Hey, is a church registered marriage certificate , valid enough to get me a u.s dependent visa???????

Question

Hey, is a church registered marriage certificate , valid enough to get me a u.s dependent visa???????

Answer 1

In India, if the copy of the Church Marriage Certificate has been sent to the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages as per the legal requirement then this Church Marriage Certificate has legal validity.

In case of India all Christian Marriages are covered under the Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872, Section 27 of the Act provides :- Marriages when to be registered. — All marriages thereafter solemnized in India between persons one or both of whom professes or profess the Christian religion, except marriages solemnized under Part V or Part VI of this Act shall be registered in manner hereinafter prescribed.

Section 32. of the Act provides:- Certain marriages to be registered in duplicate. — Every marriage solemnized by any person who has received Episcopal ordination, but who is not a Clergyman of the Church of England, or of the Church of Rome, or by any Minister of Religion licensed under this Act to solemnize marriages, shall immediately after the solemnization thereof, be registered in duplicate by the person solemnizing the same; (that is to say) in a marriage register-book to be kept by him for that purpose, according to the form contained in the Fourth Schedule hereto annexed, and also in a certificate attached to the marriage-register book as a counterfoil.

33. of the Act Provides:-  Entries of such marriages to be signed and attested. — The entry of such marriage in both the certificate and marriage-register-book shall be signed by the person solemnizing the marriage, and also by the persons married, and shall be attested by two credible witnesses other than the person solemnizing the marriage, present at its solemnization.

Every such entry shall be made in order from the beginning to the end of the book, and the number of the certificate shall correspond with that of the entry in the marriage-register-book.

34. of the Act provides:- Certificate to be forwarded to Marriage Registrar, copied and sent to Registrar-General. — The person solemnizing the marriage shall forthwith separate the certificate from the marriage-register-book and send it, within one month from the time of the solemnization, to the Marriage Registrar of the district in which the marriage was solemnized, or, if there be more Marriage Registrars than one, to the Senior Marriage Registrar,

who shall cause such certificate to be copied into a book to be kept by him for that purpose,

and shall send all the certificates which he has received during the month with such number and signature of initials added thereto as are hereafter acquired to, to the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

So as you see that if this proper procedure has been followed by the Church for maintaining proper record & issuing of marriage certificate & ultimately sending a copy of the same to the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, through the Marriage Registrar of the district in which the marriage was solemnized, then such marriage certificate has legal validity & will be recognized for any purpose anywhere in the world not otherwise. So go & inquire from the Church authorities where you got married if the given procedure has been followed by the Church in getting the Christian marriage solemnized in the Church registered by the Registrar of the District where it was solemnized & a record was then sent to the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, if they tell you yes all this is being followed then your such marriage certificate has legal validity & recognition of being certificate of registration of Christian Marriage in India.