the London Embassy (if you see my post up above, at least that's how I read it).

[perfect 39]

We were told when we went for interview that although a divorce certificate does indeed give evidence that a marriage was terminated they also needed the marriage certificate to prove that the marriage was legal in the first place etc...I guess it's a case of being thorough and seeing the whole picture rather than the end result. She led me to believe that with the K1 it was also to substantiate the information you put in the section where it speaks about prior marriages, name, place etc. to see if the information tallies with what the actual document says.

The lady told us that neither our K1 nor our AOS could have been approved if we had not had a copy of BOTH the marriage certificate and the divorce certificate.

Basically she said that at the interviw stage they have a right to ask for any pience of documentation in the original form that relates to any piece of information you've given within the application, and if you can't show it, it will hold up the approval.

Edited March 29, 2006 by perfect

[TracyTN 237]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application.

Be prepared!

Where do the instructions of the K1 petition say that you have to submit the marriage certificate for any previous marriages?

I read the I-129 just yesterday and all it said about previous marriages was proof that they had been legally terminated.

It may not say it on the I-129 but they (marriage certificates) are asked for at the interview stage for the London Embassy (if you see my post up above, at least that's how I read it).

Yes, I understood that very clearly. What was new to me was that it needed to be included in the initial petition .

Sending it in with the initial petition as well as having it for the interview is quite different than just needing it for the interview. I was trying to figure out which is true.

We were told when we went for interview that although a divorce certificate does indeed give evidence that a marriage was terminated they also needed the marriage certificate to prove that the marriage was legal in the first place etc...I guess it's a case of being thorough and seeing the whole picture rather than the end result. She led me to believe that with the K1 it was also to substantiate the information you put in the section where it speaks about prior marriages, name, place etc. to see if the information tallies with what the actual document says.

The lady told us that neither our K1 nor our AOS could have been approved if we had not had a copy of BOTH the marriage certificate and the divorce certificate.

Basically she said that at the interviw stage they have a right to ask for any pience of documentation in the original form that relates to any piece of information you've given within the application, and if you can't show it, it will hold up the approval.

Sure, I can understand why the K1 wouldn't be approved if they couldn't prove the legality of BOTH the original marriage and divorce. And I know that they can ask you for any documentation they deem necessary at the interview.

But again, proving the legality of the marriage and the divorce at the interview is quite different than proving it for the initial petition. That's where your post got confusing (at least to me).

[perfect 39]

Sorry if it sounded confusing...

We had (probably because I"m a perfectionist!!) sent copies of everything with our initial petition because that was my understanding when I read the instructions.

Then when we got to the interview the one things she asked me for was the original marriage certificate for my husband's first mariage and I had never even given it a thought as I assumed because they had it with the original approved petition they wouldn't really need to see it, especially since it was nearly 30 years old. At that point because such a long time had passed I hadn't remembered even sending the copy with the original petition but she looked through the file and only because she found it there did she approve it. Then she actually went to her supervisor to confirm that not having seen the original was acceptable to allow the visa to be approved. She said if she hadn't found the copy in the original petition the visa approval would have been delayed. THen we needed to show it again at AOS interview!

That's the whole story.

[TracyTN 237]

Ok, that makes more sense to me now. Thanks for clarifying!

I'm still curious if others sent in their previous marriage cert(s) with their K1 petition.

[Miranda&James 8]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application.

Be prepared!

Where do the instructions of the K1 petition say that you have to submit the marriage certificate for any previous marriages?

I read the I-129 just yesterday and all it said about previous marriages was proof that they had been legally terminated.

It may not say it on the I-129 but they (marriage certificates) are asked for at the interview stage for the London Embassy (if you see my post up above, at least that's how I read it).

Yes, I understood that very clearly. What was new to me was that it needed to be included in the initial petition .

Sending it in with the initial petition as well as having it for the interview is quite different than just needing it for the interview. I was trying to figure out which is true.

Well the post is in regards to the interview stage so as such I was answering everything with reference to the interview, not the initial petition. Perfect didn't word their post saying the marriage certificates had to be sent in with the I-129F, they just said that marriage certificates are needed for a K1 petition which is true, they are just needed at a later stage in the process. As far as them being required for the I-129F, I also cannot see where it asks for them. It also does not say anywhere in the guides that a marriage certificate is needed for the I-129F, so I think it's pretty safe to say it isn't needed until the interview stage since there hasn't been a mass uprising of posters saying they got RFE's because VJ didn't tell them to send in marriage certificates to their service center.

[luv2teach77 41]

We included copies of Debs previous marriage certificate and her divorce decree in our initial K-1 and I took additional certified copies with me to the interview. It's been a long time since I read the instructions for the I-129F but we interpreted the instructions in such a way that we submitted previous marriage / divorce decrees with the initial package. We had to request new copies of Debs marriage certificate from the local courthouse as she no longer had a copy.

At the interview stage, while you may not get asked to provide a copy of the marriage certificate or divorce decree, there is ALWAYS the chance that you could be. I'd hate to get asked for it and not have a copy available, especially when a bit of extra leg work now could save you from all kinds of bother at the embassy. I can't remember off hand if I was asked to provide any of those documents or not. What I do know is that If I had been, I had copies ready just in case.

Mark

[TracyTN 237]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application.

That was the wording that made me think it was required for the application/petition. But, she clarified it now so now I get what she meant.

And yes, I think we all agree that you need it for the interview. Sorry if I confused the OPs original point.

[Linababe 0]

Basically the way it works is that for a K1 you have to give copies of the original marriage certificate along with your K1 visa application.

That was the wording that made me think it was required for the application/petition. But, she clarified it now so now I get what she meant.

And yes, I think we all agree that you need it for the interview. Sorry if I confused the OPs original point.

ok so where would i get the original marriage certificate from.. my solicitors? (if they save files from way back) or the courts where we got married?

Lina (UKC)

[TracyTN 237]

ok so where would i get the original marriage certificate from.. my solicitors? (if they save files from way back) or the courts where we got married?

Lina (UKC)

I dunno, so I googled it (assuming you married in the UK). LINK

Edited March 29, 2006 by TracyTN