Pennsylvania Marriage Certificate

[Megan & Luke 93]

Hi everyone

Recently my boyfriend and I were putting together an exhaustive checklist start to finish from I-129F to Naturalization. Since he will be arriving in the United States after giving notice at his job, he will obviously not be allowed to work. There is no point paying the fee for the 90 day EAD since it's usually not processed in time, so we intend to file the AOS with EAD applications a day or two after we are married.

Once he enters the country we are getting married near my hometown only a few days later - Pennsylvania has a 3 day waiting period on marriage licenses. I know that it varies state to state but we were worried about having to wait weeks to get the marriage certificate depending on how long it takes the officiant to file it.

I have read through VJ and other places that you can request to take the license back from the officiant after the ceremony so that you can hand it in personally. However, it was also cautioned that this is not allowed in all states.

Does anyone know if Pennsylvania allows the married couple to turn the license back into the local record of wills personally?

If we are able to do that we would be able to get a copy of the certified marriage certificate right there instead of waiting.

Thanks!

Megan

Edited June 25, 2014 by MeganLuke

[majuki 0]

Hi Megan,

The Allegheny County Court allowed my spouse and me to do this. We filed for the marriage license, arrived at the courthouse right when they opened to pick it up, had a local judge officiate the wedding, and returned the original papers to the court and had 5 certified copies made of the original license. The whole process took less than about 3 hours, including transit time between Monroeville and downtown Pittsburgh (twice).

We're now in Bucks County if that helps. Bucks County has been friendly and accommodating, but I didn't have any issues with Allegheny County either.

Brian

Edited June 25, 2014 by majuki

[Megan & Luke 93]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the quick response! At the minute we were intending on Luzerne County or Lancaster County (preferably Lancaster). I'm hoping that it's a statewide decision rather county to county, but I may give both offices a call and simply ask.

We are looking for a process similar to yours - we would like to have the marriage certificates same day. There's just so little time and so much to do!

Thanks again

Megan

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the quick response! At the minute we were intending on Luzerne County or Lancaster County (preferably Lancaster). I'm hoping that it's a statewide decision rather county to county, but I may give both offices a call and simply ask.

We are looking for a process similar to yours - we would like to have the marriage certificates same day. There's just so little time and so much to do!

Thanks again

Megan

It is always best to call the exact location to get an answer. The officiant mailing in the license is probably an old courtesy from when the couple drives off in a car painted up "Just Married" for a honeymoon. So the officiant handles the paperwork for them. There is no reason he would be required to address the envelope and lick the stamp for a county to record a marriage. The question is will the county do a same day turn around while you wait.

Maybe your exhaustive list is exhausting you. Focus on the petition. Once it is filed, focus on the visa part by learning the procedure in London while you wait on the petition approval. And so on...

There are so many gaps where you simply sit and wait, so you can become expert on the next step while sitting on the previous step. You can't count on every process to remain the same over a four year period, so don't get too bogged down in many details except for putting together a petition. Then come to the UK FORUM to learn the latest on London procedures.

[sweetswinks 400]

Hi Megan,

The Allegheny County Court allowed my spouse and me to do this. We filed for the marriage license, arrived at the courthouse right when they opened to pick it up, had a local judge officiate the wedding, and returned the original papers to the court and had 5 certified copies made of the original license. The whole process took less than about 3 hours, including transit time between Monroeville and downtown Pittsburgh (twice).

We're now in Bucks County if that helps. Bucks County has been friendly and accommodating, but I didn't have any issues with Allegheny County either.

Brian

So you can do same day processing of Marriage license to certificate?!

We're in Mercer but we might be applying in Allegheny County

[majuki 0]

So you can do same day processing of Marriage license to certificate?!

We're in Mercer but we might be applying in Allegheny County

Allegheny County specifically allows this. You still have to wait the three days and apply in person, but you can take the license downtown immediately after the wedding to be processed and have notarized copies of your marriage license in hand the same day. We were glad this was an option because we were relocating literally the day after our wedding from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and didn't want to have any complications with receiving a copy of the license. It also gives you some peace of mind that everything got processed correctly and proof that you got married within 90 days of the K-1 visa holder arriving in the US.

I tend to agree that the officiant sending back in the signed license is a vestige of another time or in the common case where people don't have to turn right around and file AOS paperwork. In most of the cases here these documents are time sensitive, so even a few weeks matters if you're wanting to get the I-485 out as quickly as possible.