Send marriage license instead of certificate?

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PGNK

Registered Users (C)
It's looking like we will miss the deadline for filing the immigration application before my wife's 90 day visa waiver expires. So we have two options:

1. Send in all the immigration paperwork with the marriage certificate, but 2-3 weeks late.

or

2. Send everything on time, but include the signed marriage license in lieu of the certificate. (Could certainly be believed as a mistake).

If we send the license instead of certificate will that cause the whole application to be rejected, or just generate a request for the missing document?

This is really too bad, because we have done everything exactly right. It's not our fault the dolts at the courthouse can't find the document.

:confused:
 
I looked at the instructions for one of the forms and it said that if a document is unavailable to get a letter from the authority that would of issued it saying the document is unavailable and to also include secondary proof such as affidavits.

Another thing that you might want to try is to see if there is another department that has your license on file, like the Department of Health for that state.
 
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Why do you have a signed copy of the marriage license? In many states it is submitted by the person performing the ceremony.

Also, in some states, the license IS the certificate once it has been signed and stamped by the registering office.
 
I have a copy of the signed license because the minister gave it to me. I'm not getting much (Zero) cooperation from the pencil necks at the court house. One person tells me it takes 3-5 days, and another tells me at least 5 weeks. No one including elected officials will lift a finger to help.

It's still possible we will get it in time, but not likely. I think because of the holidays, filing it right after the 1st of the year isn't so bad because even immigration should understand that everything is backed up. If it drags on more than 2 weeks late, I might have to get an attorney involved.
 
No penalty for the late filing, because you are a US citizen and she entered the US legally. She only has to worry about being caught by an immigration officer in the 2-3 weeks between her VWP expiration and submitting the I-485.

Sending it with missing documents is often worse than sending it late. Sometimes they outright reject it, other times they send an RFE to request what is missing. But when they send the RFE, sometimes it gets lost in the mail, or it arrives after the deadline they specified (usually because they mailed it to you too late), and then the case is denied because you failed to respond to the notice that you didn't get on time. So the safest and simplest route is to wait it out until you get the actual certificate, and then send in everything together.
 
"Not getting caught" scares the crap out of me. We are going on honeymoon Dec 24, and will be flying domestically. She will have to show her passport at airport security. I was planning to bring signed copies of all the immigration documents (even though they are not mailed). From what I understand, the chances of them checking her status on a domestic flight are very small. And if we do get checked, if we have the signed documents, considering it is only a few days since being mailed, I wonder if they would even question it.
 
PGNK said:
"Not getting caught" scares the crap out of me. We are going on honeymoon Dec 24, and will be flying domestically. She will have to show her passport at airport security. I was planning to bring signed copies of all the immigration documents (even though they are not mailed). From what I understand, the chances of them checking her status on a domestic flight are very small. And if we do get checked, if we have the signed documents, considering it is only a few days since being mailed, I wonder if they would even question it.
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So you plan to fly away on honeymoon after her VWP 90 days have expired, but before her green card papers have been filed? Are you crazy?

Showing unsubmitted immigration forms will be useless if they check her immigration status at the airport (yes, sometimes there are immigration agents roaming around the airport doing that even for domestic flights). She needs an I-485 receipt. Without having legal status, if she encounters immigration agents and cannot show that she is flying out of the US on that same day, they probably will arrest her and take her to an immigration detention center. That's what happened to a guy's wife on this forum a couple years ago when she decided to fly domestically after her visa expired and before filing the I-485. Yes, the chances of that nightmare scenario are low, but the chances surely are not zero.
 
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Consider it a Christmas miracle maybe, but we got the certificate yesterday, so all is well. I talked to an attorney about the situation and he is not concerned about the travel. Very small chance we would get noticed at all. And if we do get stopped the worst that would happen is an "order to appear", that would get tossed out after the papers are received. The problem with the internet is there is too much BS. Someone said they were arrested for this minor infraction, but chances are there is a little more to the story. Even nationality can play a factor. I don't think Japanese are real high on the list of threats. And there is always a chance to get arrested by mistake, or by some over-zealous security person. Years ago my sister was arrested and cavity searched for no good reason, other than that she was very pretty, and the security people wanted a better look.
 
PGNK said:
And if we do get stopped the worst that would happen is an "order to appear", that would get tossed out after the papers are received.
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Tell yourself that if it makes you feel good, but the reality is that an "order to appear" is not the worst thing. They do detain people if they are not confident the individual will show up in court after being released. But anyway, now that you have the certificate you can make a copy and submit it with the I-485 today.
I don't think Japanese are real high on the list of threats.
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It's not about "threats", it's about being an illegal immigrant.
 
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Everything got sent in under the deadline. Our attorney advised us that in this situation he has never heard of anyone ever being arrested or detained for being a week out of status, and that it has no bearing on the actual immigration process. He's been doing this for 30 years, so I tend to believe him. And BTW, my wife is not an "illegal immigrant". That is just flat out insulting and has no point on a constructive forum like this where people are trying to get help and advice.
 
Nobody called your wife an illegal immigrant. The point is that ICE will detain people who have overstayed their status (without filing for an extension or change of status) because they see them as being or becoming an illegal immigrant, not necessarily because they see them as a "threat". They will even arrest and lock up children without their parents in detention centers, then take them to face an immigration court usually without a lawyer. It's not what you want to hear, but that is the harsh reality of how immigration enforcement operates, and that kind of stuff happening is a risk that any out of status person faces if stopped by an immigration agent. But you filed the papers on time, so now you have nothing to worry about.
 
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