Certifying a Buku Nikah (Muslim Marriage Certificate) in Indonesia (for I-130)

[Womby314 0]

Hello all! I'm trying to find information on how to authenticate a Buku Nikah (Muslim Marriage certificate) so that it's legal in the US and will be accepted for the CR1/IR1 process. I've read and heard many places that while other certificates are valid, a Muslim marriage book isn't officially recognized by the US. However, I've gotten multiple conflicting reports about how to do this:

 

1.) The Surabaya consulate told me I have to bring it to the Civil Registry in Surabaya, then to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta to get a seal, then to the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to authenticate.

2.) When I called the U.S Embassy in Jakarta, a woman told me that I only needed to get an apostille at the Office of Law and Human Rights (AHU Building) in Jakarta. She then connected me to another woman who told me:

3.) I don't need to do anything, and the Buku Nikah would already be valid, despite all other information I'd received so far contradicting that.

 

Has anyone else gone through this process? What's the correct way to validate a Muslim Marriage book in Indonesia for validity in the US?

 

Thanks!!

[D-R-J 154]

This is what it says in n the document reciprocity page for Indonesian:

 

”Available. A marriage certificate (Akte Perkawinan or Surat Nikah) is issued by the following offices for the following population groups: 1) Moslem - the Kantor Urusan Agama (KUA - Office of Religious Affairs); 2) all other religions - a solemnization certificate must first be recorded with the Civil Registry office (Dinas Kependudukan and Catatan Sipil). Please note that the marriage is considered legally valid from the date of recording, not the date of solemnization.”

 

Do you have a Akte Perkawinan or Surat Nikah from the Kantor Urusan Agama (KUA - Office of Religious Affairs)?