a marriage with a muslim

[ychilka1985 0]

Hello, i have a few questions. But first of all a few words about my situation. Im about to get married to a muslim guy and im christian. And after he is going to petition for me as an immediate relative for me to become a lawful premanent resident.So how is the muslim marriage done? He tells me that we have to go to the mosque and obtain a marriage contract. Can we go to a town hall and obtain a marriage certificate from there?

[Ban Hammer 12,841]

moved from site ideas to mena, as that's probably the best location for advice on this topic.

[I+H 11]

Hello, i have a few questions. But first of all a few words about my situation. Im about to get married to a muslim guy and im christian. And after he is going to petition for me as an immediate relative for me to become a lawful premanent resident.So how is the muslim marriage done? He tells me that we have to go to the mosque and obtain a marriage contract. Can we go to a town hall and obtain a marriage certificate from there?

Muslim marriage or Nikah is a very simple ceremony. You two may or may not be seperated from each other and each one of you will be asked 3 times and expected to reply 3 times that you accept one another. A few words from the Quran will be read and the Imam may give a short speech on married life. It takes roughly 15 minutes or so. The Nikah can be performed in a Mosque or in your home. You would obtain the marriage license from a local office.

[ychilka1985 0]

We would obtain a marriage license from a local office? local meaning where the mosque is or local where the bride lives? And most importantly: if the groom is muslim do we HAVE to do nikkah in order to obtain a marriage certificate? He(my fiance) tells me that if we go to a local office and try to get married there, they will ask us to go to the mosque regardless and do nikkah because one of the spouses is muslim. Is that true?

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

He's going over to your country to marry you there? What are the laws about foreigners marrying in your country? Do they say foreigners just do a civil ceremony at the courthouse?

When I went to Egypt to marry, we had to marry in the "courthouse" so to speak. We did not go to a mosque or a church. We had the church ceremony when he came to the USA.

[ychilka1985 0]

~PalmTreeGurl~ He's going over to your country to marry you there?

No! )))) I live here in the us and im trying to apply for a green card. i work here now and i have a work visa so im going to be seeking an adjustment of status based on the fact that im an immediate relative(wife)

But he tells me that we CANT get married in the courthouse or a town hall of the city i live in if we dont get married in the muslim church(mosque) first, thats NOT true right?

[sara..... 371]

this is the USA you can get married in a mosque or the court or you can have the justice of peace come and do your wedding in your home or back yard......

sara

[Aloe 10]

No you do not HAVE to participate in a Muslim ceremony to receive a marriage certificate in the U.S. regardless of either of your religions. A civil marriage is all you would need for the two of you to be recognised as Husband and Wife.

The problem may lie in your Husband's religion not recognising the civil marriage as legitimate. \Which in regards to living in the U.S. as a married couple and for immigration purposes is irrelevant. Is it important to you that the marriage between the two of you is recognised in his religion or do you not want to participate in the Muslim ceremony?

I found this link with a very quick lazy google search you could find more information which pertains more to your situation but this is kind of where you find yourself.

My link

Of course this is only my opinion on the situation and you should do more research to find out the FACTS in this case.

[I+H 11]

We would obtain a marriage license from a local office? local meaning where the mosque is or local where the bride lives? And most importantly: if the groom is muslim do we HAVE to do nikkah in order to obtain a marriage certificate? He(my fiance) tells me that if we go to a local office and try to get married there, they will ask us to go to the mosque regardless and do nikkah because one of the spouses is muslim. Is that true?

No you are not required to. You would obtain the license more than likely in your county's office, at least that is how it works here in Cali.

[ychilka1985 0]

Aloe: i used the wrong term, civil marriage, actually what im trying to find out is not exactly this. I meant legal marriage in the courthouse/town hall registered and performed with the help of justice of the peace. After The Justice of the peace marries us we obtain a marriege certificate that we can use to apply for my adjustment of status(green card). Normally if the spouse was christian it would work, but since my fiance is muslim, he keeps telling me that, this marriage wont be "completely" valid without his religion recognizing it, like you mentioned in your answer. Im very confused.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

A reputable imam will not marry you in a masjid without a civil marriage license. You obtain that at a courthouse. There are imams who can legally marry a couple, so they can make it legal in one act, civil and religious.

In the USA, Muslims are not required to marry in a masjid. They can marry anywhere there is an authorized officiant. A nikah is a formal marriage contract. The purpose of the nikah is to spell out the rights and responsibilities of each party and set the mahr and to legalize sexual contact. The mahr is the payment the husband must make to the wife. It can be in cash, or some other valuable. It's correct for your fiance to want to do a nikah, but both can be done at once.

If you do a nikah, it should be in writing. This is not a Muslim country, and the contract must be viable in court as well as in compliance with the law of the school of jurisprudence that is followed by the Muslim partner(s).

Do not let anyone talk you into doing a nikah without a legal marriage license. You have not mentioned if your fiance is a Sunni or a Shia, and that makes a difference, as Shia have different rules covering interfaith marriage.

Edited September 16, 2011 by Sofiyya

[Egypt's Heart 6]

Aloe: i used the wrong term, civil marriage, actually what im trying to find out is not exactly this. I meant legal marriage in the courthouse/town hall registered and performed with the help of justice of the peace. After The Justice of the peace marries us we obtain a marriege certificate that we can use to apply for my adjustment of status(green card). Normally if the spouse was christian it would work, but since my fiance is muslim, he keeps telling me that, this marriage wont be "completely" valid without his religion recognizing it, like you mentioned in your answer. Im very confused.

His religion recognizing the marriage or not, DOES NOT effect your process with USCIS. A valid marriage to USCIS is a registered / legal marriage on file with the courts in USA or any other country. That is what is valid.

Best wishes.

[ychilka1985 0]

Egypt's Heart, thank you SO much!!!!!

[ychilka1985 0]

Sofiyya, you said "Do not let anyone talk you into doing a nikah without a legal marriage license. You have not mentioned if your fiance is a Sunni or a Shia, and that makes a difference, as Shia have different rules covering interfaith marriage. " This is what he wants me to do. So what exactly the reason not to do it that way? And im not sure but i believe he is Sunni. What does that mean? Because he only gives me "certain information". We have had long long conversations about it, finally put all the differences aside and decided to do it but now there is a problem with the availability at the Mosque so i just suggested we do it at the courthouse. We shall see.

[ychilka1985 0]

Sofiyya, the comment after yours is very much clear though on the process with USCIS, and whether he is Sunni or Shia, or his religion legitimizing it or not DOES NOT AFFECT USCIS PROCESS. But i also love him and i want to make him happy, thats why im being open to it.