Courthouse Wedding before actual wedding? Will it raise questions? CR1

[helloxdestiny 1]

Hi all! New to this site & excited to start the process with my fiancé - we've known each other for 3 years, dating for 1.5 & newly engaged on Christmas. We're ready to spend our forever together. 

 

I'm from Ontario, Canada, he's from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I've visited him numerous times over the past years and since our relationship grew organically, we have no issues with committing to each other now. We've been toying with the idea of just making things official with a courthouse ceremony with the two of us in Florida now & having our grand ceremony this summer with family & friends in July. My question is - will this raise questions during the CR1 process? If we do the paperwork now & celebration later?

 

Thanks in advance! 

[Crazy Cat 42,406]

14 minutes ago, helloxdestiny said:

My question is - will this raise questions during the CR1 process? If we do the paperwork now & celebration later?

 

Not a problem.....in fact, it is a wise choice....

[helloxdestiny 1]

1 minute ago, Crazy Cat said:

Not a problem.....in fact, it is a wise choice....

Thanks for your response! We thought so too, but obviously this is a whole new process for us to be going through. We just want to make sure we do things right! 

[Dashinka 24,831]

Not an issue.  USCIS only cares about the legal marriage, but you can take photos of your subsequent wedding reception with you to the interview if you wish.

 

Good Luck!

[helloxdestiny 1]

7 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Not an issue.  USCIS only cares about the legal marriage, but you can take photos of your subsequent wedding reception with you to the interview if you wish.

 

Good Luck!

Thank you! That's great advice to bring the reception photos to the interview! 

[Mike E 11,742]

15 minutes ago, helloxdestiny said:

Thank you! That's great advice to bring the reception photos to the interview! 

Do you know  when the marriage certificate will be available after the courthouse ceremony? In some  counties this can be months and if so there are better choices than county court house / office weddings.  

Edited January 3, 2022 by Mike E

[helloxdestiny 1]

5 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Do you know  when the marriage certificate will be available after the courthouse ceremony? In some  counties this can be months and if so there are better choices than county court house / office weddings.  

Appreciate the input, I never even considered that - what other choices would you suggest?

 

I just looked it up & apparently in Florida it is listed as 60 days, but according to their website "the current marriage ceremony is less than 60 days from the date of application and immediate evidence of the marriage is required, you may contact the county Clerk of Circuit Court where the marriage license was issued". Not sure if that actually expedites it 

[Mike E 11,742]

1 hour ago, helloxdestiny said:

Appreciate the input, I never even considered that - what other choices would you suggest?

 

I just looked it up & apparently in Florida it is listed as 60 days, but according to their website "the current marriage ceremony is less than 60 days from the date of application and immediate evidence of the marriage is required, you may contact the county Clerk of Circuit Court where the marriage license was issued". Not sure if that actually expedites it 

60 days is a non starter. 
 

Next time you two are together, apply for the Utah county marriage certificate remotely and schedule a Utah county web ceremony aka the Utah zoom marriage. 
 

(if you are together now you can start the process this week and get a digital certificate in an email by the end of the week after you are married.)

 

https://utahcounty.gov/dept/clerkaud/passmarr/WebCeremonyFAQ.asp
 

You use the digital certificate for the I-130. At the consular interview the paper certificate with an official seal will be available and you use that.  

 

And yes this works for immigration and multiple members of visa journey have successfully done it. 
 

Or go to Vegas and ask @Loren Y to perform the ceremony and get you a marriage certificate 

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Mike E

[Dashinka 24,831]

6 minutes ago, Mike E said:

60 days is a non starter. 
 

Next time you two are together, apply for the Utah county marriage certificate remotely and schedule a Utah county web ceremony aka the Utah zoom marriage. 
 

(if you are together now you can start the process this week and get a digital certificate in an email by the end of the week after you are married.)

 

https://utahcounty.gov/dept/clerkaud/passmarr/WebCeremonyFAQ.asp
 

You use the digital certificate for the I-130. At the consular interview the paper certificate with an official seal will be available and you use that.  

 

And yes this works for immigration and multiple members of visa journey have successfully done it. 
 

Or go to Vegas and ask @Loren Y to perform the ceremony and get you a marriage certificate 

 

I am amazed at some locales and the amount of time it takes to get a marriage certificate.  When my wife and I got married on a Saturday evening at my brother's home by a family friend, we went to our county clerk the following Monday and had ten certified copies of the marriage certificate in 15 minutes.  Of course that was all pre-Covid, but I have not heard of it changing at least around here.

 

To the OP,  you can also look for a friend to do the internet ordination thing and conduct the ceremony if it is just a line at the county courthouse.  I agree with @Mike E, the Utah Zoom wedding works as well, but if you are not together at the moment, you have to have an in-person meeting after the ceremony before the I130 can be filed.

 

 

[millefleur 5,047]

2 hours ago, helloxdestiny said:

We've been toying with the idea of just making things official with a courthouse ceremony with the two of us in Florida now & having our grand ceremony this summer with family & friends in July.

Perfectly acceptable. Many people do the "marriage on paper" and "marriage ceremony" separately these days, especially if it involves immigration.

[Sagior 15]

3 hours ago, helloxdestiny said:

Hi all! New to this site & excited to start the process with my fiancé - we've known each other for 3 years, dating for 1.5 & newly engaged on Christmas. We're ready to spend our forever together. 

 

I'm from Ontario, Canada, he's from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I've visited him numerous times over the past years and since our relationship grew organically, we have no issues with committing to each other now. We've been toying with the idea of just making things official with a courthouse ceremony with the two of us in Florida now & having our grand ceremony this summer with family & friends in July. My question is - will this raise questions during the CR1 process? If we do the paperwork now & celebration later?

 

Thanks in advance! 

As long you exit the courthouse legally married, you will be considered  married. Many people married by a justice of the peace, then later perform religious ceremonies.

[Rocio0010 5,642]

Hi there! Although my case is somewhat different (I was already in the US with an F1 visa), we did our courthouse wedding in May, and then our reception in August. No issues whatsoever.

2 hours ago, Dashinka said:

am amazed at some locales and the amount of time it takes to get a marriage certificate.  When my wife and I got married on a Saturday evening at my brother's home by a family friend, we went to our county clerk the following Monday and had ten certified copies of the marriage certificate in 15 minutes.  Of course that was all pre-Covid

Yeah, no kidding! We got married on a Monday, and by Wednesday the following week we had our certified copies in the mail -of course, pre COVID, but still. Sometimes I feel that government institutions use COVID as an excuse… but I digress. Please don’t report me to the mods 😂

[Verrou 1,962]

Post Covid, married on Saturday. Post it using snail mail in usps on Monday. Got the marriage certificate by snail mail less than a week (Massachusetts ) 

[Neonred 3,652]

6 hours ago, helloxdestiny said:

Appreciate the input, I never even considered that - what other choices would you suggest?

 

I just looked it up & apparently in Florida it is listed as 60 days, but according to their website "the current marriage ceremony is less than 60 days from the date of application and immediate evidence of the marriage is required, you may contact the county Clerk of Circuit Court where the marriage license was issued". Not sure if that actually expedites it 

Where I am in FL,  Collier County right next to Broward, I took the signed and completed marriage license to the court house myself and had the certificates same day.

[ADLove 6]

2 hours ago, Neonred said:

Where I am in FL,  Collier County right next to Broward, I took the signed and completed marriage license to the court house myself and had the certificates same day.

Same, got married in Florida and got our marriage certificate on the same day from clerk—Orange county (Orlando).