Am I married if I didn't register my marriage in the US?

Saurabh G

Hi..I recently read this in the news papers that, in case you have not registered the marriage in US that took place outside the US then the same is not binding & the courts have the power to give a divorce in such cases. What do not understand is that if you have got married & you want to continue with the relationship then why don't you apply for the registration right away..when u still have time.

if he did not register the marriage as you said ?
since you did get married in his country , you are legally married to him in his country only.
. he did not have to register his marriage to you since it was in his country . it was you who would have to transcript you marriage to the US embassy ,
In the US, you are not legally married , but you did ask for papers to get married in Tunisia ? you must had to have some papers ? transcripts etc. ? if so ? there are traces to your marriage .but ?who would find them ? :-)
but as for you to get married again ?
you will have to prove that you NEVER got married before ,,can you do this ? by what i know of immigrations and foreign policies :
i, personally think that you are NOT legally married in the US.
since you did not register your marriage to him with an US embassy over in Tunisia.
hopefully this guy will never tried to get back in touch with you ,trough the US Embassy in his country ? that would be the only drawback :-(
this is indeed a bit complicated situation , but ? why worry ?
if you want to get married again ? go do it ..... :-)

PS: this bothered me , so i looked a bit more into it :
here is what the US laws says :
MARRIAGE FOR U.S. CITIZENS IN TUNISIA
Specially designated Notaries at the City Hall Registry Office â€œBureau de lâ€™Etat Civil a la Municipaliteâ€ perform marriages in Tunisia. Only marriages celebrated before such an official in compliance with Tunisian Law No. 57 August 1, 1957, as amended are legal.
there is your answer ..........:-)
i imagined if you had a designated Notary at the city hall ? you would have known it ........

CyberSom

Marriage is legally binding if you have valid and legal documents under the US law. There is no need to register your marriage in the US if it taken place outside of the US. The US embassy in the country in which the marriage took place determines whether the legal documents are acceptable under the US or not. Most of the time, the US embassy requires that document to be authenticated by the foreign ministry of that country after which the embassy can authenticate their authentication. Once you have that legal and athenticated papers, you are good to go. Check with the website of the embassy in Algeria to find out what they accept.

Raja

Algerian law applies.

If the law in Algeria requires you to register and you did not, you are not married.

However, the law might also provide that the marriage, otherwise not registered, might be voidable (at the discretion of parties).

DOS website states: Available. A marriage certificate (Extrait d'Acte de Mariage) may be obtained from the city hall (Baladia) where the marriage took place.

It means the country has system of registering of marriages.

Also read this historical prosepctive:

"The period from 1954 to independence in 1962 was critical for Algeria. The war of national liberation, which intensified in that period, brought turmoil, violence, and misery. The French increased their efforts to maintain their rule in Algeria, while Algerians intensified theirs to strengthen resistance in the hope of national liberation. It is during that period that the French made changes in family law. The first step concerned the registration of marriages in civil records. Already in 1882 and again in 1930, colonial officials had made some attempt in that direction by urging Algerians to register their marriage with the qadis.[65] But there was no sanction in case of noncompliance. Marriages contracted in the Islamic fashion, as a private act unrecorded by civil authorities, had remained valid after the attempts of 1882 and 1930.

In 1959, in the midst of the struggle of national liberation, the French promulgated another law on the registration of marriages.[68] The 1959 law made marriage a public act, made its registration mandatory, and established a system of civil registry records similar to that existing in France. Requiring the registration of birth, death, marriage, divorce, and other civil matters in records available to every branch of the administrative apparatus throughout the country, a civil registry could only help the proper functioning of the French administrative apparatus. It also facilitated colonial control over the Algerian population. In a politically motivated caveat, the first article of the law of 1959 asserted that Islamic law would continue to regulate all other aspects of marriage. This kind of caution accompanied every legal modification, however slight. Colonial officials meant it as a reassurance to the Algerian population, a way to claim that the change did not call into question the basic principles of Islamic law."

You should really talk to an experienced lawyer in Algeria to know the effect.

If you are married under Algeria law, and re-marry here, your 2nd marriage will be illegal.

Jedi squirrels

Legally speaking NO!
If you don't register your legal papers, then you are not considered married in your country of Origin.
Me too, I did marry in another country, but never officialized the thing in my homw country (I did not see the need to do so), but you may need to officialized the thing for your income and tax declarations....

kitkatish1962

File for divorce,, he has to come to the US to contest his side,, will he?? I would call a lawyer.. they would know how to handle it!

Bill O

I think you should left the burden off your shoulders and go down to a Do It Yourself Legal store and get the petition for divorce and fill out the papers and submit them to the proper court yourself and they will give you a court date to show and then tell the judge what happen and then you will get your divorce and you won't have to worry 20 years from now when you are tracked down from the US Embassy to inform you that your husband died and your 2nd husband is standing beside you when you get the message.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: