Help! How long do I need to wait to approve for AOS & I-131 after getting married?

[elephanzo 4]

Hey guys...
So I can't find the answer to my question anywhere. My fiancee is finally here and we are getting married on Friday. We were going to file for the Adjustment of Status on Monday but it says that to apply, we are required to show the OFFICIAL copy of our marriage license. But from what I have read is that the official copy will not arrive in the mail until 2-4 weeks after the wedding. So we cannot apply for the AOS for possibly another month? We are freaking out because we thought we could apply for the AOS and 1-131 (the permission to travel outside the US while being processed) right after we got married. I heard the I-131 can take up to 3 months so we planned for our honeymoon a little over 3 months after our wedding.
If we have to wait another month to apply for AOS, there's a good chance the I-131 will not get approved before our honeymoon, which we and our family have already invested thousands of dollars in.
I thought we were being so smart about waiting to do the honeymoon until 3 months after the wedding.

My questions are...
Has anyone applied for an AOS with the technically not official marriage certificate they give you on the day of your wedding?
Has anyone applied for I-131 and can tell me how long it took to get approved?
**What does the approved I-131 look like and say? We were wondering if he could LEAVE the country before receiving the approved I-131 and since it should be coming at least shortly after our honeymoon, would it be possible for him to stay in the country we are honeymooning in until someone in the US receives his approved I-131 in the mail and sends it to us on our honeymoon so he can enter the country with it? So essentially he would be exiting the country without the I-131 but entering the country with it.

[D.Ba 85]

We don't have an official copy of the license; I mailed a simple photocopy. So far no RFE, but no ready for interview either.

Edited December 15, 2015 by D.Ba

[KayDeeCee 4,892]

You do not send the marriage license. You need to send a copy of the marriage certificate you receive back from the court after your marriage has been registered. Instead of waiting for it to be mailed to you, you can try going in person to get it directly from your local courthouse where you purchased the marriage license.

Wait until you have the marriage certificate before filing. An RFE will delay your case and pause/delay all the forms, not just the I-485.

~ Moved from K-1 Process to AOS from Family Based Visas - topic is AOS, not K-1 ~

[Yoveeta 36]

I don't know how it is in other states, but we delivered our license themselves to the records office, and they gave us certificate in 15 mins. We've got married in Florida.

[yuna628 9,547]

Most states have the option to hand in your paperwork yourselves, meaning you can obtain your certified copies the day you hand it in. Other people let their minister or officiant complete the paperwork and send it on, and then the couple can pick up their certified copy. We let our minister send in the paperwork, and she understood that time was important to us, so she sent it in straight away - we were able to pick up our certified copies within a few days or so. Talk to your county clerk for info.

Do not leave the US until you are approved and you have AP in hand.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

You've run into one of immigrations cardinal rules, never plan anything until visa or ap or greencard is in hand. Hopefully this will work out for you

[Spitfire1961 5]

Hi! We got married yesterday and we got a copy of our marriage certificate. What's the next step?what form should I get and where to get it. How do I report to the Philippine embassy that we are married already?please help. Thank you in advance

[Amhara 460]

My questions are...

Has anyone applied for an AOS with the technically not official marriage certificate they give you on the day of your wedding?

Has anyone applied for I-131 and can tell me how long it took to get approved?

**What does the approved I-131 look like and say? We were wondering if he could LEAVE the country before receiving the approved I-131 and since it should be coming at least shortly after our honeymoon, would it be possible for him to stay in the country we are honeymooning in until someone in the US receives his approved I-131 in the mail and sends it to us on our honeymoon so he can enter the country with it? So essentially he would be exiting the country without the I-131 but entering the country with it.

Don't apply for the AOS without a copy of the executed marriage certificate. We were in a similar situation to you. We were trying to AOS as soon as possible and we married on November 16th. We let the JOP mail in the signed license for us, and were waiting and waiting for it to come back in the mail. (In Texas, after you fill out the license application, they print the certificate that needs to be executed within 90 days)

We went to the downtown court house for certified copies for our AOS thinking maybe they would cross in the mail, but they hadn't processed it yet. That was actually good news for us because we got our certified copies and original right then and there!

As for the plan you have, I would really scrap it. It may work, but it may not. Someone posted on the October 2015 filer thread that they received their GC in production within two months of filing for it; while many others are still waiting for a biometrics appointment. If your office is Chula Visa, CA, then your case may get processed fast enough, though. (https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do;jsessionid=abcc4TU0qmqZ5hE52sNgv)

USCIS is like a box of chocolates - ya' never know what you're gonna get.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Amhara

[elephanzo 4]

Thank you all for your feedback! It is very much appreciated!