Hi everyone...I was married in the Philippines april 23 2007. I still have not been able to get my NSO certified copy of my marriage certificate. They say it may take from 3 to 6 months to get one.

That's a big delay in the K-3 process, and I wanted to get advice whether I should submit what I have, or wait until I have the marriage certificate before I begin.

I know I would probably get a RFE if I began the process now, but at least I would be in the system.

Would it be better to be in the system, and get a RFE, or would it be better to submit everything when I have it, even if I have to wait 6 months to get it?

Thanks in advance for any help with this concern.

I had my wife get stamped authenticated copies from the Local Civil Registrar. These allowed me to file the I-130 and I-129F for my wife.

The US embassy requirement is a copy of MC from NSO printed on secpa. RobinAtAileen posted this process in one of my threads to speed up the process:

We were told to contact the NSO to expedite the process by asking for the marriage cert. to be "Endorsed." This puts it on a fast track process.

My wife's mother took an original certified copy from the local registrar and personally ran it up to Manila NSO. They said to come back and pick it up 2 weeks later. This is because she pre-paid for the copies when she dropped it off. I believe she could have simply dropped off the marriage cert. and requested it be "Endorsed" (or fast-tracked) and then ordered the copyies online.

Thanks for the reply...

I'm not sure what you mean by stamped copies from the local civil registrar...Are you saying the municipal where the marriage was registered can give me something to get the process started? And if so...what would I ask them for?

I think he is essentially saying that you need to get a certified copy of the certificate. If you call them and ask them to endorse it, then it somehow speeds it up and you can get a copy of it stamped (certified) upon request in most cases even if they can't give you the actual original copy. At least that was what I took from his post.

hey guys i have questiong regarding this .. i just recieverd RFE requesting me to send foregin language certifacate that correspond to english one i submitted .now do ig et that notrarized here in state or over there and just send ?just to be sure. thanx

After the wedding, we got copies of the Certificate of Marriage from the Local Civil Registry (City Hall) that issue the license. On the back of the Certificate the LCR stamped their city logo, stamped Certified Xerox Copy with a signature inside, and then stamped Verified By with signature and date.

In Parañaque the certified copies were 60 PHP each. I had Meryl get five copies to be safe. As soon as they arrived I made photo copies of both sides of the certified contract and put them in the I-130 packet. I had her send affidavits of a bonafide marriage from her family at the same time.

Get the translation certified by whoever does the translation. The USCIS states:

Please submit certified translations for all foreign language documents. The translator must certify that s/he is competent to translate and that the translation is accurate.

The certification format should include the certifier's name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature_________________________________
Date Typed Name
Address

Yes, ask for certified copies of the Certificate of Marriage at the Local Civil Registry/Registrar where you got the marriage license. I would suggest getting at least three copies minimum. One for you, one for your wife, and one for a backup copy or to take to the NSO.

The NSO copy should not be needed until you are ready to turn in the packet to the US Embassy in Manila.