Divorce papers - did we send the right document?

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

Hi everyone,

 

So sorry to keep asking questions - I imagine this question or similar has been asked before, but I’m not managing to find anything in the search facility 😫.

 

In conversation with my fiancé, we were discussing the documents he sent and he’s advised that the proof of divorce he sent was his ‘notice of entry of judgement’ - he called it his decree, but when he sent a photo, it’s actually called a notice of entry of judgement.

 

I’ve done a bit of digging online and it seems that the judgement and the decree are one and the same - apparently in California (maybe this applies to the whole of the US?), the judgement is your decree (if anyone has gone through divorce in CA and can confirm this, that would be great!). 

 

Now, the document my fiancé sent is just a page long (see below) - and that is apparently ‘the decree’. He also has ‘the judgement’, which is 13 pages long and contains the same first page as the decree - but then also has all the details about settlements, financial support, etc. I’m guessing that he should have probably sent a copy of the judgement too?

 

If so, do we need to wait to get a RFE, or can he post a copy of the judgement now - I’m assuming if he included a cover letter explaining what’s enclosed and including the receipt number listed on the NOA (that’s the only identifying number we can find in the NOA, so guess that’s our case number?), that would be the way to do it?

 

Any advice would be gratefully received!

 

Thank you,

 

Zoë

 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Zoeeeeeee
Edited to remove personal details from photo

[Ahmed&Freda 628]

31 minutes ago, Zoeeeeeee said:

Hi everyone,

 

So sorry to keep asking questions - I imagine this question or similar has been asked before, but I’m not managing to find anything in the search facility 😫.

 

In conversation with my fiancé, we were discussing the documents he sent and he’s advised that the proof of divorce he sent was his ‘notice of entry of judgement’ - he called it his decree, but when he sent a photo, it’s actually called a notice of entry of judgement.

 

I’ve done a bit of digging online and it seems that the judgement and the decree are one and the same - apparently in California (maybe this applies to the whole of the US?), the judgement is your decree (if anyone has gone through divorce in CA and can confirm this, that would be great!). 

 

Now, the document my fiancé sent is just a page long (see below) - and that is apparently ‘the decree’. He also has ‘the judgement’, which is 13 pages long and contains the same first page as the decree - but then also has all the details about settlements, financial support, etc. I’m guessing that he should have probably sent a copy of the judgement too?

 

If so, do we need to wait to get a RFE, or can he post a copy of the judgement now - I’m assuming if he included a cover letter explaining what’s enclosed and including the receipt number listed on the NOA (that’s the only identifying number we can find in the NOA, so guess that’s our case number?), that would be the way to do it?

 

Any advice would be gratefully received!

 

Thank you,

 

Zoë

 

In the sate of PA my attorney filed a form like this with the court house after all divorce paperwork was signed by both parties but 30 days later I received the final decree from the court house.  It says Final Divorce Decree.   This form however has  a Judgement of Dissolution date perhaps someone familiar with California divorce can be more helpful.  Does he remember receiving a final document from the court?

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

45 minutes ago, Ahmed&Freda said:

In the sate of PA my attorney filed a form like this with the court house after all divorce paperwork was signed by both parties but 30 days later I received the final decree from the court house.  It says Final Divorce Decree.   This form however has  a Judgement of Dissolution date perhaps someone familiar with California divorce can be more helpful.  Does he remember receiving a final document from the court?

Thanks for responding 🙂.

 

He went to the courthouse on the 5th to pick up his divorce certificate and decree and I believe this is what they gave him. It’s 7am there now, so I’m going to go wake him up and check 😆.

[G Walters 136]

When we did ours I submitted full certified copies of my 2 divorces, Not just a one page document.

 

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

2 hours ago, Ahmed&Freda said:

In the sate of PA my attorney filed a form like this with the court house after all divorce paperwork was signed by both parties but 30 days later I received the final decree from the court house.  It says Final Divorce Decree.   This form however has  a Judgement of Dissolution date perhaps someone familiar with California divorce can be more helpful.  Does he remember receiving a final document from the court?

Ok, spoken with my fiancé and he’s advised that the one page document  he sent (the notice of entry of judgement) was what the court sent to him on 5th December. He also went into the courthouse on 6th December to ask for a copy of his decree and they gave him another copy of the ‘notice of entry of judgement’ and told him “that is your decree” when he queried.

 

Apparently the longer document (the judgement) was given to him on the day of their court case (26th October) - so that was technically before the divorce had finalised (the 30 day rule)...so I’m thinking that there probably isn’t a lot of point sending the judgement? And that the ‘notice of entry of judgement’ is probably the right document? 

 

Thanks

 

Zoë

[beloved_dingo 1,932]

My gut instinct is that what you sent is sufficient. They need proof that the divorce is final - and that document clearly shows that.

 

When people have gotten an RFE for their divorce decree, it is usually because they sent the judgment - but not in its entirety and/or lacking the Judge's signature. 

 

In Alabama, the divorce decree (or Final Judgment of Divorce) is signed by the Judge, and the Certificate of Divorce can then be obtained from the Clerk's office - which is a one page document showing legal proof that the marriage is dissolved and divorce is final. 

I honestly don't think you'll get an RFE. 

[Cirub 10]

3 hours ago, G Walters said:

When we did ours I submitted full certified copies of my 2 divorces, Not just a one page document.

 

My fiancé has 32 pages we have to submit the 32 and the paper signed for the judge where say the marriage is disolve? We are thinking in send all the papers my fiancé has. He is from Texas. 

[beloved_dingo 1,932]

5 minutes ago, CinBr said:

My fiancé has 32 pages we have to submit the 32 and the paper signed for the judge where say the marriage is disolve? We are thinking in send all the papers my fiancé has. He is from Texas. 

Better to send too much than not enough. I'd send it all.

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

1 hour ago, beloved_dingo said:

My gut instinct is that what you sent is sufficient. They need proof that the divorce is final - and that document clearly shows that.

 

When people have gotten an RFE for their divorce decree, it is usually because they sent the judgment - but not in its entirety and/or lacking the Judge's signature. 

 

In Alabama, the divorce decree (or Final Judgment of Divorce) is signed by the Judge, and the Certificate of Divorce can then be obtained from the Clerk's office - which is a one page document showing legal proof that the marriage is dissolved and divorce is final. 

I honestly don't think you'll get an RFE. 

Fab, thank you @beloved_dingo - we so want to do this perfectly and not have any hold ups, so I’m always worrying about mistakes! I really appreciate your input 🙂.

 

Zoë

[EM_Vandaveer 2,368]

18 hours ago, beloved_dingo said:

Better to send too much than not enough. I'd send it all.

My husband is from TX, too, his divorce decree was 10+ pages.

[Mrs. M 55]

My divorce was in CA too and I went to the court and paid for a certified copy of the divorce judgement which was 30+ pages long and included the judge's actual signature on the last page of the settlement agreement. I think what they look for is the signature of the judge, but it honestly seems like it depends on the officer that reviews the petition whether or not an RFE is issued. If you've already submitted the petition, your fiancé might want to order a certified copy of the judgement in case they request something with the judges signature down the road. Best of luck and congratulations!   

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

19 hours ago, Mrs. M said:

My divorce was in CA too and I went to the court and paid for a certified copy of the divorce judgement which was 30+ pages long and included the judge's actual signature on the last page of the settlement agreement. I think what they look for is the signature of the judge, but it honestly seems like it depends on the officer that reviews the petition whether or not an RFE is issued. If you've already submitted the petition, your fiancé might want to order a certified copy of the judgement in case they request something with the judges signature down the road. Best of luck and congratulations!   

Thanks very much @Mrs. M, that’s really helpful!

 

Spoken with my fiancé and he did go to the court and pay for a certified copy of the judgement, which is signed by the judge - but he didn’t send this version with the petition! 🙄

 

He is going to call the phone number on the NOA1 today to confirm where to send his certified judgment (we’re not sure if we’d send to the Dallas PO Box that he sent the original petition to, or to the California address listed on the NOA1) - he tried calling yesterday but the call disconnected after 1.5 hours! 😫😫

 

We want to send the judgement in straight away, so we can avoid an RFE if possible...

[ValUs9517 5]

On ‎1‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 5:42 AM, Zoeeeeeee said:

Hi everyone,

 

So sorry to keep asking questions - I imagine this question or similar has been asked before, but I’m not managing to find anything in the search facility 😫.

 

In conversation with my fiancé, we were discussing the documents he sent and he’s advised that the proof of divorce he sent was his ‘notice of entry of judgement’ - he called it his decree, but when he sent a photo, it’s actually called a notice of entry of judgement.

 

I’ve done a bit of digging online and it seems that the judgement and the decree are one and the same - apparently in California (maybe this applies to the whole of the US?), the judgement is your decree (if anyone has gone through divorce in CA and can confirm this, that would be great!). 

 

Now, the document my fiancé sent is just a page long (see below) - and that is apparently ‘the decree’. He also has ‘the judgement’, which is 13 pages long and contains the same first page as the decree - but then also has all the details about settlements, financial support, etc. I’m guessing that he should have probably sent a copy of the judgement too?

 

If so, do we need to wait to get a RFE, or can he post a copy of the judgement now - I’m assuming if he included a cover letter explaining what’s enclosed and including the receipt number listed on the NOA (that’s the only identifying number we can find in the NOA, so guess that’s our case number?), that would be the way to do it?

 

Any advice would be gratefully received!

 

Thank you,

 

Zoë

 

Hello,

My divorce was also In California. When I first applied for my Husband I only sent the Judgment page also and it was accepted by USCIS, but when we got to the NVC stage I only uploaded this again, but they sent me an email asking for the full decree (which was 16 pages) once I uploaded all pages it was accepted. Did not get anything certified just sent the judgment and decree. Also for his interview he took my original copy with him.

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

Thanks @Luckystar78, that’s good to hear! 

 

My fiancé called the USCIS line a couple of hours ago and they advised the document is correct and he doesn’t need to send anything else...which sounds great, however they also said that if any if the documents weren’t correct or what they needed, it would’ve said on the NOA1 and there would’ve been instructions on what to do/send...however, I understand that’s not entirely correct, hence people receiving RFE’s later on (though my knowledge is obviously very limited on this, so I hope I’m wrong!)...

 

So, we’ll see what happens! 

 

I’ll make sure my fiancé submits both at the NVC stage...forgive my ignorance, but what is the NVC stage? 😄

 

Zoë

 

 

[ValUs9517 5]

@Zoeeeeeee after USCIS approves your application they will foreward your case to NVC (National Visa Center) the Nvc will have you complete online application and you will directly upload and documents they ask for. If you are missing anything or anything more needed after you upload everything they will notify you right away and you just upload what they need. They notified me within 2 days that they needed the full decree. Once they accept everything they then foreward to embassy and set up your interview. I know this whole process can be confusing and overwhelming at times, but people here on visa journey helped alot with any questions I had. Im so thankful for this or I would be lost with this lol