Question about marriage date vs marriage certificate

[Dataunavailable 79]

I went to Cambodia in Feb of this year to marry my fiance, we had our ceremony Feb 13th, I left the country in March. There was a mistake they made with my DoB on our marriage certificate so they had to re do it, I had already left the country, so by the time it was finished, the marriage certificate was dated April 1st. 

 

Basically what date am I putting on the CR1? Our hotel receipts from the honeymoon, our pictures of the ceremony are all dated around the 13th-25th of Feb. My exit visa shows March 4th. So they would know I wasn't in the country in April. 

 

Do I just put April 1st and write something explaining the date discrepancy, thanks. 

[Verrou 1,898]

marriage date = the day u are married. usually the marriage certificate will date differently ( the certificate itself and not the marriage date)

[arken 4,197]

25 minutes ago, Dataunavailable said:

the marriage certificate was dated April 1st.

It seems you are focusing on the certificate  issue date. Whether the marriage certificate is dated (issued date) months or years later, it should mention the date when you two married. When did you marry and what does the MC say about the marriage date?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Does the certificate show the actual date of marriage as April 1? I’m not familiar with Cambodian certification but generally a marriage certificate will have two dates on it, one being the actual marriage date and one the date the certificate was issued. 

[Dataunavailable 79]

37 minutes ago, arken said:

It seems you are focusing on the certificate  issue date. Whether the marriage certificate is dated (issued date) months or years later, it should mention the date when you two married. When did you marry and what does the MC say about the marriage date?

It states date of marriage registration April 1st 2022. That's the only date on the certificate. 

38 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Does the certificate show the actual date of marriage as April 1? I’m not familiar with Cambodian certification but generally a marriage certificate will have two dates on it, one being the actual marriage date and one the date the certificate was issued. 

It states date of marriage registration as April 1st 2022, that's the only date on our certificate. 

[Dataunavailable 79]

39 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Does the certificate show the actual date of marriage as April 1? I’m not familiar with Cambodian certification but generally a marriage certificate will have two dates on it, one being the actual marriage date and one the date the certificate was issued. 

Cambodia generally, for Khmer citizens, they use the date of registration as their actual wedding date, even if it differs from the date of the ceremony. I've seen some that were 4 days, some a week, ours just took longer than expected, plus a mistake causing them to have to translate the entire certificate. 

 

My main concern is just not causing confusion with USCIS, I would think the Cambodian embasy would understand Khmer traditions. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

10 minutes ago, Dataunavailable said:

Cambodia generally, for Khmer citizens, they use the date of registration as their actual wedding date, even if it differs from the date of the ceremony. I've seen some that were 4 days, some a week, ours just took longer than expected, plus a mistake causing them to have to translate the entire certificate. 

 

My main concern is just not causing confusion with USCIS, I would think the Cambodian embasy would understand Khmer traditions. 

Indeed, it would be confusing to most people to state the marriage date as different than the ..actual date of the marriage, this sounds like something that perhaps needs regional knowledge/previous experience with this, especially given all your photo evidence is dated well before the date in the certificate.  

[JeanneAdil 6,190]

all my US documents have a variety of dates

 

my moroccan marriage certificate says signed marriage contract on 15th but contract not valid till the 17th and registered the 25th in Rabat

just use the date u married.  i did as i had no idea it wasn't valid till 2 days later

[Family 3,463]

41 minutes ago, Dataunavailable said:

My main concern is just not causing confusion with USCIS, I would think the Cambodian embasy would understand Khmer traditions. 

For USCIS You will need to submit any paper copy of the ceremony/ first issued with incorrect date , include copies of your entry, hotel stays and pictures and add a brief description that physical ceremony was performed in March Xx on last page of I-130 , BUT from here on your put your date of marriage as April on the I-130 and all other lifetime needs of answering the question and providing proof….., especially  , if you want a hassle free future when dealing with any other agencies ( Social Security, Insurance Companies..etc) .

 

 

[Family 3,463]

As others have indicated, most Certificates have more than one date ( example date of licensing, date of marriage ceremony, date of validity, date of contract…) but you HAVE one one date, with minimal delay so just prove ceremony date to USCIS and no one will ever question your date of marriage again. …

[pushbrk 12,093]

4 hours ago, Family said:

As others have indicated, most Certificates have more than one date ( example date of licensing, date of marriage ceremony, date of validity, date of contract…) but you HAVE one one date, with minimal delay so just prove ceremony date to USCIS and no one will ever question your date of marriage again. …

For US Immigration "marriage date" is the date the couple became legally and lawfully married under the locally applicable laws.  In some countries, ceremonies are not a required part of the process.  If you are going to document your marriage with a marriage certificate that says April 1, 2022, then THAT is the date you enter on any immigration related forms.

 

What is correct in these situations is what is correct according to the local government policy on what constitutes being legally and lawfully married, not what the couple thinks of as their "marriage date".  

[Crazy Cat 39,191]

5 hours ago, Dataunavailable said:

Cambodia generally, for Khmer citizens, they use the date of registration as their actual wedding date, even if it differs from the date of the ceremony.

Some other countries follow that process, too.  That is exactly how it is done in Taiwan.  "The official date of the marriage under Taiwan law will be the date that the couple registered it with the Household Registration Bureau, not the date that the couple appeared at the District Court."

[Crazy Cat 39,191]

3 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

In some countries, ceremonies are not a required part of the process. 

Exactly.....  My wife and I signed our marriage papers during lunch with her niece and niece's Mother. We needed our stamps and the stamps of both witnesses.  3 days later, we were officially married the moment we registered the paper at the appropriate agency. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[pushbrk 12,093]

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Some other countries follow that process, too.  That is exactly how it is done in Taiwan.  "The official date of the marriage under Taiwan law will be the date that the couple registered it with the Household Registration Bureau, not the date that the couple appeared at the District Court."

Yes, lots of variations on this depending on the country.  In mainland China, it's the date you finally got the paperwork correct and raised your right hands before the head of the marriage office.  You are then handed the marriage book, one for each of you.  We had a ceremony on a different day.

 

[Dataunavailable 79]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

For US Immigration "marriage date" is the date the couple became legally and lawfully married under the locally applicable laws.  In some countries, ceremonies are not a required part of the process.  If you are going to document your marriage with a marriage certificate that says April 1, 2022, then THAT is the date you enter on any immigration related forms.

 

What is correct in these situations is what is correct according to the local government policy on what constitutes being legally and lawfully married, not what the couple thinks of as their "marriage date".  

Thanks

Yeah I understand that. It was just confusing and wanting to avoid a possible RFE because of the date discrepancy. But I'll be using the date on the certificate and just annotating why my pictures and other proof of marriage have a date of February vs April.