When can I file AOS

[Mrsjackson 300]

Hello, 

 

I entered the US on a K1 visa a few weeks back and got married last Sunday. We were married in Washington state by an officiant. Just wondering if I can start the AOS process now or if I need to wait until the marriage is registered with the county? At what point are you legally married - when the officiant signs off on the license or when the county receives the paperwork and issued the ceritified marriage ceriticate? The officiant did say “congrats you are married” but I’m just looking for confirmation. Thanks. 

[Ontarkie 14,275]

~~Moved to AOS Family K1/K3, from K1 P&P - The OP is about o start the AOS process.~~

[geowrian 22,337]

Once you have the proper documentation (i.e. a certified copy of the marriage certificate), you're good to go. I would not suggest sending the original...stick with a certified copy to be safe.

[Scandi 4,168]

The wait time in Los Angeles county to have your marriage registered is 2 months, we waited for 4 weeks so we were lucky. However,some people say that it's fine to file for AOS with the "customer copy" you receive right after the ceremony (do you get those in your state too by any chance?), even though the marriage hasn't even been registered yet. We didn't want to take a chance so we waited for the certified copy in the mail, and then took a PHOTO COPY of it that we sent with my AOS package. 

 

A certified copy here costs $15, I wouldn't send that when a simple photo copy of the certified copy is all that is required.

[Mrsjackson 300]

14 hours ago, Scandi said:

The wait time in Los Angeles county to have your marriage registered is 2 months, we waited for 4 weeks so we were lucky. However,some people say that it's fine to file for AOS with the "customer copy" you receive right after the ceremony (do you get those in your state too by any chance?), even though the marriage hasn't even been registered yet. We didn't want to take a chance so we waited for the certified copy in the mail, and then took a PHOTO COPY of it that we sent with my AOS package. 

 

A certified copy here costs $15, I wouldn't send that when a simple photo copy of the certified copy is all that is required.

Yikes 2 months. Yes, we got a “pretty copy” the officiant called it. Officiant told me to check if our marriage has been recorded online. She said it normally takes about a week (she’s a fast filer). I also called the county records department and they said to check back on Monday. In Washington, there is no process time once they receive the paperwork (thankfully). They record it and will issue it right away. Cost is $3 here. 

[RLA 323]

On 30.6.2018 at 2:51 AM, Scandi said:

The wait time in Los Angeles county to have your marriage registered is 2 months

If it's important to you to file for AoS as quickly as possible, then you might want to do some research before the wedding and pick one of the faster counties.  That's what we did, and we managed to get our marriage certificate within three days after our wedding.  I think we could've gotten it on the same day had we scheduled things differently.  The key was that we talked to the county official as well as to our officiant before the wedding and asked them how we could expedite the process.  Our officiant agreed to give us the signed marriage license right after the ceremony instead of mailing it to the county.  And the county official had confirmed that we could walk in with the signed marriage license and get our marriage certificate right then and there (took only about 30 mins).  I guess that will only work in the smaller counties, but you're essentially free in picking the county that's offering the best service.