AOS w/o marriage certificate - HELP

[Arnold_and_Joan 0]

O yea - we expect a RFE - we just dont think its going to be returned to us and that we'll have to submit a whole new application

Hi Jamal,

I noticed in your timeline you changed name in SSA but still w/o the notarized marriage cert. What did you need to do that?

thanks

Arnold & Joan

[JamalNTam 1]

O yea - we expect a RFE - we just dont think its going to be returned to us and that we'll have to submit a whole new application

Hi Jamal,

I noticed in your timeline you changed name in SSA but still w/o the notarized marriage cert. What did you need to do that?

thanks

Arnold & Joan

We actually received the certified copy a few days afer we sent the AOS out. I'm sure you're's will turn up any day now

[no name 1]

It might not...be positive.

agreed.

[Mags 112]

Well, we sent in a valid copy of our marriage certificate with our application in March. Two weeks ago we got an RFE for it, even though we had already sent it in.

You never CAN tell what will happen and to assume that you won't get RFEd is always looking through rose tinted glasses. Simple fact is - you never can tell what's round the corner.

[rebeccajo 14]

O yea - we expect a RFE - we just dont think its going to be returned to us and that we'll have to submit a whole new application

Hi Jamal,

I noticed in your timeline you changed name in SSA but still w/o the notarized marriage cert. What did you need to do that?

thanks

Arnold & Joan

You aren't needing a 'notarized' copy of your marriage certificate.

You need a certified marriage certificate and can send a photocopy of that.

"Certification" means a document bearing the recordation marks of the appropriate authority in your geographic location. Here, a marriage certificate is entered in the Office of the County Clerk. You are duly married on the day of your ceremony, but the recordation of the certificate is the legal key to the marriage. For example, divorce decrees usually contain wording which reference the date of the marriage and mentions that the marriage has been duly recorded at XYZ location.

Likewise, if you are needing a certified copy of a divorce decree for a filing with DHS, you can obtain that from the appropriate authority. Here, that would be the Circuit Clerk.

Edited July 30, 2007 by rebeccajo

[athena_ny 1]

We didnt! lol! We filled before the new fees took place asm we were told our marriage cert would be sent afer about 1 month and we wanted to file before the new fees. We sent in a copy of the marriage license and we were given a 'marriage cert' which the minister filled in, which is bascially the certified marriage cert without the notary! We are expecting a RFE, but at least we didnt pay the higher fees! The annoying thing is that the actual certified marriage cert arrived only 1 week after and that was without payin anything extra for a fast service!!!

Lets hope they dont reject your entire packet and return it to you, because without that marriage certificate you have no basis for filling for AOS.... if they do you will have to refile with the new fee...

Good Luck

Kez

Even without the 'certified' marriage cert it's pretty obvious that we got married, infact, it even has the state of nv seal, and like I said, it's eactly the same as the certified copy, except it doesnt have a raised seal, which wouldn't show on a photocopy that well. I'm sure they dont go though the applicaton with a fine tooth comb when they first receive it, just find the check, make sure its the correct amount, issue a NOA1 and put it aside until someone starts looking at it.

They do check your application for completeness before they issue the NOA1... but lets hope your right....

Kez

Not to mention I'm sure they're quite keen to the sneaky tactics of those trying to beat the fee increase...

[JamalNTam 1]

We didnt! lol! We filled before the new fees took place asm we were told our marriage cert would be sent afer about 1 month and we wanted to file before the new fees. We sent in a copy of the marriage license and we were given a 'marriage cert' which the minister filled in, which is bascially the certified marriage cert without the notary! We are expecting a RFE, but at least we didnt pay the higher fees! The annoying thing is that the actual certified marriage cert arrived only 1 week after and that was without payin anything extra for a fast service!!!

Lets hope they dont reject your entire packet and return it to you, because without that marriage certificate you have no basis for filling for AOS.... if they do you will have to refile with the new fee...

Good Luck

Kez

Even without the 'certified' marriage cert it's pretty obvious that we got married, infact, it even has the state of nv seal, and like I said, it's eactly the same as the certified copy, except it doesnt have a raised seal, which wouldn't show on a photocopy that well. I'm sure they dont go though the applicaton with a fine tooth comb when they first receive it, just find the check, make sure its the correct amount, issue a NOA1 and put it aside until someone starts looking at it.

They do check your application for completeness before they issue the NOA1... but lets hope your right....

Kez

Not to mention I'm sure they're quite keen to the sneaky tactics of those trying to beat the fee increase...

It wasnt sneaky tactics - we got married on July 12th - we were tod that it would take over 1 month to get the 'official' certificate - why should we have to pay higher fee if we did legally get married before that date? The cert number on the certificate we gave them is even the number of the certified one. In all realiy all they need to do is type in the County Clark website address and search the certificate number and see that we are legally registered as married

[no name 1]

It wasnt sneaky tactics - we got married on July 12th - we were tod that it would take over 1 month to get the 'official' certificate - why should we have to pay higher fee if we did legally get married before that date? The cert number on the certificate we gave them is even the number of the certified one. In all realiy all they need to do is type in the County Clark website address and search the certificate number and see that we are legally registered as married

The onus is on you to prove you are in fact married and that you file when you have all related documents, end of story. Why should they do your homework?

[TracyTN 237]

The onus is on you to prove you are in fact married and that you file when you have all related documents, end of story. Why should they do your homework?

[JamalNTam 1]

O well - the check was cashed yesterday so I guess they wont be returning the whole thing to me!

[athena_ny 1]

O well - the check was cashed yesterday so I guess they wont be returning the whole thing to me!

Lucky for you. Perhaps incomplete packets and the expectation they will do the homework for you, as Devilette said, isn't going to pay off for everyone else, though. And if you offer your experience as gospel, and everyone who can't get their certificate in 'time' for whatever cut off they want to have it in by does the same thing, wonder how that would slow the system down for those who bothered to completely their packets?

Edited July 31, 2007 by meow mix

[Caladan 19]

My logic, though we married July 20 and received the marriage certificate yesterday, is that the RFE and the resulting delay would cost more, in terms of lost time at work for C. (i.e., slow down his EAD by a month) than the fee increase would. I think they mostly check for signatures and fees at this stage. Good luck to those of you that sent it in ahead of time.

[JamalNTam 1]

O well - the check was cashed yesterday so I guess they wont be returning the whole thing to me!

Lucky for you. Perhaps incomplete packets and the expectation they will do the homework for you, as Devilette said, isn't going to pay off for everyone else, though. And if you offer your experience as gospel, and everyone who can't get their certificate in 'time' for whatever cut off they want to have it in by does the same thing, wonder how that would slow the system down for those who bothered to completely their packets?

What are you talking about? Someone asked a question - I just said what we did. I did not offer anything as gospel, so I dont know where you got that from. And I never said that they should do my homework for me, what homework? We sent in proof of marriage, ok, so it wasnt exactly the proof they asked for, but it was proof non the less. Ok, well maybe you should say this to everyone who receives a RFE because if they received a RFE, then their packet wasnt complete either - I mean the amount of people who didnt include the vaccination suppliment or the W2s, or people who didnt fill the forms out correctly, I dont see you jumping down their throats!

And yes, it did work out for us, and I'm really glad because not everyone can just spend $1010 or however much it is now and not struggle!

My logic, though we married July 20 and received the marriage certificate yesterday, is that the RFE and the resulting delay would cost more, in terms of lost time at work for C. (i.e., slow down his EAD by a month) than the fee increase would. I think they mostly check for signatures and fees at this stage. Good luck to those of you that sent it in ahead of time.

I can see your point, but I'll be a full time student starting nect month (yey) so I wont be working for at least a year I think maybe if this hadnt been the case, maybe we would have waited.

[thetreble 19]

Now now ladies and gents, be nice. I'm glad it worked out for you Jamal. Just be ready for that RFE so you can send in your marriage certificate as soon as you get it!

[featherB 1]

Now now ladies and gents, be nice. I'm glad it worked out for you Jamal. Just be ready for that RFE so you can send in your marriage certificate as soon as you get it!

I have to say it... Tam, her name is Tam!!!

Aaah, that feels better!