Marriage License

[mchina34]

So my wife and I went the K3 route, which means we were legally married in China.

 

We now want to get a marriage license in the USA.

 

Do we apply for one like the normal Joe and Zhang would (courthouse)? Or am I going to need my Chinese marriage licesne and approriate translations?

 

Also, in the future, am I supposed to use the Chinese date we got legally married (at least the USCIS recognizes this), or the American date?

 

 

Ponder these questions I shall....

[valenbb]

So my wife and I went the K3 route, which means we were legally married in China.

 

We now want to get a marriage license in the USA.

 

Do we apply for one like the normal Joe and Zhang would (courthouse)? Or am I going to need my Chinese marriage licesne and approriate translations?

 

Also, in the future, am I supposed to use the Chinese date we got legally married (at least the USCIS recognizes this), or the American date?

 

 

Ponder these questions I shall....

 

I am wondering the same thing!!!

[jim_julian]

You cannot get a marriage license in the US. You are already married. The marriage license you got in China is equally valid here.

[dnoblett]

I wonder if you can even apply for a license since you are ALREADY Married. Is not a marriage license for fiancee's to get married?

[TheMace]

this is what you must do if you and your wife want a US marriage lic.

 

1st file for divorce,, and pay all the legal fees,

 

2nd wait for your court date. When the judge asks the reason for the divorce state: irreconcilable crazyness by both the defendant and the plaintiff. (you can decide who wants to be who)

 

3rd wait for the divorce to be finalized, length of time depends on what state you live in.

 

4th remarry and presto you have a US marriage lic. (however your chinese marriage is now void)

 

Why not just have another wedding reception here in the US.

 

It might cost a little more, but would be a whole lot more fun that the above procedure.

 

Seriously, your Chinese marriage lic. is as good as a US lic.

[mchina34]

I wonder if you can even apply for a license since you are ALREADY Married. Is not a marriage license for fiancee's to get married?

 

 

 

 

We have a Chinese license that, as you might have guessed, is in Chinese. If I ever needed to furnish proof of my marriage who is really going to take a look at my little red book serisouly? Nobody in the US can even read it, hence my desire to get an american license and ultimately the marriage certificate. I do have it translated, but of course it's a tacky lookin' document on standard printer paper that a 3 year old with a box of crayons could've done. I'm concerned sometime in the future someone will need such docs and be like, uh, what the hell is this?

 

It'd be great if they could look at my translated/notarized docs and issue me one with the original dates, etc. Don't think it's gonna happen, though. I'll have to call the courts on this one it looks like.

 

To be continued....if I find out anything interesting.

[mchina34]

Maybe I will just get a notarized/translated version of the chinese license done here in the US.

 

 

So few K3ers out there in CFl....it seems nobody's run across this.

[Randy W]

Maybe I will just get a notarized/translated version of the chinese license done here in the US.

 

 

So few K3ers out there in CFl....it seems nobody's run across this.

 

 

 

????!!???

 

Nope - they all think their Chinese license is just fine and legal.

[Corbin]

Why not get it translated again here in the US and notarized. This should be doable, but where you can get it done I'm not sure.

[warpedbored]

It's a non issue. Your Chinese marriage certificate is perfectly legal. Other than for immigration I don't recall a single instance where I needed our marriage license. Even when we applied for our home loan they were only interested in her green card. No one has questioned whether or not we are legally married.

[Sebastian]

mchina - that chinese marriage book is valid worldwide. But I sense some other issue about this, with you. What's really going on?

 

Warmest Regards...

[Mike62356]

You cannot get a marriage license in the US. You are already married. The marriage license you got in China is equally valid here.

If I were you I would listen to Jim and Julian they know for sure.

( Opps, sorry, I mean Jim julian, I am trying Jim).

Mike

[dnoblett]

I wonder if you can even apply for a license since you are ALREADY Married. Is not a marriage license for fiancee's to get married?

 

 

 

 

We have a Chinese license that, as you might have guessed, is in Chinese. If I ever needed to furnish proof of my marriage who is really going to take a look at my little red book serisouly? Nobody in the US can even read it, hence my desire to get an american license and ultimately the marriage certificate. I do have it translated, but of course it's a tacky lookin' document on standard printer paper that a 3 year old with a box of crayons could've done. I'm concerned sometime in the future someone will need such docs and be like, uh, what the hell is this?

 

It'd be great if they could look at my translated/notarized docs and issue me one with the original dates, etc. Don't think it's gonna happen, though. I'll have to call the courts on this one it looks like.

 

To be continued....if I find out anything interesting.

You needed to get a translation done by the notary office so that you could file for the visa, did you NOT make a copy and keep the original? You send the photo copy in with the I-130 when filing for the visa.

 

Typically the translation gets bound into the book with the marriage cert.

 

If your translation looks poor, I would just get another done here in the USA, have the translator do it on fancy paper, and have them certify it and perhaps have a notary, notarize the translator's signature.

Edited October 3, 2008 by dnoblett (see edit history)

[Randy W]

And if you don't like the way your driver's license looks, you could do the same thing with it - this is a complete non-issue. Just don't try to pass the fancied-up one as the real thing.

[Missingyou]

I am a K3, you are not alone here on CFL. I am just beginning to file for EAD now. Before my husband came to US, I was thinking if we need to be "re-married " again, since our marriage was not registered in US. After reading all the posts above, I think I will rest my mind. My parents were married in HK and immigrated to US years ago. NO one ever questioned their marriage, so I think I will be fine.