Please Help ASAP! USCIS Not accepting original divorce decree

[raven52 233]

Way to go, nice work OP.,..,.,I know plenty of USCIS and divorce decrees.,..,as I had two.,.,.and the orginal, or a ""court documented, with red stamp copy will be accepted.,.,.and they want all pages! Especially, first and last!

[limboptimistic 1]

I had the same exact RFE as OP. In my case, they didn't accept it b/c it lacked a "filed date" and the court's stamp. The reason for this is owing to the age of the document. Many courts still use microfiche to archive their files, and that's why this wasn't showing the elements they wanted. The unfortunate part is that the clerk should have caught this. Everything else in our file was perfect, and now this RFE has the potential to derail our wedding plans. I sent USCIS an exemplified copy of the divorce decree; this would be accepted in any court or legal entity in the world.

Good luck.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

I just received RFE on September 27 but received hard copy in the mail Oct 2nd. I leave tomorrow OCT3rd at 5am to see my fiance in Costa Rica. The timing is hard to believe but at least I can try to get what they want. They are not accepting the original papers I received from civil registry regarding my fiances previous divorce. This is not a copy but an original document with the notarize from this government office. the RFE states as follows:

MARRIAGE TERMINATION: Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by a judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing that terminated the prior marriage between "Beneficiary Name" and :beneficiary ex husband name".

The petitioner submitted a certificate showing that the beneficiary is not currently married and was divorced for her prior spouse. However, it is required that the petitioner submit the actual divorce decree providing the details of the divorce.

Please help if anyone can understand what they are asking from me. I never heard something so technical being requested. This is the paper given to my fiance when requesting from the civil registry pertaining to proof of her divorce. Thankfully I received thos in time before my departure in the morning tomorrow, but I don't have any idea of what they want me to get as addition proof. I need someones help and advice asap please. I attached photos of the original divorce decree I sent in and a photo of the RFE I received today.

In our case we submitted the DIVORCE DECREE. This 7 page document contains the decree of divorce along with how the assets are to be divied up. It details any future assets that could be discovered, current assets, joint bank accounts, etc... It sounds like this is the document they are looking for. It appears you have only provided the page that shows the divorce, not the entire DIVORCE DECREE. Good luck and God Bless

[David-Francinie 2]

Thanks everyone for your help. We were able to get the divorce decree while I was there visiting. We had to go to the family court of the city of where the divorce was official. We were told it would be 8 days but could have in as little as 4 days for the judge to sign and stamp the documents. My fiancee told the clerk that I was leaving in two days to return to United States and this document was of most importance. He was nice and said for us to come back later the same afternoon and he would have everything ready for us. He did exactly that and we were very grateful. I just got back in this morning and will have to have the document translated and get it back out to USCIS. Is there an address to send RFE's express mail? I don't like to use USPS for such a critical document. Also, do I need to send them original since they mentioned needing to see stamps and judge signature, or will a copy suffice?

[Ian H. 207]

They don't need the original and you shouldn't send it anyway since they would keep it. Remember that you will need it again later on. They only ask for a legible copy where they could see the judge's signature and stamps.

[baron555 934]

and now this RFE has the potential to derail our wedding plans.

There should be NO wedding plans at this time.

[LoveMyTico 999]

I just received RFE on September 27 but received hard copy in the mail Oct 2nd. I leave tomorrow OCT3rd at 5am to see my fiance in Costa Rica. The timing is hard to believe but at least I can try to get what they want. They are not accepting the original papers I received from civil registry regarding my fiances previous divorce. This is not a copy but an original document with the notarize from this government office. the RFE states as follows:

MARRIAGE TERMINATION: Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by a judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing that terminated the prior marriage between "Beneficiary Name" and :beneficiary ex husband name".

The petitioner submitted a certificate showing that the beneficiary is not currently married and was divorced for her prior spouse. However, it is required that the petitioner submit the actual divorce decree providing the details of the divorce.

Please help if anyone can understand what they are asking from me. I never heard something so technical being requested. This is the paper given to my fiance when requesting from the civil registry pertaining to proof of her divorce. Thankfully I received thos in time before my departure in the morning tomorrow, but I don't have any idea of what they want me to get as addition proof. I need someones help and advice asap please. I attached photos of the original divorce decree I sent in and a photo of the RFE I received today.

I got divorced in Costa Rica. When I sent in the I-130 petition, I submitted the court papers that the attorney registered at the registry. It was signed by the judge. When we went to the interview, the embassy asked for the certificate so we had to run to the registry to get that. It took literally 5 minutes on a Friday afternoon right after I arrived in Costa Rica, I had a friend translate it really fast and we were good to go. You might have to go to the city where you were divorced ( family court) and they can make a copy, I had to go to the family court in Desamparados. The girl had to look in the book ( yes, a physical book) Ask for a notarized copy . Go as early as you can because they close the door at noon for lunch.

[Al422 221]

I am a lawyer and have done many divorces. This is not a divorce decree, just a certificate that says you are divorced. USCIS is correct. Glad you were able to get an actual decree.

You don't need a certified copy for the USCIS but get one anyway as you will need it for the interview. For USCIS a legible photocopy with translation is good enough.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Al422

[David-Francinie 2]

I got divorced in Costa Rica. When I sent in the I-130 petition, I submitted the court papers that the attorney registered at the registry. It was signed by the judge. When we went to the interview, the embassy asked for the certificate so we had to run to the registry to get that. It took literally 5 minutes on a Friday afternoon right after I arrived in Costa Rica, I had a friend translate it really fast and we were good to go. You might have to go to the city where you were divorced ( family court) and they can make a copy, I had to go to the family court in Desamparados. The girl had to look in the book ( yes, a physical book) Ask for a notarized copy . Go as early as you can because they close the door at noon for lunch.

Thank for your advice, we went to the family court in the city of divorce and was able to get everything we needed. We sent back the RFE and received NOA2 four days later on OCT 23rd, thank you to everyone here who took the time to reply with help for us.

What certificate did they make you get? Was this the single certificate?