H4 status without marriage certificate?

Hello! I've gone through many topics relating to marriage certificates, but haven't been able to find anything specific to my issue!

I am a Canadian (currently living in the US on a J-1) and I am marrying a Canadian (currently living in the US on a H1-B) in July in Ontario. I am planning on re-entering the US on H-4 status after the wedding. However, I realize that it takes MONTHS to get a marriage certificate in Ontario; my J-1 status is nearly up, and so I will need to be on another status to re-enter the US after the wedding. Has anyone heard of proof of marriage other than the certificate (ie. the license, certificate from the minister, along with invitations and wedding photos) being allowed for purposes of getting on to a H-4 immediately after a wedding? Alternatively, is there a "rush" or "emergency" service for expediting marriage registration in Ontario? I've googled around, but found nothing helpful. We're willing to pay quite a bit to get this dealt with quickly. However, we are not (due to work commitments for both of us) able to get to Ontario to get the marriage license before early July.

If this is impossible, has anyone had any trouble entering the US as a visitor, after having another non-resident status expire? I'm worried that they won't allow me to enter as a "visitor" for the time that it would take to get the certificate, when it's clear that I am effectively living in the US. My home, all my stuff, my pets, EVERYTHING is in Seattle, and I'm not sure where I'd live for the 4 months that it could take to get my marriage certificate!

Thanks for any help!

Sarah

Google the Ontario Registrar's office for info on expediting the marriage certificate, I'm not sure they have a service that will do that, but it's worth a shot.

You don't absolutely have to have a marriage certificate to get derivative status (although it's the best thing to have obviously), there's no legal standard for it really because marriage laws vary from country to country but you need to be able to convince CBP you're married.

H-4 isn't a particularly big deal, even if you were denied you could still go in as B-2 and change status when the marriage certificate shows up.

You can always phone up the CBP helpline, they can probably give you more options for documentation. Wedding snapshots maybe.

They do certainly have a service for expediting marriage certificates; my problem is that you can't apply for a certificate until the marriage is registered, which is what takes 10+ weeks. And there doesn't seem to be (at least through official means) a way to speed up that process.

Thank you for the suggestion, though!

-- Thu May 21, 2009 10:23 am --

Thanks, Steve! We are leaning towards just showing up at the border with every possible piece of evidence that we are married. I figure that if we photocopy the marriage license after it has been signed by the officiant and witnesses (I won't have the original because it will be submitted to register the marriage) and have the solemnization of marriage certificate from the officiant, as well as an invitation card, and photos, that should be pretty definite evidence that a legal marriage took place. Worse comes to worse, we would have to meet the most jaded agent on their worst day for them not to give me B-2 status until the certificate shows up.

We had this entire thing planned pretty much to the letter, but didn't count on possible complications due to the Ontario government not being able to process its paperwork!

Why not just have a quickie court house marriage in the US then? Most US counties can get you your marriage certificate in about a week, some less. (we had ours in 3 days I think) Then just have a re-affermation of vows ceremony in Ontario to appease the families. They don't even necessarily need to know you've already been legally married. But you would have to tell the officiant.

Hi Sarah_Rose ,

My fiance and I are in pretty much the same situation..
We were wondering if you got any luck?

Anybody had the same experience? What happened?
Thank you for sharing.

Government is so slow!

Contact your MPP's office, they may be able to help.

I currently live in the US on an H1-B visa, and I will be getting married in Ontario in a month. I was hoping to bring my wife to the US almost immediately after the wedding on an H-4 visa, but as mentioned above marriage certificates in Ontario take forever to receive. Has anyone above been successful in getting H-4 status for their spouse without the actual marriage certificate?

Of course. Do you think the CBP officers are morons?