How do we get married in a courthouse?

[rrobin0609 387]

It will also depend on the county you marry in. The county I live in stopped doing courthouse weddings several years ago so we had to find someone that was ordained.

[CharleneB 112]

9 hours ago, adil-rafa said:

residiency is not required in Texas but there is a 72 hour waiting period after getting the marriage license

I just got married In Texas yesterday. I went to get the license believing there was a 72 hour wait. Come to find out if you apply at the courthouse you can literally take the elevator up a few flights and find a judge in between cases and get married right away. Apparently the 72 hours only applies if you apply for the license at a location other than the courthouse. At least in Harris county.

[Crazy Cat 39,218]

10 minutes ago, CharleneB said:

I just got married In Texas yesterday. I went to get the license believing there was a 72 hour wait. Come to find out if you apply at the courthouse you can literally take the elevator up a few flights and find a judge in between cases and get married right away. Apparently the 72 hours only applies if you apply for the license at a location other than the courthouse. At least in Harris county.

District Judges only can waive the 72 hour waiting period....

https://www.resurrectionmcc.org/transfer/Harris-County-Marriage-License-Information.pdf

[Ontarkie 13,915]

~~Moved to Moving Here and Your New Life, from K1 P&P - As the question is about getting married not visa processing.~~

[JFH 12,189]

This could be a contender for the quickest wedding after POE if the 72-hour rule is waived. The quickest I have seen so far was a LAX arrival, drive to Vegas and license and wedding there and then. They were married around 8 hours after the plane landed, I believe. 

[Falcon Cara 377]

Have a friend become an ordained minister and in Texas they can marry you.   It usually free to become ordained.

 

Is another option to look into.

[Cryssiekins 976]

10 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Getting married in OK will be faster.

 

Make sure you don't come back in a few weeks complaining you can't get a social security number .

 

@Ella and James See the quoted comment.  Dealing with SSA can be a nightmare on its own, nevermind complicating it by getting married instantly.  

 

I appreciate the excitement since you no doubt waited in agony, but I would think it’s prudent to get your ducks in a row.  Go to SSA a few days after landing, deal with that headache, and then get married.  All can be done within 2 weeks and you’ll still be able to file well before the expiration of your i94.

 

I state this based on my own frustrations with SSA.  It took me a long time to get that sorted out, and that was before I had gotten married and changed my name etc.

 

Safe travels and best wishes with whichever route you take.

[HRQX 4,145]

1 hour ago, Falcon Cara said:

Have a friend become an ordained minister and in Texas they can marry you.   It usually free to become ordained.

It wouldn't help OP. Only District Judges can waive the 72-hour waiting period: https://www.resurrectionmcc.org/transfer/Harris-County-Marriage-License-Information.pdf

[Amadia 711]

Each state is different as others have said. I got married in a courthouse in Florida but the only waiting period for us was getting a date for the ceremony after the 4hr marriage prep course was completed. If you choose not to do the marriage prep course, then there is a 3-day waiting period. 

We got our license on a Wednesday and got married the following week on a Friday; my choice.

[TabeaK 516]

11 hours ago, Cryssiekins said:

@Ella and James See the quoted comment.  Dealing with SSA can be a nightmare on its own, nevermind complicating it by getting married instantly.  

 

I appreciate the excitement since you no doubt waited in agony, but I would think it’s prudent to get your ducks in a row.  Go to SSA a few days after landing, deal with that headache, and then get married.  All can be done within 2 weeks and you’ll still be able to file well before the expiration of your i94.

 

I state this based on my own frustrations with SSA.  It took me a long time to get that sorted out, and that was before I had gotten married and changed my name etc.

 

Safe travels and best wishes with whichever route you take.

Don't change your name and you won't have any issues with SSA either way. I got my number and card within 10 days of landing, went to the SSA a day after arrival & got married a couple days later.

[Cryssiekins 976]

Just now, TabeaK said:

Don't change your name and you won't have any issues with SSA either way. I got my number and card within 10 days of landing, went to the SSA a day after arrival & got married a couple days later.

True, but I wanted to take my husband’s name, and perhaps that will be the choice of this woman (or perhaps not - her call). My problem with SSA originated at POE, but why complicate things?  SSA first and then marry.  Can all be done still quite fast. 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,078]

19 hours ago, JFH said:

This could be a contender for the quickest wedding after POE if the 72-hour rule is waived. The quickest I have seen so far was a LAX arrival, drive to Vegas and license and wedding there and then. They were married around 8 hours after the plane landed, I believe. 

Surprising that someone hasn't reported an arrival directly in Vegas and going to a 24-hour chapel; there are decent number of direct international flights to Vegas these days.

[JFH 12,189]

3 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

Surprising that someone hasn't reported an arrival directly in Vegas and going to a 24-hour chapel; there are decent number of direct international flights to Vegas these days.

Yes my POE was Las Vegas airport (although I was an IR-1 so no wedding to do) and there was a K-1 on the same plane as me. We sat together in secondary. I did wonder if Las Vegas was his POE for a quick wedding but turned out his fiancée lived in Arizona.