Which place to choose for marriage? (merged)

[breadlover408 24]

Hi guys,

I've just arrived one month into the US and have settled down.

We're looking for a place in California to get the marriage license. I'm a bit confused as I thought it was a walk-in thing but I'm seeing that the county I'm at (Santa Clara) does not allow walk-ins and only appointments for dates which will go past my 90 days.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do? or where would be the quickest place since I only have 2 months left.

Thank you

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

Haven't checked lately but Orange county offers walk-ins and the courthouse is nice. Avoid LA County at all costs as they take forever to issue marriage certificates. 

 

Maybe better to marry in Las Vegas. I think @Loren Y offers this service for free to VJ members. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Allaboutwaiting

[JandK24 19]

Try doing it Sacramento County. We got married last April at the county clerk office in downtown Sac. We made an appointment about a week prior, it wasn't hard to get one. The whole process was really fast. From registration, filing some paperwork, the actual ceremony, and receiving the marriage certificate, everything was done in about an hour or so.

[Mike E 11,740]

25 minutes ago, breadlover408 said:

Hi guys,

I've just arrived one month into the US and have settled down.

We're looking for a place in California to get the marriage license. I'm a bit confused as I thought it was a walk-in thing but I'm seeing that the county I'm at (Santa Clara) does not allow walk-ins and only appointments for dates which will go past my 90 days.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do? or where would be the quickest place since I only have 2 months left.

Thank you

We got married in Santa Clara county office a year before the pandemic and it was easy then.  In most of California is this not easy any more.  Utah Zoom wedding or @Loren Y / Vegas. There are no other reasonable choices imo. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Mike E

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to Moving to the US and Your New Life In America -- OP is done with the K1 visa process ***

 

[breadlover408 24]

I called one service up and they stated that as long as you get married before the 90 days, then you are good.

But the certificate may take time to arrive? but anyhow the certificate will state the date of marriage (eg in Jan).

We don't have to submit everything to AOS before our expiration date? (eg mine expires in March).

 

[Mike E 11,740]

32 minutes ago, breadlover408 said:

I called one service up and they stated that as long as you get married before the 90 days, then you are good.

not true. 
 

Quote

 

But the certificate may take time to arrive? but anyhow the certificate will state the date of marriage (eg in Jan)

yes that part is required. 

Quote

 

 

We don't have to submit everything to AOS before our expiration date? (eg mine expires in March).

 

You will be accruing unlawful presence.  No one here can recommend that course of action.  You are going through stages of grief right now because your plan isn’t workable. You are in the bargaining stage.  You need to move to acceptance and accept that a Santa Clara county marriage certificate is not in your best interest.  You’ve got excellent alternatives 
 

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Mike E

[breadlover408 24]

Sorry everyone I should have been clearer in my previous thread.

So my K1 expires on 3 March, and I found two places to get married at:

 

1. At a county where marriage license and certificate and everything will be given on the same day.
latest opening: 16 Feb

2. A small business owner, but official marriage certificate will come later at 6-8 weeks, meanwhile they will provide something temporary to show that we are married.
Latest opening: 19 Jan

Now, I just want to be clear, would I have to submit every thing to AOS before 3 March when my visa expires - 
but if it is so, then I can't go with no (2)?

Or would it be okay to wait till after 6-8 weeks for marriage cert to arrive and to submit everything to AOS then, but that would go past my k1 expiry date.
I've read some sites on Google and it seems to be mixed reviews.

(We would choose opt 2 over 1 as opt 2 includes every thing at a place we want where we can take beautiful pictures too, whereas opt 1 is just at a county office).
but if the choice is to go with opt1 for time, then we would. I am just worried and unsure about whether I have to submit every thing to AOS before my K1 expires.

I thank you for any help!
 

 

 

[JeanneAdil 6,554]

The requirement is to marry in the 90 days

marry on the Feb 16th and get  the temporary document to carry with u

 

if you mail that in (keeping a copy ),  expect RFE for the actual certificate  /  not really a problem

OR 

carry the temporary and your passport whereever u go

and wait for the actualy certificate to mail the AOS package

 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

As stated in the previous comment, the only requirement is to marry within 90 days counted from your arrival to the US -your K1 expiration date is irrelevant now-.

 

Once married you can file for AOS at any time at the risk of being out of status.

 

If you file without the marriage certificate your packet will be rejected.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,467]

The rule here is to start just one post per topic.  I have flagged this post for a moderator to merge with your previous post.

 

As another responder stated in your other post, whatever you do make sure you marry within 90 days and submit your AOS to stay in status.  

 

Option 2 carries a risk that the AOS may be rejected for not having a marriage certificate, or they may accept it initially and send you an RFE.

 

You can also look up the Utah zoom wedding, or contact @Loren Y to do a one day destination wedding in Las Vegas.

 

 

[Ontarkie 14,279]

~~Related threads merged. Please keep all related questions to one thread. It helps members give the best possible advice when all the information is in one thread.~~

[Adventine 3,201]

2 hours ago, breadlover408 said:

We don't have to submit everything to AOS before our expiration date? (eg mine expires in March).

 

 

Do everything you can to file a complete AOS package before your K1 visa expires. See below thread for a nightmare example of what can happen when a K1 visa holder doesn't file AOS within the 90 days:

 

 

The risk is small, but it is there. The consequences are just not worth delaying your AOS.

 

Do the Utah online marriage or go to Vegas to get married by Loren Y. You can always have another ceremony later on, with all the bells and whistles that you want.

[Loren Y 2,755]

On 1/3/2022 at 1:22 PM, breadlover408 said:

Hi guys,

I've just arrived one month into the US and have settled down.

We're looking for a place in California to get the marriage license. I'm a bit confused as I thought it was a walk-in thing but I'm seeing that the county I'm at (Santa Clara) does not allow walk-ins and only appointments for dates which will go past my 90 days.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do? or where would be the quickest place since I only have 2 months left.

Thank you

As others have said, if you can get to Las Vegas, NV, I can get you married with certificate in hand in about an hour. Message me for my contact information, and I can help you out.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,093]

Check around with the other counties around you (the Bay Area isn't like SoCal where the counties are huge, so you've likely got a lot of possible options within an hour or two drive, although some of them are probably no better or even worse than Santa Clara). There's no requirement that you get married in the county where you live (Anastasia and I were married in Riverside County at the Temecula office because that was the nearest county clerk's office to us that does outdoor ceremonies other than downtown San Diego, which has really poor parking options, but that was pre-Covid).

 

If you can't get an appointment in time (and note that you don't need a civil ceremony appointment if you can find someone to perform the ceremony -- and even if they normally couldn't you can pay to register for someone to do this one-time -- or get a confidential marriage license, you just need to get a license), consider going to Nevada ( @Loren Y is in Vegas, but Reno's a lot shorter drive from San Jose) or a Utah online marriage.