Petitioner divorce decree or certificate?

[ClemsonC 62]

Hi all, 

 

is a divorce order/decree ok to submit to nvc? Or does it have to be a certificate? 

[Timona 3,931]

 Certificate 

[ClemsonC 62]

I should add, it’s the petitioners 

[Timona 3,931]

Yes Sir...I understand. Petitioner needs the certificate 

 

You can pay for it online via that Vital records thing...

[carmel34 3,529]

15 hours ago, ClemsonC said:

Hi all, 

 

is a divorce order/decree ok to submit to nvc? Or does it have to be a certificate? 

Quoted from the Dept. of State website:  If you were previously married, you must obtain evidence of the termination of EVERY prior marriage you have had. Your evidence must be an original or certified copy of one of the following documents: FINAL legal divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment papers.

 

Either a divorce decree or divorce certificate is fine as evidence of legally terminating a prior marriage.  In the US, the county clerk or court clerk where the divorce was granted issues a divorce decree, and this is what most people use since they receive an official, original copy after the divorce, or you can request a certified copy later from the same county or court clerk's office.  Some US states can also provide a divorce certificate through the state's vital records office, but you have to request it, pay a fee, and wait for it to arrive.  Whatever document you provide needs to have an official seal and signature from the issuing authority, whether county/court clerk (divorce decree) or state vital records office (divorce certificate).  From the wording of your question, I assume that the USC petitioner already submitted a photocopy of the official divorce decree (all pages) with the I-130 petition, as evidence of legally terminating any prior marriage was required at that stage of the spousal visa process.  The I-130 petition was approved with that evidence, and your case is now at the NVC, so just upload a scanned version of the same divorce document that was sent with the I-130.  The beneficiary should take the same original, official divorce document that was sent as a photocopy with the I-130 and uploaded at the NVC stage to the spousal visa interview in Montreal in case they ask to see it.  Good luck!

Edited June 17, 2022 by carmel34

[ClemsonC 62]

4 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

Quoted from the Dept. of State website:  If you were previously married, you must obtain evidence of the termination of EVERY prior marriage you have had. Your evidence must be an original or certified copy of one of the following documents: FINAL legal divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment papers.

 

Either a divorce decree or divorce certificate is fine as evidence of legally terminating a prior marriage.  In the US, the county clerk or court clerk where the divorce was granted issues a divorce decree, and this is what most people use since they receive an official,  original copy after the divorce, or you can request a certified copy later from the same county or court clerk's office.  Some US states can also provide a divorce certificate through the state's vital records office, but you have to request it, pay a fee, and wait for it to arrive.  Whatever document you provide needs to have an official seal and signature from the issuing authority, whether county/court clerk (divorce decree) or state vital records office (divorce certificate).  From the wording of your question, I assume that the USC petitioner already submitted a photocopy of the official divorce decree (all pages) with the I-130 petition, as evidence of legally terminating any prior marriage was required at that stage of the spousal visa process.  The I-130 petition was approved with that evidence, and your case is now at the NVC, so just upload the same divorce document that was sent with the I-130.  The beneficiary should take the same original, official divorce document that was sent as a photocopy with the I-130 and uploaded at the NVC stage to the spousal visa interview in Montreal in case they ask to see it.  Good luck!

Thank you so much! Yes, we submitted the 4 page decree with the i130, and I uploaded it to nvc back with my documents on April 12. I was just worried as I saw someone at the consulate get held back their visa until they got the actual certificate come in. And started to panic a bit since were so close to the review time for DQ!

[Redrobot 91]

5 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Quoted from the Dept. of State website:  If you were previously married, you must obtain evidence of the termination of EVERY prior marriage you have had. Your evidence must be an original or certified copy of one of the following documents: FINAL legal divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment papers.

 

Either a divorce decree or divorce certificate is fine as evidence of legally terminating a prior marriage.  In the US, the county clerk or court clerk where the divorce was granted issues a divorce decree, and this is what most people use since they receive an official, original copy after the divorce, or you can request a certified copy later from the same county or court clerk's office.  Some US states can also provide a divorce certificate through the state's vital records office, but you have to request it, pay a fee, and wait for it to arrive.  Whatever document you provide needs to have an official seal and signature from the issuing authority, whether county/court clerk (divorce decree) or state vital records office (divorce certificate).  From the wording of your question, I assume that the USC petitioner already submitted a photocopy of the official divorce decree (all pages) with the I-130 petition, as evidence of legally terminating any prior marriage was required at that stage of the spousal visa process.  The I-130 petition was approved with that evidence, and your case is now at the NVC, so just upload a scanned version of the same divorce document that was sent with the I-130.  The beneficiary should take the same original, official divorce document that was sent as a photocopy with the I-130 and uploaded at the NVC stage to the spousal visa interview in Montreal in case they ask to see it.  Good luck!

Hi! Is this also relevant for the US citizen petitioner? I previously understood that the embassy only requires these if the beneficiary was ever married previously.

[Redrobot 91]

20 hours ago, Timona said:

Yes Sir...I understand. Petitioner needs the certificate 

 

You can pay for it online via that Vital records thing...

To be clear, the docs available via Vital records are NOT certified for this purpose. 

[top_secret 2,059]

It needs to be a certified copy, but not a "certificate".   I imagine it varies from state to state but for California it was just a photocopy of the divorce decree/ judgement, stamp and signed as a certified true copy by the court clerk.  As far as I know there is not even any such thing as a "divorce certificate" in California. 

[carmel34 3,529]

19 hours ago, Redrobot said:

Hi! Is this also relevant for the US citizen petitioner? I previously understood that the embassy only requires these if the beneficiary was ever married previously.

Proof of legal termination of any prior marriage is required for both the petitioner and beneficiary, if filing for a fiancé or spousal visa.  My response to the original poster's question was for the USA, for the American petitioner's divorce document.  Check the Dept. of State website for what civil documents each US embassy/consulate will accept from foreign countries.

[Redrobot 91]

2 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

Proof of legal termination of any prior marriage is required for both the petitioner and beneficiary, if filing for a fiancé or spousal visa.  My response to the original poster's question was for the USA, for the American petitioner's divorce document.  Check the Dept. of State website for what civil documents each US embassy/consulate will accept from foreign countries.

Same situation for us, then, as my US citizen husband is the one with the prior marriage. Thanks.