Is Marriage Certificate really needed for AOS I-485?

[Scandi 4,166]

1 hour ago, Timona said:

 

You don't have to wait for your marriage to be recorded. And as I told OP, I've done this before. Since you returned the license, you can ask them for a certified copy while you wait for however long it'll take to get the registered back. 

 

I did this for a friend. His AOS package was shipped with the certified copy of the license, not a copy of the MC. He had his interview early this year. USCIS had no problem with the certified copy. As I said above, I think this copy is just a print of the marriage license data and all they do is certify it being that they have it back but haven't just registered. Why I think so? When we called, the dude just told me, "Come over and pick. It'll be ready in 2 mins. I just need to print it." So, I doubt if he went into archives to look for your returned marriage license. That's why I suspect that they just go on the system, print it out, just the same way they produced the license BUT this time around, they just certify.

Doesn't work like that here in L.A. county. If the marriage isn't recorded they will not issue a certified ANYTHING. If the marriage isn't recorded it's not even in the system and there's nothing that can be printed. All you get is a copy of the license that says "customer copy" written all over it as a "receipt", you will never get a "certified license". In L.A. county the license is only used to get married, not to prove a wedding took place - ie no weeding date, nothing. It first has to be recorded in order for there to be proof of it. Since the license isn't proof of anything, I highly doubt USCIS will accept it as a proof of actually being married.

Here you can also NEVER get an original of anything, those are kept at the county clerks office. All you ever get is certified copies. After the marriage has been recorded. So of course certified copies aren't an issue, that's all you can get here.

Your friend lives in a county where the marriage license IS the same as a marriage certificate AFTER the wedding - ie the license turns into a certificate after the wedding, after it has been recorded. It still says "license" at the top of it, not certificate, but it has the date, the signature from the judge etc on it. Your friend's marriage was already recorded by the time he asked for a certified copy, that's why he could get it.

Edited August 24, 2022 by Scandi

[Mike E 11,739]

2 hours ago, Timona said:

 

You don't have to wait for your marriage to be recorded. And as I told OP, I've done this before.

To clarify you’ve done this for Los Angeles County, California?

[Timona 4,207]

32 minutes ago, Mike E said:

To clarify you’ve done this for Los Angeles County, California?

 

Nope. Texas

[Scandi 4,166]

29 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

Nope. Texas

That's all we needed to know. OP is in Los Angeles, not Texas. 

[Timona 4,207]

5 minutes ago, Scandi said:

That's all we needed to know. OP is in Los Angeles, not Texas. 

 

So we shouldn't share ideas? I guess we should wrap up VJ then. 

[Mike E 11,739]

37 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

Nope. Texas

Which county? 
 

America has on the order of 1000 counties.  Each with unique processes. I don’t think what you propose will work in LA county. Or any county in California.   

1 minute ago, Timona said:

 

So we shouldn't share ideas? I guess we should wrap up VJ then. 

I think the idea is worthwhile but OP has tried some elements of it and striking. Knowing in advance that this was not LA county would be helpful.  

[Timona 4,207]

9 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Which county? Harris 
 

America has on the order of 1000 counties.  Each with unique processes. I don’t think what you propose will work in LA county. Or any county in California.   

I think the idea is worthwhile but OP has tried some elements of it and striking. Knowing in advance that this was not LA county would be helpful.  Understandable 

 

[Scandi 4,166]

16 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

So we shouldn't share ideas? I guess we should wrap up VJ then. 

It's not about "sharing ideas" in this case, but about giving OP the correct info. 

[Family 4,004]

@almendez you need not worry about your I-485 being rejected or denied for filing without the certified copy. You WILL be issued an RFE as per USCIS Policy update 2021 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20210609-RFEs%26NOIDs.pdf

Although I understand the lingering fears of many, since they are rooted in the not too distant Era Of Past Administration Of Presidential Proclamations. In 2018 USCIS declared it would AND did outright DENY for the slightest reason. That is no longer the case and you will have an opportunity to submit it w RFE if you choose to file. 
 

As for the fear of being picked up by ICE because of I-94 validity, that too has changed for the better and ICE is again directed to enforce based on priority , your are NOT at risk.

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/opla/OPLA-immigration-enforcement_guidanceApr2022.pdf

 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

8 hours ago, Family said:

@almendez
 

…

As for the fear of being picked up by ICE because of I-94 validity, that too has changed for the better and ICE is again directed to enforce based on priority , your are NOT at risk.

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/opla/OPLA-immigration-enforcement_guidanceApr2022.pdf

 

 

We had a case where CBP handed over an LPR to ICE, under the current administration, 

While we all agree it was abuse of power,  probably an illegal detention, and yes happened before the ICE memo note that ICE didn’t change its policy as soon as the DHS directory issued a memo on this topic. An except from your link:

 

“

April 3, 2022

 

[…]
 

On September 30, 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas issued a memorandum titled, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law (Mayorkas Memorandum), which took effect on November 29, 2021”

 

It took ICE a full 4 months to change its policy.  

 

I don’t agree OP is not at risk.
 

1. You don’t know what an individual CBPO, BPO, or ICE officer will do. 
 

2. The memo you cited is director at ICE prosecutors and not field officers. 

 

 The advice given in this thread to lay low and stay away from places where CBP and BP are present is sound. Personally I  would not step outside until a marriage certificate was in hand and the I-485 mailed with a copy of that certificate.