How to get married in the USA

It is easy to register a marriage in the USA, but the procedure requires adherence to a number of formalities. Photo: Depositphotos

Wedding in Vegas. Or in New York. Or San Francisco. For a couple of hundred dollars, anyone can get married in the USA, and neither the legal status nor the type of visa will be checked by anyone. However, the procedure itself is different from what everyone is used to in their homeland. ForumDaily collected all the necessary information for those who plan to marry in America.

Summer of love

Russian Catherine married American Brian in 2010 year. A modest ceremony was held in New Jersey with parents. The couple met a year before, when a girl came to the States for the summer to work and practice English according to the program Work and Travel. Almost immediately after her arrival, Ekaterina met Brian in a bar and a relationship began. But the summer flew by and Katya returned home to finish university. The couple maintained a long-distance relationship.

The following summer they met again - Ekaterina received a diploma, a new American visa and flew to the USA. Shortly before leaving, Brian proposed to her and Catherine agreed. At that moment, Brian had just taken out a large loan to open his business and understood that he would not be able to prove his financial solvency in order to obtain a fiancé visa for Katya. Her current student visa was expiring, but together with Brian they decided that it was not worth returning to their homeland - the girl remained in the United States illegally. The couple organized a modest wedding with only their closest relatives. The official ceremony took place in a small church. Prior to this, the couple received permission to marry from the local municipality.

For this they provided:

— identification documents (driver’s license),

— social security numbers (Ekaterina submitted her number received for work on a J-1 visa),

— proof of address (electricity and water bills).

Plus paid a fee of $ 28.

“Nobody asked me what status I am here, and where is my fiancee visa,” says Ekaterina. “It was more important to them that we were over 18 years old and were not married to other people.” After the wedding, the newlyweds immediately began obtaining a green card for Catherine, whom everyone now calls Kate.

What you need to know about the ceremony

The rules for marriage in the United States are quite simple and largely universal for all states. Anyone can sign in America—neither citizenship nor a green card is needed. To perform a civil or church ceremony, you must obtain a marriage license in advance (marriage license) at the county office - this could be a department in the mayor's office (City Hall) or in the courthouse (Court House). To do this, you need to submit an application, provide identification documents, and pay a fee (its amount in different states ranges from several tens to more than a hundred dollars).

What documents are needed to obtain permission for marriage:

• ID cards issued by the state and having a photo (passport, driver's license, state certificate (ID);
• birth certificate (a document in a foreign language must have certified english translation tongue. The translation must be attached to the original, it must have a date, a signature and a statement of conformity of the translation. Notarize the document not required);
• Social Security Number (SSN) - if available;
• evidence of termination of previous marriages (certificate of divorce, death of the spouse or the annulment of the marriage). AT In some states, it will be enough for you to swear that you are not married - as, for example, in California But in New York it is even required to indicate where the ex-spouse lives after the divorce.

Most states do not require local identification. That is, the couple does not need to be residents of the state to sign it. For example, Idaho residents with all their Idaho documents can go to Virginia to sign. The main condition is that the marriage must be registered in the same state where the permit was obtained.

To conduct the marriage is necessary for a certain period. For example, in California it is given 90 days after obtaining a marriage license, in New York State - 60 days, in Nevada - year, and in Oklahoma you have to meet the wedding on 10 days after receiving the license. If you do not sign for this period, you will need to take a new marriage license. At the same time, the states of Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina and the District of Columbia issue perpetual licenses.

At the same time, for example, in California and Nevada you can get married even on the same day when you received permission; in New York you need to wait at least 3 hours; in Pennsylvania and Washington - XNUMX days. This is a fairly common phenomenon in the United States and is called “thinking time.” In case of exceptional circumstances (for example, active duty military service) in New York, the waiting time is waived.

To conduct the marriage ceremony should be a specially trained person. How much this official position depends on the jurisdiction of the state or county. For example, in Virginia, a marriage registrar, rabbi, or marriage registrar must be authorized by the Federal District Court before conducting the ceremony. The priest in New York must be registered with the City Office (City Clerk's Office) in Manhattan.

Many states even allow your friends to get online official permission to conduct marriages. This can be done through organizations such as Universal life church or American Marriage Ministries. How legally it is in your state should be clarified at the county office. But in Colorado, even one of the partners can hold the ceremony.

Additionally, many states require one or two witnesses to be present at the wedding. If the newlyweds do not have them, the mayor's office or court can provide their own for a fee - usually clerks perform their role.

After the marriage ceremony, the permission signed by the couple, the one who registered the marriage and the witnesses, is sent back to the district office. After that, the newly created family can pick up in person or receive a copy of the marriage certificate by mail.

Also, when submitting an application, it is worth deciding whether any of the newlyweds will change their last name. New surname becomes official immediately after the marriage. The person who has changed his name must inform about this himself in all services issuing documents, for example, to the social security administration (social security number) or the motor transport department (driving license).

It was because of the hassle with documents that Russian Maria Fedorova did not take the surname of her husband, American Paul Warden. Maria and Paul met at the university. In 2011, the girl flew to Washington State University under the Fulbright program to receive a master's degree in history. Classes began in August, the guys officially began dating in October, and on December 31, Paul proposed. “Paul said it was an American tradition to propose at Christmas, but it didn’t mean much to me. And he decided to postpone it to the New Year, which is a big holiday for us,” says Maria. And on a frosty night, to the sound of fireworks, Paul asked in Russian: “Marry me!”

A month later, the guys received a marriage license and got married in February 2012. Only Paul's parents were present at the wedding - they were also the witnesses required by state rules. After that, the guys continued to study and prepare for two more weddings. It was decided to celebrate the solemn event with family and friends, first in Moscow, and then in Paul’s hometown - Spokane, Washington.

Masha and Paul organized a wedding celebration in Moscow. Photos from the personal archive.

Who can marry

Requirements for partners in most states are the same. Most often, both partners must be older than 18 years and have no mental abnormalities that make it impossible to make a sensible decision. In some states, the age threshold is higher: for example, 19 years in Nebraska or 21 year in Mississippi.

Do not paint close relatives (uncles / aunts and nieces / nephews; parents and children; grandmothers / grandfathers and grandchildren). But 20 states allow marriages between cousins ​​and sisters.

In addition, in June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Theoretically, a statement from a same-sex couple should be accepted throughout the country, but in many states this causes controversy, and sometimes employees of courts and administrations individually refuse to register such marriages.

In the US, you can not marry again. For example, if you and your partner are already married in another state (or in another state of the United States), then re-enter marriage will not work. But it is possible to carry out the procedure of renewal of vows (renewal of marriage vows). No documents will not give, but you can arrange a holiday for yourself and loved ones.

It is important to note that no one pays attention to the migratory status of the couple during marriage registration. For example, both partners can come on a tourist visa and sign for America. And then they will receive a certificate of marriage entered into in the United States by mail (to any city and country in the world). There are even special wedding agencies that deal with such marriages.

But it is worth remembering that the very fact of marriage with a US citizen or a green card holder cannot automatically change the migration status (for example, from a non-immigrant visa to a green card). But it allows you to submit documents to change the status.

9 steps to the wedding

1. Find a place where marriage permits are issued. This is most often done by a county clerk.

2. Fill out an online application form, send an application by mail or fill out in front of the clerk.

3. Bring documents in person. In some cases, some states allow you to entrust submission of documents to a third party. For example, in California, if one of the future youths serves in a hot spot and cannot return home to file documents, he can authorize a proxy representative to do so. In Texas, in special circumstances, the bride or groom can make a notarized certified guarantee to a third party.

4. The application will need to specify the name, date and place of birth, names and places of birth parents, date of divorce (if any), name of the person who will conduct the ceremony, SSN (if any).

5. Pay a fee for permission to marry. Depending on the state and county, the amount will range from $ 25 to over $ 100. For example, in the capital, Washington, you can reduce the price by providing a certificate of joint residence.

6. Set the time and place of the ceremony.

7. Decide who will register the marriage: a clergyman (priest, rebbe, etc.), a civilian official (judge, county clerk), or a friend with an online license.

8. After the ceremony, do not forget to sign on license. Most states require the signature of a husband, wife, person registering a marriage, a witness.

9. Take the signed license to the office that issued it. There will make record that the marriage took place. how only documents will be processed, newlyweds will be handed over or sent by mail a marriage certificate.

Viva Las Vegas!

The speed of marriage in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, has become a favorite topic of Hollywood films. Issuance of marriage permits and the marriage itself is put on stream. And sometimes it happens that here marry those who did not think about the wedding before going to Vegas.

This happened to California resident Yuri Bondarchuk. He was on his way to Las Vegas to celebrate Halloween with a friend. “A friend has this tradition of “getting married” again (we are talking about repeating oaths - Author.) on his wife in the places where they come during their travels. He decided to hold a wedding in Las Vegas. Agreed with “Elvis Chapel” (one of the most popular places for weddings is Auto.). We celebrated Halloween, and the next day, November 1, the wedding was scheduled,” says Yuri.

A friend began to fuss with the design of all the details, and Yuri did not feel any trick, even when he asked him to try on a wedding ring. According to a friend, their old rings with his wife were not very good, they had to be changed, and I wanted to see how the new looks from the outside.

“And at the appointed time, my wife and I go in, and everyone is waiting for us - it turned out that a friend organized all this for us,” Yuri laughs. — The fact is that we have been living with my wife for 15 years, but we have not officially married. It was very unexpected, but pleasant.”

The wedding of Yuri and Natalia was a surprise. Organized by her friend Sergey (rightmost). Photos from the personal archive.

On the paperwork took quite a bit of time. According to the rules of Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, US citizens should just write their social security number on the application and not provide the document itself. Non-residents of the country must attach an identity card (for example, a passport). It is necessary to know the exact date and place of the divorce if you were previously married. The fee for a wedding in Vegas is $77. “Time to think” after obtaining a marriage license is not required. A marriage license can be issued either through the chapel, where the wedding is planned, or by yourself at the district office. A couple can be painted almost everywhere: in the chapel, in the arbor on the street, in the hotel lobby, in the Grand Canyon

Documents in Las Vegas are processed very quickly. Photo: from the personal archive.

According to Yuri, he and his wife’s surprise ceremony took 40 minutes. This included saying vows, singing Elvis songs, drinking champagne and taking photographs. “And a pink Cadillac was waiting for us at the door. My friend just has a talent for organizing holidays,” Yuri laughs.

The cost of a Las Vegas wedding depends on the needs of the couple. The most modest option in the “Elvis Chapel” costs $195, the most expensive – $1195. In some cases, webcasting is included in the service package, but you can always order it as an additional service for $60. In addition, in all chapels, the couple is expected to give a good tip to the person who registered the marriage and the photographer. Sometimes they even give you a special envelope for money, and the amount can be checked in the specific chapel.

Wedding Santa Barbara

The beautiful wedding ceremony of Suzanne and Brighton took place in Mexico. Photos from the personal archive.

Getting married in the USA is much easier than in neighboring Mexico. Mexican Suzanne Riveira was convinced of this. She was going to marry an Icelander, Braitjar Gretasson, whom she met in America. But it turned out that marrying a foreigner in Suzana’s homeland is quite difficult.

“So many stupid rules. It is necessary to apply for permission from government authorities in order to marry a foreigner. It’s a long and expensive process,” the girl tells Forum Daily.

Similar difficulties with the registration of marriage were in Iceland. In the end, the couple decided to sign in Santa Barbara, California. Breityar was studying at this time in a doctoral program at a local university.

Suzanne and Brightjar are officially married in Santa Barbara. Photos from the personal archive.

For permission to marry, they went to the court office. Suzanne had a tourist visa, and her future spouse had a student visa. But no one asked questions about their migration status. They filled out an application on the spot and paid a fee of $ 100. Immediately they were given permission to marry. The couple signed for Valentine's Day in 2011 year. A few weeks later, the couple took away a copy of the marriage certificate. One copy costs $ 15. You can write a statement asking to send the document by mail. For this, you will have to pay from $ 17 to $ 38,5, depending on the class of delivery. A real celebration with families and friends was Susanna and Brightjar staged in April in Mexico.

See also:

“Oh, this wedding sang and danced”: how much does it cost to get married in the USA

The wedding of the Facebook co-founder was held in the style of the series “Game of Thrones”

Wedding from “Sex and the City” - choosing rings and a hall

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