Single Certification if never married

[NY-Viking]

I know this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find anything doing a search.

 

I know that if either of you have been married previously that you do need to provide evidence of a divorce, but my fiancee just asked me, so I thought I should verify just in case so she doesn't get a request at the interview for something she should have had. Provided that neither of you have ever been married, no certificates are necessary for a K-1 .. right?

 

Or should she obtain a single certificate?

[NY-Viking]

She has to have a single certificate.

 

You do not need a single certificate.

Yeah, now that I read the P-3 again, I guess this is pretty clear:

 

8. Marital Status Certificates. Married persons are required to present a certified copy of their marriage certificate while the unmarried persons at a marriageable age a certified copy of their non - married certificate with one year validity. A marriage certificate issued by a local notary public office is required for applicants who registered their marriage in the People's Republic of China. Proof of the termination of any previous marriage must also be submitted (e.g. death certificate of spouse, final decree of divorce or annulment).

[Dan R]

Both of you are submitting documents that would show a marriage if you were not single. (i.e. tax forms etc.) Since a marriage shows up in personal documents it is necessary, for those of us that have such a record, to prove we are no longer married. That is why proof is only required of those who have been married. Since bigamy is not accepted in the U.S. inability to prove you are no longer married would disqualify as a fiance intended on marriage.

 

In our case we both submited divorce records.

 

I hope this helps clarify and not make things more confused.

 

Good Luck!

[Carl]

If you decide to get married in China you will also need an Affidavit of Single Status. Getting it is not hard, just time consuming and there are a few hoops you need to jump through to get it. But once you do have it, the results are well worth it .

[NY-Viking]

Both of you are submitting documents that would show a marriage if you were not single. (i.e. tax forms etc.)  Since a marriage shows up in personal documents it is necessary, for those of us that have such a record, to prove we are no longer married. That is why proof is only required of those who have been married. Since bigamy is not accepted in the U.S. inability to prove you are no longer married would disqualify as a fiance intended on marriage.

 

In our case we both submited divorce records.

 

I hope this helps clarify and not make things more confused.

 

Good Luck!

Thanks ... but not really.

 

If I had been married, then I could produce something (a divorce decree, etc.), but as it stands I cannot. Anyway, I think donahso is correct. She'll get a Single Certificate. She'll also have my tax forms for the past 5 years, so that should show I'm single, I guess.

[NY-Viking]

If you decide to get married in China you will also need an Affidavit of Single Status.  Getting it is not hard, just time consuming and there are a few hoops you need to jump through to get it.  But once you do have it, the results are well worth it .

Thanks ... but that's not my question. I understand that, but we decided to go the K-1 route, and are pretty close to the end, I think. And getting married in China would cause us to start again at Step One.

[NY-Viking]

She has to have a single certificate.

 

You do not need a single certificate.

Yeah, now that I read the P-3 again, I guess this is pretty clear:

 

8. Marital Status Certificates. Married persons are required to present a certified copy of their marriage certificate while the unmarried persons at a marriageable age a certified copy of their non - married certificate with one year validity. A marriage certificate issued by a local notary public office is required for applicants who registered their marriage in the People's Republic of China. Proof of the termination of any previous marriage must also be submitted (e.g. death certificate of spouse, final decree of divorce or annulment).

Like a lot of the jibberish in the various instructions, this one has it's own merits. I'll underline the relavent part for your situation where neither you nor your fiancee have been previously married.

Yes ... I understood that. What is not so clear in that though is that I don't need to supply any equivalent document (and just the applicant).

 

But that does seem to make sense.

[ghall20]

"I am legally able to and intend to marry my alien fiance(e) within 90 days of his or her arrival in the United States. I certify, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America, that the forgoing is true and correct......."

I went K-3 and made my own statement that I have not been married for 10 year or so and had it notorized as a true statement....