It's not really wrong to kill a priest, is it?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I just don't know what to do. I don't even know if we're married legally or not.

I"m sorry...this really sucks.

Mary Beth, I just called my Dad (ordained deacon...peformed many Catholic marriages) and he said as far as he knows, the marriage certificate the priest signed and dated at the time of the sacramental marriage is considered a legal binding document of marriage by the state. He recommended that you contact the parish and ask them to provide you with an affidavit that says you were married, and in the meantime, they need to file it with the county.

If you can get some kind of documentation from the parish, you can send that in with your AOS. You'll probably get an RFE for the actual license, but this way you'll make the cutoff date.

[rebeccajo 14]

Why don't you send it today, and just get the RFE?

Bad idea. Especially if he wants to get his EAD as soon as possible. An RFE on the I485 will slow down the EAD.

Edited July 27, 2007 by rebeccajo

[Caladan 19]

Why don't you send it today, and just get the RFE?

Bad idea. Especially if he wants to get his EAD as soon as possible. An RFE on the I485 will slow down the EAD.

Yeah, I figure even if a missing marriage certificate wouldn't cause them to bounce the entire package, in terms of dollars lost, a month of lost work for an RFE will far exceed the fee hike.

[no name 1]

Why don't you send it today, and just get the RFE?

Bad idea. Especially if he wants to get his EAD as soon as possible. An RFE on the I485 will slow down the EAD.

Not to mention that the marriage certificate is the ONLY piece of evidence that proves you are even eligible to file!

[David-and-Mae 15]

my friend then decided to get marry in the church but changed her mind upon knowing the delays or effects of it. glad she didnt.

That's not true.

I got married on a Friday in a church & the priest gave me his signed copy right then so I could take it to the courthouse myself on Monday! Wasn't an issue.

Ditto! We got married the 21st of July and since we really wanted to beat the deadline before the fee hikes take effect, we asked our parish priest if instead of them mailing the signed marriage license, we'll just get it right after the ceremony so we can go down to the courthouse by Monday to have it certified and filed. We got married Sat and by Mon, we hand-carried it to the courthouse and explained to them everything. It didn't take 5 minutes for the clerk to hand us our certified copy. I knew that it will take a couple of days for our church to mail the license back to the courthouse since they'll need to keep it for awhile and record it in their indices of marriage, that's why we had to change their procedure a little. Good thing, my husband is an active parishoner and a lector and everyone in the church was so glad to help us with our immigration nightmares.

--Mae

[David-and-Mae 15]

I just don't know what to do. I don't even know if we're married legally or not.

I"m sorry...this really sucks.

Mary Beth, I just called my Dad (ordained deacon...peformed many Catholic marriages) and he said as far as he knows, the marriage certificate the priest signed and dated at the time of the sacramental marriage is considered a legal binding document of marriage by the state. He recommended that you contact the parish and ask them to provide you with an affidavit that says you were married, and in the meantime, they need to file it with the county.

If you can get some kind of documentation from the parish, you can send that in with your AOS. You'll probably get an RFE for the actual license, but this way you'll make the cutoff date.

It's true and I was told that if we cannot get the certified copy from the courthouse, we can submit in our AOS the marriage certificate that the officiating priest and witnesses signed after the ceremony since it will already show that we got married and were bound as one. You can then bring the certified copy on your AOS interview.

--Mae

[Caladan 19]

All sorted. Marriage certificate arrived today and the AOS packages goes out tomorrow.

[bostonparis 0]

Wow. Tough crowd here.

Caladan, I hope this works out for you.

[Caladan 19]

Thanks! I don't see why it wouldn't. Made the list, checked it twice, etc.