Marriage License/Certificate for I-130

[upsilon1083 0]

Hi everyone, my fiance (now spouse) and I got married on Monday and in the state of California, after the ceremony, the witness and solemnizer both sign at the bottom of the "License and Certificate of Marriage" and gave it back to us. It has the words "customer copy" printed across it and does not have any seals. We ordered 3x certified copies of the Marriage Certificate which they said will arrive in 6-8 weeks. My question is, is the "Customer Copy" acceptable for the I-130 application or should I wait to receive the actual certified copies and copy that to send in? Thank you!

[pushbrk 12,105]

18 minutes ago, upsilon1083 said:

Hi everyone, my fiance (now spouse) and I got married on Monday and in the state of California, after the ceremony, the witness and solemnizer both sign at the bottom of the "License and Certificate of Marriage" and gave it back to us. It has the words "customer copy" printed across it and does not have any seals. We ordered 3x certified copies of the Marriage Certificate which they said will arrive in 6-8 weeks. My question is, is the "Customer Copy" acceptable for the I-130 application or should I wait to receive the actual certified copies and copy that to send in? Thank you!

No, the "customer copy" is not a certified copy of a government document.  It is a souvenir.  

[Hypnos 6,576]

You need a proper certified copy. 

 

You'll likely be RFE'd for one if you try to use one of the non-certified copies that you have. 

[upsilon1083 0]

The county clerk who gave us our license had said that once the bottom sections of the license are filled out by the witness and officiator, it turns into a certificate. Guessing this isn't true? We probably will wait until the certified certificates arrives in the mail (hopefully don't actually take 6-8 weeks), but just wanted to know our options.

Edited June 20, 2018 by upsilon1083

[pushbrk 12,105]

1 hour ago, upsilon1083 said:

The county clerk who gave us our license had said that once the bottom sections of the license are filled out by the witness and officiator, it turns into a certificate. Guessing this isn't true? We probably will wait until the certified certificates arrives in the mail (hopefully don't actually take 6-8 weeks), but just wanted to know our options.

It IS true that it turns into a "certificate" but it does not turn in to a certified copy of a certificate.  It's your souvenir.  The real original is a government document.  Once actually filed/registered a certified copy can be obtained.  That certified copy is required with the petition, not a photocopy of your souvenir.

[upsilon1083 0]

37 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

It IS true that it turns into a "certificate" but it does not turn in to a certified copy of a certificate.  It's your souvenir.  The real original is a government document.  Once actually filed/registered a certified copy can be obtained.  That certified copy is required with the petition, not a photocopy of your souvenir.

Great thank you for the clarification!

[Bethany123 56]

The customer copy is like a souvenir, something you can hang up in your house. You need the real certificate, so you'll have to wait.