Where to marry?

[Todd L F 49]

Hello all,

 

I am near the end of this daunting process and planning on traveling to the states next month after my interview which is in 2 weeks. Me and my fiancé are expecting a baby in late September so this basically put our big wedding plans aside so we agreed to just do something small at a reception so we are legally married and to have a large wedding a few years down the road. Now my problem is this, we will be living in South Carolina and it seems the laws there about marrying foreign nationals are very strict. They need social security number of both participants and of course I will not have this just yet. Does anyone have any experience with this? Or know of a state close to SC where we can marry. Not had much luck with researching online beleive it or not. 

 

Thank you! 

Edited June 9, 2018 by Todd L F

[Alabamak1 688]

6 minutes ago, Todd L F said:

Hello all,

 

I am near the end of this daunting process and planning on traveling to the states next month after my interview which is in 2 weeks. Me and my fiancé are expecting a baby in late September so this basically put our big wedding plans aside so we agreed to just do something small at a reception so we are legally married and to have a large wedding a few years down the road. Now my problem is this, we will be living in South Carolina and it seems the laws there about marrying foreign nationals are very strict. They need social security number of both participants and of course I will not have this just yet. Does anyone have any experience with this? Or know of a state close to SC where we can marry. Not had much luck with researching online beleive it or not. 

 

Thank you! 

you can apply for SSN as soon as you do POE, all you will need is birthcertificate, i-94 and passport with k-1. you may get a manual verification, but according to USCIS it shouldnt take as long as it has before. 

 

Georgia is close and they do as in Alabama from my understanding. NO SSN required. We got married, got officiant and got marriage certificates in less than 1 day w/o SS#. 

 

Good luck

[Loren Y 2,731]

Because I live here I have to throw this out. Fly to Las Vegas, NV and do a drive thru wedding. Complete with photos for around 150 bucks, and It's pretty easy to get married in Vegas. Plus marriage certificate available quickly ( Next Day Usually)

Edited June 10, 2018 by Loren Y

[Alabamak1 688]

1 minute ago, Loren Y said:

Because I live here I have to throw this out. Fly to Las Vegas, NV and do a drive thru wedding. Complete with photos for around 150 bucks, and It's pretty easy to get married in Vegas.

Can you get a marriage certificate the same day there or do you need to wait to be send to your home address?

[Loren Y 2,731]

Just now, Alabamak1 said:

Can you get a marriage certificate the same day there or do you need to wait to be send to your home address?

I just updated my post with that info, but yes Marriage certificate is available quickly. If you do the courthouse wedding in the morning I have heard of people getting them the same day, but next day for sure. 15.00 each. As soon as you see it registered online, the certificate is available, and it is quick.

[Todd L F 49]

4 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

Because I live here I have to throw this out. Fly to Las Vegas, NV and do a drive thru wedding. Complete with photos for around 150 bucks, and It's pretty easy to get married in Vegas. Plus marriage certificate available quickly ( Next Day Usually)

My fiancé is heavily pregnant so flying is not an option unfortunately.

[Todd L F 49]

7 minutes ago, Alabamak1 said:

you can apply for SSN as soon as you do POE, all you will need is birthcertificate, i-94 and passport with k-1. you may get a manual verification, but according to USCIS it shouldnt take as long as it has before. 

 

Georgia is close and they do as in Alabama from my understanding. NO SSN required. We got married, got officiant and got marriage certificates in less than 1 day w/o SS#. 

 

Good luck

Thank you, which state did you get married in? 

[Alabamak1 688]

Georgia is close, nothing but 3 hours max and if you call the courthouse in advance and find out what i just posted

[Loren Y 2,731]

Yes, I didn't consider that. and it's a long drive. just start searching close neighboring states, or I'm sure in the next few hours you will have plenty of suggestions from people on VJ. This is the best forum to be a member of in my opinion, has saved me a lot of headache, and I have just begun.

[Todd L F 49]

8 minutes ago, Alabamak1 said:

you can apply for SSN as soon as you do POE, all you will need is birthcertificate, i-94 and passport with k-1. you may get a manual verification, but according to USCIS it shouldnt take as long as it has before. 

 

Georgia is close and they do as in Alabama from my understanding. NO SSN required. We got married, got officiant and got marriage certificates in less than 1 day w/o SS#. 

 

Good luck

So how long would it take to get SSN as we only have 90 days. Plus want to file for AOS as soon as I get there so I can start working sooner.

Just now, Loren Y said:

Yes, I didn't consider that. and it's a long drive. just start searching close neighboring states, or I'm sure in the next few hours you will have plenty of suggestions from people on VJ. This is the best forum to be a member of in my opinion, has saved me a lot of headache, and I have just begun.

I agree this forum is brilliant!

[Alabamak1 688]

1 minute ago, Todd L F said:

Thank you, which state did you get married in? 

We did it in Alabama, but no point on doing it here, when Georgia border is closer. Try to go to a midsize town or city. Should be able to get it done quick

[Brittani 484]

Congratulations on both the baby and the end stages of the process. It seems you're just a couple of weeks behind my fiance as well. That's odd that you have to have social security numbers to get married but why don't you apply for your social security number within a couple of weeks of arriving? It usually only takes a couple of weeks to arrive and should be there by then time you guys want to get married. I'm not sure why they're being so strict. Come to Georgia where I'm from lol, all we need is my license and his passport and possibly our birth certificates.

 

Good luck, hope all goes well for you. Sounds like your plans are about the same as ours.

[Brittani 484]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn

 

Step by step guide for applying for the K1 it's super easy.

[Alabamak1 688]

OP, there you go....you got a common UK VJ here and she can take a lead on the answers 

[Alabamak1 688]

4 minutes ago, Todd L F said:

So how long would it take to get SSN as we only have 90 days. Plus want to file for AOS as soon as I get there so I can start working sooner.

I agree this forum is brilliant!

We have not received it yet (SS# that is), but you can apply for it as soon as you have done POE. Marriage in Georgia in 1 day, get plenty of marriage certificates and do AOS in the same week. 

 

We did SS#, marriage license and certificate and AOS in the same week. The paperwork was ready for her just to sign and got send out pretty quick. My wife has not been here 2 weeks and we already got email notification of AOS NOA-1