Dear Spouses of Moroccans

[AlHayatZween 2]

Salaam Everybody,

Just a quick question, i was wondering:

For those of you who got married here in the States, either by K 1 visa, or other means, did you register your marriage with the Moroccan Consulate here? If so, what do they do for you? Do they also provide you with a marriage certificate? (We were married Islamically in Morocco, but not here, so we only have a civil marriage certificate, if that makes any difference.)

Many thanks,

and Eid Mubarak!

hz

[MrsAmera 41]

Yes we registered and you should - it will make things easier in the future. First your husband registers that he is here in the states. They will provide him a consular card. Then you can register the marriage. I would send them both the civil certificate and the religious one. For us, although we provided both they were most interested in the islamic certificate. For the marriage to be considered valid in Morocco it must have been witnessed by two Muslim men. It's not that hard of a process but very important to do, especially before you have children.

[AlHayatZween 2]

Thanks, MsAmera... we have to get to it...

Problem is that we have no evidence of our Islamic marriage in Morocco. Can we just go to a merkez islamia here in the states and get remarried so to speak?

Thanks again,

hz

[MrsAmera 41]

yes you can.

[AlHayatZween 2]

Shukran bzef!

[Martiniolive 0]

I know my husband and I went thru the marriage process in morocco and we got a "marriage contract" a beautiful legal discription of our marriage with our parents names etc... signed by the judge in morocco etc...it is english on one side and arabic on the other and our marriage was registered at the US consolate in morocco (casablanca). I called the city hall in my town when I returned home and they said if we registered our marriage at the US consolate in morocco than it is recognised as a legally binding marriage in the USA. I am not sure exactly what an "islamic marriage" is that you mention and if it differs from the legal marriage in morocco that my husband and I did. I know we will have our big moroccan marriage cerimony in morocco with our families next summer but that is onky the cerimonial party part

[MrsAmera 41]

I think the difference is that you also went through the civil aspects of the marriage in Morocco. Some people only have a ceremony and do not complete the legal process for visa processing reasons. In your case, your marriage is already registered, your husband would need only to register that he lives in the US with the Moroccan consulate here. Hope that helps

[AlHayatZween 2]

Thanks all, for your insight...

Unfortunately, we don't have the appropriate paperwork from Morocco. We had the marriage ceremony in a small town and when it came time to do all the legal documents, neither the local or national police knew what to do with me because i had temporary residency... issues with my husband's carte nationale. it was quite a mess and for 2 months we struggled trying to be legal, but it never happened and i had to return home due to health issues. It is a long, but romantic story.

Important thing is that we are legal now!

Hubbie is inquiring at the local merkez islamia to find out how we can resolve this.

Thank you for listening and helping out!

hz

[venusfire503 54]

I think the difference is that you also went through the civil aspects of the marriage in Morocco. Some people only have a ceremony and do not complete the legal process for visa processing reasons. In your case, your marriage is already registered, your husband would need only to register that he lives in the US with the Moroccan consulate here. Hope that helps

Why is there a need to register with the Moroccan consulate here? My husband never did....

[MrsAmera 41]

Well, when your husbands Moroccan passport expires he will have needed to register with the consulate. Also if you have children and want them registered as Moroccan citizens he will need to be registered. Basically for any issues from Morocco that need to be done he will need to be registered in the US. We tried to register when we were in Morocco, our sons birth, and they told us because he lives in the US now they can't do it. Almost all countries do the same thing, so it's nothign unique to Morocco. It's fairly easy and cheap to do it, and helpful in the long run.

[~*Dorothy*~ 2]

Thanks for the info Amera. I will make sure to bring it up with Jamal once he gets back from Morocco. :thumbs:

[venusfire503 54]

Well, when your husbands Moroccan passport expires he will have needed to register with the consulate. Also if you have children and want them registered as Moroccan citizens he will need to be registered. Basically for any issues from Morocco that need to be done he will need to be registered in the US. We tried to register when we were in Morocco, our sons birth, and they told us because he lives in the US now they can't do it. Almost all countries do the same thing, so it's nothign unique to Morocco. It's fairly easy and cheap to do it, and helpful in the long run.

Ooooooooooooh. Didn't know that. I guess there's no 'deadline' of when he has to do it? He's been here just under 2 years. We haven't had any children together, at least not yet - but we're hoping (inchalla). His passport doesn't expire for a while, but it might before he can become a citizen. I will make sure to let him know about this.

Thanks!

[maggieNomar 0]

It's quick and easy so might as well get it done. It's easier than getting a US passport LOL. We filed for registration and passport extention together just a few weeks ago. We got the passport and registration card back in 5 business days!!! Took me 4 weeks to get my passport ammended with my married name. If you don't need to do passport now just do the registration. It's only $10.

[MrsAmera 41]

Agreed. Also if your spouses don't have the "new" National ID card you can get that too. I think they will be requiring it soon, that does take more time (they actually have to send the paperwork back to Morocco to get it).

[caybee 21]

We were married here by a justice of the peace, and I am not Muslim. Has anyone registered their marriage successfully in Morocco under those circumstances? Thank you.