Womby314

Hello all! I'm trying to find information on how to authenticate a Buku Nikah (Muslim Marriage certificate) so that it's legal in the US and will be accepted for the CR1/IR1 process. I've read and heard many places that while other certificates are valid, a Muslim marriage book isn't officially recognized by the US. However, I've gotten multiple conflicting reports about how to do this: 1.) The Surabaya consulate told me I have to bring it to the Civil Registry in Surabaya, then to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta to get a seal, then to the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to authenticate. 2.) When I called the U.S Embassy in Jakarta, a woman told me that I only needed to get an apostille at the Office of Law and Human Rights (AHU Building) in Jakarta. She then connected me to another woman who told me: 3.) I don't need to do anything, and the Buku Nikah would already be valid, despite all other information I'd received so far contradicting that. Has anyone else gone through this process? What's the correct way to validate a Muslim Marriage book in Indonesia for validity in the US? Thanks!!

I'm a US Citizen living temporarily in Indonesia, about to get married to my Indonesian spouse and petition for a CR1/IR1 visa for her. I plan to return to the US with her once her visa is approved. According to the US Embassy in Jakarta, it's possible to do direct consular filing here, but I have to email them after my wedding to make sure our circumstances allow it. My question is... what is the fundamental difference between filing the I-130 at the embassy (DCF) v.s. doing it online via the USCIS website? Will the rest of the process (submission of the I-865 form, interview, etc.) be different? Does this change the timeline or likelihood of acceptance? I suppose I don't really understand what the benefit of doing Direct Consular Filing is, especially considering it's in another city from where I live. Thanks for any and all feedback! -- Brian