Final Divorce Decree - Must be certified or not?

[Texanadian1 10]

Hi everyone,

my husband is in the process of putting the documentation together to send in the I-130. We wanted to send it off tomorrow, but now I am not sure we will be able to. My question is regarding the Final Divorce Decree. As he has one from his previous marriage, which states that it is the Final Divorce Decree and was signed by the judge, however, it's not a certified copy. Upon looking at the instructions on the USIS site, it doesn't state that it needs to be certified, but I want to make sure before we send in the paperwork that it would be fine. Has anyone else sent one in signed by the judge (but not certified) and got approved?

Thanks

[imse82 45]

You only need copies at this stage, Nothing original or certified.

[frankLarissa 3]

Hi, I just want to tell what happened to my fiancee at the interview, I had provided copies of original divorce documents only...so granting of visa is delayed until US embassy receives certified copies. I visited clerks office for this and quickly sent certified copies via DHL.

[Husakovic 31]

The copy needs to be certified.

[B & G 200]

Hi everyone,

my husband is in the process of putting the documentation together to send in the I-130. We wanted to send it off tomorrow, but now I am not sure we will be able to. My question is regarding the Final Divorce Decree. As he has one from his previous marriage, which states that it is the Final Divorce Decree and was signed by the judge, however, it's not a certified copy. Upon looking at the instructions on the USIS site, it doesn't state that it needs to be certified, but I want to make sure before we send in the paperwork that it would be fine. Has anyone else sent one in signed by the judge (but not certified) and got approved?

Thanks

For the USCIS stage you need just a photocopy of the certified divorce decree. A real certified copy of the decree will be needed for the interview stage, which is quite a few months down the line.