I hope this isn't the wrong place to post this question. I've been a 'lurker' for a while and honestly I'm pretty well overwhelmed with the whole process.

My question.. I have two previous divorces, one in Georgia, one in Tennessee. When I ordered a certified copy from Tennessee, I got one sheet with the info typed in. The original was like 20 pages long. I'm wondering if thats gonna fly or if I'm gonna need to order again and somehow get them to mail me the big one.

We've been planning for a long time, we just haven't been able to start the process till now and its like an information overload!

Any suggestions/info would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to VJ, Melae. I do not know the answer to your question but I'm sure someone will be along, shortly, to help you out. Information overload is correct. Feel free to come here to vent or ask questions. It's a bit of a process.

I had trouble with my wife's prior divorce papers when I had the interview at the US Consulate.

I had a photocopy of the papers with the notarized stamp photocopied on there. They wanted the actual physical notarized stamp (the raised bumpy kind you can feel).

About the 20 page stack vs single sheet? Hmmm, not sure. They didn't read through the report. They just wanted to verify that yes everybody is divorced and yes it's been notarized.

My divorce decree (here in Georgia) was about four pages long and has the raised seal on it. I do think each state is different when it comes to such things. I would call the county in TN in which you were married and ask if the one sheet is indeed the certified divorce decree. IF it doesn't have the raised up seal, I would ask for one that does. Methinks you'll need to have THAT particular one for the interview.

Welcome to VJ and to the Canada Forum!

my certified copies from texas don't have a raised seal, but they have a stamp and some clerk or whoever does it signed it saying its certified. and texas doesn't give the short form ones. i guess its just different by every state. as far as which to send in...hopefully someone will know lol since i only have the long one to ship in

My divorce decree was short also, ~ 4 pages. But, I think that the length depends on the case. Some are more complex than others. As for the bumpy seal: a certified copy will have that bumpy seal.

I had the exact same thing in Missouri.....NO Raised bumpy seal.....just the cleark certified stamps. It went through just fine with no questions.

Which divorce was first?

If the Tennesee one is older and the georgia is more recent, perhaps thats something less to worry about?

My husband had 2 divorce decrees as well - the first was from Maryland years ago, it was a very simple 1 pager (they were married in college for a very short period) not much to say I guess and there's just a clerk's signature on it within the stamped seal. His second divorce is many pages long and has the embossed seal with signature on it.

initially he was worried he'd even find the divorce papers from the first one since it was so many years ago

Thank you all for your input, its helping a lot! I have both papers in front of me, and the Tennessee one has two small round seals on the bottom corners (left and right). One is The Seal of the State of Tennessee, the other is Department of Health, Tennessee, Both are raised a tiny bit so you can feel them but not as much as the Georgia one. The Georgia paper has the big raised bumpy seal that was made through a stamp with the signature of the county clerk of courts.

This begs the question.. Are those small seals official enough? The Tennessee paper is also Tri colored with a light pattern and the two upper corners have small circles with faded yellow TN in them. I'm thinking maybe for verification under a black light or something? I see no watermark tho. It looks pretty official to me, but the Georgia one is just SO very obvious, that the understated one worries me

Thanks again!

A seal is a seal is a seal.....I don't think I've ever seen any stipulations on the size of it.

Deep breath......Everything is going to be okay!

Somehow missed your post before, sorry about that! The Tennessee one was first, Georgia one was second. This is a load off my mind.. now to pick another paper to stress over

Ha ha......that made me snort some soda out of my nose.

We understand!

I've been stressing for ...going on 6 years now, first because we had to find a way to satisfy the affidavit of support and that was pure hell there... My mom has said she would sponsor him since I don't really qualify financially on my own, so thats a huge load off. So.. after all this time, I'm a professional stressor! I'm just glad I found this board, its rough enough to have to go through it without the added frustration of the blank looks you get when someone asks you what's the holdup..

Hi there Melae!

The one page version should be just fine - just for reference, here is the reciprocity description of the divorce certificate for Canadian certificates. While yours are U.S. documents, it does give you an idea of what they are looking for, what they are describing below can just be the 'one sheet' version:

Canadian divorce records are maintained by provincial and territorial courts. Primary evidence of divorce is the original or court-certified copy of the final divorce decree from the court where the divorce took place. Some provinces also issue a "Certificate of Divorce" similar to a large or full-size marriage certificate (a computer-printed extract of information on currency style stock paper, 21.6 x 17.8cm or 7 x 8.25 in., with an intaglio border). The Certificate of Divorce is also acceptable evidence of divorce, though it has no information about child custody.

do you put the date the divorce was final as the divorce date or the day you left the other person?

Considering the date on the divorce papers is legal, I was planning to go with that and not confuse the issue with different dates.. mine would be years apart on the second one.

It doesn't matter 'which divorce came first' - USCIS and DOS are interested in validating that ALL prior marriages were legally terminated. You must have sufficient proof of termination of ANY prior marriage.

So if the document you have states that the marriage was terminated, that should be sufficient. Personally I am unfamiliar with the one-page variety. If you are uncomfortable with the document, make a phone call to the issuing Clerk's Office and explain what you are seeking to prove, and ask if this is their 'best' proof. You may have received this one-page document as proof of marriage termination if your original divorce file has been purged by the Court.

Seals do not have to be 'raised' or 'gold foil'. Some are live signatures over a stamp.



The date you are legally declared divorced. This is certainly not the date you left the person. It is also usually not the date of the final hearing.

It is typically the date the decree is entered with the Circuit Clerk.

My husband had two divorces as well - the first in Texas over 35 years ago and the second in Georgia. When he requested the official copy of the Texas one they sent him a one page certificate of divorce with a plain stamped impression - no seal. When I presented it at my interview, the interviewer said he needed to consult with his colleagues as he had never seen anything like it before and didn't know if it was legal. He came back and said it was fine (phew) and that was that.

I've started getting all the papers together and filling out forms, and I've run into yet another wrinkle with the divorce papers. The name I use now is not the name on the last divorce decree. When I married the first time, I took his name, kept the name when we divorced. The second time I married, I think I might have signed the paperwork in the second man's name, (honestly don't remember), but never really used it. It didn't take long to realize the marriage was a mistake and I moved back home within 8 months of the marriage. Once home, I resumed using the former name, because it was already on my paperwork and driver's license, nothing had ever been formally changed.

On Form I-129F Part A Number 7, it asks for other names used, including maiden. Then in the instructions for Form I-129F Step 2. General Requirements, Number 6 - C - it states:

C. If either you or the person you are filing for is using a name other than that shown on the relevant documents,you must give USCIS copies of the legal documents that made the change, such as a marriage certificate,adoption decree or court order.

My name IS the same as the relevant documents, BUT what worries me is that I have no document for legal name change since I simply went back to using that name. The marriage was in 2000.. I didn't bother with a divorce until we started talking about the requirements for the visa, and THEN I went about getting the divorce, and since I'd been using my first husband's name the whole time, I simply signed all the documents in that name. It went through the courts quickly, with no problems, I appeared before the judge and he had no problem, and I never even thought to mention the name because I'd never really used the second one. The second name IS on that divorce decree though.

Now, after all that, my question is this: On the Form I-129F, when it asks what names I used other than the current one, can I list only my maiden name, or will that be considered fraud? That divorce decree is the ONLY place I'm aware that this name appears) I have a feeling it will cause problems but I have to ask just the same.

Thank you all again and hopefully this will be put to rest