Divorce Decrees

[reach449 2]

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

[LovinLiberia 0]

Yes, he is right. They want copies when sending the initial packet to USCIS, but at the interview they request certified originals. My fiance just had his interview 3 days ago and even though they already had a copy of mine on file, they still asked him for my original divorce decree.

[prpplague 0]

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

my divorce decree was out of texas which normally only provides "non-certified" copies to the divorcee. the embassy(barbados) did require a certified copy from the county clerk's office, which i was able to obtain pretty easy for a small fee(if i recall correctly it was $10USD). generally the CO can accept just about any documents, certified or not, however the CO often gets his work reviewed and if there is a problem the CO can get a reprimand, so they generally are very strict with the policies regarding the documents.

[LovinLiberia 0]

My original was also non-certified, but I contacted the county clerk's office and was able to get it certified for $5.

[payxibka 10,047]

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

VJ guidelines are exactly that, guidelines and exceptions and differences exist. In addition, you will not find this kind of information on any USCIS or DHS website as the consulates are a part of the Department of State (DOS). In answer to your question, YES, each consulate establishes there own requirements. The best place to look would be the consulates own website but that information may or may not be present.

[pushbrk 13,260]

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

A "certified copy" is as good as an original. That is probably what your attorney is suggesting. That means an "original" certified copy, not a photocopy of a certified copy.

[Yodrak 7]

reach,

Photocopies of supporting documents may be submitted with petitions and applications with the understanding that the original from which the photocopy was made can be requested by a USCIS or consular officer to verify the photocopy.

Interviews are convenient opportunities for USCIS and consular officers to verify a photocopy should they wish to.

Things like birth and divorce certificates are significant documents, likely to be verified.

Be prepared.

Yodrak

PS - VJ Guides are not binding on USCIS and consular officers.

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

[Lance27 21]

Not sure if you received a packet 3 or if this information is in your Packet 3... This is what it says:

Divorce and Death Certificates: If you or your spouse was previously married, you are required to present a certified copy of termination of any prior marriage, for example, a death certificate or a final decree of divorce or annulment. The certificate must show that it is an extract from official records and must bear the seal of the issuing authority.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Lance27

[payxibka 10,047]

Not sure if you received a packet 3 or if this information is in your Packet 3... This is what it says:

Divorce and Death Certificates: If you or your spouse was previously married, you are required to present a certified copy of termination of any prior marriage, for example, a death certificate or a final decree of divorce or annulment. The certificate must show that it is an extract from official records and must bear the seal of the issuing authority.

While in fact the information requirement might be the same, it would be most helpful to know if this is Packet 3 info from Canada or Thailand?

[pushbrk 13,260]

Not sure if you received a packet 3 or if this information is in your Packet 3... This is what it says:

Divorce and Death Certificates: If you or your spouse was previously married, you are required to present a certified copy of termination of any prior marriage, for example, a death certificate or a final decree of divorce or annulment. The certificate must show that it is an extract from official records and must bear the seal of the issuing authority.

Ahh, a little off topic but this is also the most accurate way to explain to people about certified copies of divorce decrees as opposed to a certified copy of the entire divorce "papers". The one page or front and back certified copy of a divorce decree is an "extract" from the official records, not a copy of the complete record. That's not to say they won' t accept a certified copy of the complete record if submitted but when translation is required, it gets pretty darned expensive to use a lot of extraneous pages.

[nate&nid 0]

I DO have the Packet 3 Instructions from US Embassy Bangkok, and below is what it says pertaining to Marriage Certificates:

Marriage Certificates: If you were previously married, you must submit a certified copy of your marriage certificate and proof of termination of your previous marriage (e.g. death certificate of spouse, final decree of divorce or annulment).

Not sure how many ways you can interpret it, but this is what it says.

[*JG* 2]

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

No, not originals.....but certified copies that come directly from the issuing agency. They do need that offical stamp thing on them from the issuing agency. That's all we needed.

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

No, not originals.....but certified copies that come directly from the issuing agency. They do need that offical stamp thing on them from the issuing agency.

And all I sent was the divorce decree. It was pretty obvious I was married if I was divorced. That's all we needed.

[reach449 2]

What a wealth of information from everyone! Thanks! I live in Tennessee and my two divorces was in Los Angeles and Oakland, Ca. I was on the telephone all day trying to get certified copies mailed to me by next week. It just is not going to happen. Both counties said it would take 3 to 4 weeks to get certified copies sent to me. Her interview is in two weeks! I have the originals, however they are so old that they look like copies.

So I will be flying to LAX Sunday night and then drive to Oakland all day Monday. I will pick up the one in Oakland on Tuesday and fly back to Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon.

These "originals" will cost me around $1000.00 after airfares, hotels, and car rental. Oh well, NOTHING is worth taking the chance of having something like not having the proper paperwork at the interview. I don't want to be delayed in anyway.

So it is all worth it, to have my fiancee' here on time with no stress for either one of us.

Thanks again everyone. Appreciate all the answers. By the way I know VJ guidelines are just that...guidelines. That is why I asked if there was any goverment website that would tell me exactly what was needed for the interview. But it is all a "moot" point now, as I will go get the docs in person.

Thanks again,

reach449

[Ning 619]

My attorney in BANGKOK just called TWO weeks before my SO's interview and said the U.S. Embassy requires the original decrees of my divorces; not copies. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this true? The VJ guidelines state copies of the decrees.

Has anyone's SO had their interview yet that the interviewer has required originals? Can anyone point me to USCIS or DHS webpage that states these requirements? Or is it up to the embassy to what they want?

Thanks,

reach449

I tried Thai immigaton company & found them to be incomptent & liers. The Embassy told me later that if they could they would stop them all because of that.

I submitted only copy of diviorce papers & that was fine.

Read up on " Strongest ties" rule because you will find it to be the most important part . This something the agency I used never brought up & we were denied because of it .

[Kathryn41 3,205]

What a wealth of information from everyone! Thanks! I live in Tennessee and my two divorces was in Los Angeles and Oakland, Ca. I was on the telephone all day trying to get certified copies mailed to me by next week. It just is not going to happen. Both counties said it would take 3 to 4 weeks to get certified copies sent to me. Her interview is in two weeks! I have the originals, however they are so old that they look like copies.

So I will be flying to LAX Sunday night and then drive to Oakland all day Monday. I will pick up the one in Oakland on Tuesday and fly back to Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon.

These "originals" will cost me around $1000.00 after airfares, hotels, and car rental. Oh well, NOTHING is worth taking the chance of having something like not having the proper paperwork at the interview. I don't want to be delayed in anyway.

So it is all worth it, to have my fiancee' here on time with no stress for either one of us.

Thanks again everyone. Appreciate all the answers. By the way I know VJ guidelines are just that...guidelines. That is why I asked if there was any goverment website that would tell me exactly what was needed for the interview. But it is all a "moot" point now, as I will go get the docs in person.

Thanks again,

reach449

What about sending her the originals that you have then even though they are old and fragile, then keeping the certified copies for yourself? You would be getting the originals back since the Consulate doesn't keep them - they have copies for their own records already (or you can make copies for them to keep if they don't). That would be cheaper and faster for you.

I had the original divorce decrees of my husband and submitted those at my interview. They looked them over (checked them very thoroughly and had questions about one, in fact) and then returned the originals back to me. (That was, of course, in Canada).

Edited July 21, 2007 by Kathryn41