what exactly is a 'certified' marriage certificate?

[akhan 0]

I am planning to send a copy of our marriage certificate with my I-485....i am wondering what is the difference between this copy and a 'certified' copy??

can this be the cause of a RFE?

[Darnell 8,480]

I-485 have 'photocopy requirement' -

so make a photocopy on a photocopy machine.

for 'certified copy' definition, please refer to the DS-230 instructions at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html in the 'civil documents' section on page 4.

[menina 50]

I-485 have 'photocopy requirement' -

so make a photocopy on a photocopy machine.

for 'certified copy' definition, please refer to the DS-230 instructions at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html in the 'civil documents' section on page 4.

When we got ours from the county clerk it had a raised seal on it. We ordered several for other purposes like to show at ssn office and bank. All had the raised seal making them certified.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

When we got ours from the county clerk it had a raised seal on it. We ordered several for other purposes like to show at ssn office and bank. All had the raised seal making them certified.

We did the same thing - they are only a couple of bucks - so got plenty of copies to send with the paperwork - no issues.

[Nich-Nick 3,355]

I am planning to send a copy of our marriage certificate with my I-485....i am wondering what is the difference between this copy and a 'certified' copy??

can this be the cause of a RFE?

Records (births, marriages) are recorded with the county where the event took place. You can ask for a copy from the county record file. They make a photocopy (or print one off a computer) and "certify" it by stamping or gold seal or embosser and normally a signature of the county employee who assures that it is a true copy of the county record. Your copy may actually be such a "certified" copy. For AOS you may send the kind with the real seal and ink signature or you may photocopy one with the real seal and signature. It is suggested on VJ that if you can easily get the real seal and ink version, then use that for AOS, but it's not required.

[seanyb719 1]

we just sent in a photocopy of ours. the original had a coloured stamp on it so just in case we took that to the interview to. didn't need it though and had no issues.

[Nik+Heather 122]

Our "certified copy" was a photo copy of the actual record with a raised seal and signature. It costs $26 to get extras, so we just used the one and made photocopies. Later, when we had our interview, we took the raised-seal one with us so the IO could compare it to the photocopy we sent in.

Ours didn't look fancy at all like I expected. It was a plain (not even aligned!) black/white photocopy.