Hello, this is a question for French people:

I know the birth certificate will be required for the K1 interview at the embassy, then for AOS, and for the publication des bans (though I doubt they need a translation!) and I might need it in order to get the marriage license, and probably the driver's license.

AOS / marriage license / driver's license will need a translation. Do I need a translation for the K1 interview too?

How did you do to get your birth certificate translated? Did you do it yourself, did a friend of yours do it for you, did you use the "plurilingual birth certificate" delivered by the city hall (and could it be used in the USA?!), did you use the services of a French or American "translation company"?

And do we need an "apostille" on it? What is it exactly and where can I get it done?

Moreover, the birth certificate the French government gives us is only good for 3 months. Does the US goverment care? Do we need a new one everytime we want to apply for something?

Sorry, I know that's a lot of questions, but even if you can only answer one, I'll still be very thankful!

Hi there, I'm new here, so I am not sure if you are filing at the US embassy or in the US?
If you are going through the Paris embassy, you don't need the official documents to be translated.
I went and got an apostille on our marriage certificate, but it turned out it wasn't necessary. (Apostilles are free in France; you have to go to the Palais de Justice in the morning and get it stamped).
The US govt doesn't seem to care if the birth certificate is more than 3 months old, so I wouldn't worry about it. However, in France, everything MUST be less than 3 months old, which can be a really big pain, so in France, every time I needed to apply for something, I had to have a copy of my birth certificate FedExed to me.

Thanks for the info.
I'm in France and we filed for a K1 visa; once the US government approves our petition, it will go through the US embassy in Paris.

Did you need an apostille for anything in the USA?

You need an apostille for your marriage certificate to get it recognized by the French government. However, this is done by the Secretary of the State office where your marriage will take place.
Anything that you will need to be recorded by the French Government who happens abroad will need an apostille.
For instance, you want your marriage recognized, your marriage certificate needs an apostille.
You have a baby, the birth certificate needs an apostille...etc...

Ok, so the apostille is for everything French-related. Thank you Lili!

Talking about French paperwork....

For the Publication des bans the consulate asks for evidence of address. I'm gonna live with my fiancé of course but all the bills and the lease are at his name (until we get married) so I don't know if it's good enough for the consulate (Chicago). I've read somewhere that the French citizen asks for the publication des bans so I'm wondering if they want evidence of address with my name on it...

What have you all done?

Would it be ok if my fiancé was writing a letter saying I live with him?
He tried to call them but he told me it's all in French so he was lost

I've emailed them about that but they take forever to answer. I got an answer today for a question I emailed more than 3 weeks ago!!!

I THINK a letter would be fine (but don't know for sure as everything seems to depend on the mood of the fonctionnaire you get that day) but if it is for the French consulate, I'm betting the letter would need to be in French.

Is there any way your fiancé could just add your name to one of the bills, like the electric bill or phone/internet bill right now? That way you could have at least one justificatif de domicile when you get to the US....?

The only other think I can think of would be for you to call the French consulate yourself...maybe you could manage to get them on the phone seeing as you are French...

About where you live: there are many people who don't live together before they get married, so I don't see why it should be a problem.

Regarding translation. I did it myself, or you can ask a 3rd party. Just make sure the person who translates fills in this form:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...ge=translations