I-130 Ontario Canada Record of Solemnization of Marriage

[wedinonti130 0]

Hello,

 

I (US Citizen) recently got married to my spouse (Canadian citizen) and want to apply for him to immigrate using the I-130 visa. My concern is that getting the marriage certificate can take 8-12 weeks on top of the wait times for the I-130. Can we submit the application with the record of solemnization we received from the officiant on the wedding day to start the application and then add the marriage certificate once we get it? Has anyone done that pathway before and did it backfire?

[OldUser 10,894]

You can do it, but I wouldn't. Marriage certificate is required initial evidence. You may receive RFE slowing down the case if not provided at time of submission. Other docs may cause misunderstanding / delays. Others can correct me. This is not a legal advice.

[appleblossom 5,296]

**Thread Moved to CR-1/IR-1 forum as this is a spousal application**

[Crazy Cat 45,751]

A vote to wait for an official marriage certificate.  A record of solemnization  is not a marriage certificate from what I have seen.  Never give USCIS any ambiguity.  

[S2N 572]

This is one of the cases where they can go straight to denial if not initially uploaded.

 

Typically USCIS is fine with uploading additional evidence later or fixing submissions via unsolicited evidence. The one exception is for required initial evidence — which a marriage certificate is.

[pushbrk 14,063]

Delays in Ontario for marriage certificates are a known factor.  You wait.  The I-130 is not a visa. It is a petition for alien relative.  When the petition is approved, your spouse will be invited to apply for a CR1 or IR1 visa, depending on how long you have been  married at that time.  Start by clicking on the word "guides" at the top of any page here, and use your waiting time to learn the process.