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HOW TO GET MARRIED IN UKRAINE AND BRING HER TO THE USAThis information is current as of November 30, 2004.For most US citizens, getting married in Ukraine and filing with the US embassy in Kiev is the quickest way to bring your bride to the USA. The first step is for you to prepare your documents. If you were married before, you must obtain a certified copy of your divorce decree(s) from the county clerk where the divorce was finalized. Then this certified copy must be "apostilled" by the Secretary of State of the state where the court is located. The apostille gives the document the right to be recognized in countries which have adopted the appropriate international treaty such as Ukraine. Every state has a different procedure for obtaining the apostille. While you are at it, make several copies of the divorce decree. You will need one copy for your I-130 filing. No matter where you will be married in Ukraine, you must begin at the US Embassy in Ukraine, located in Kiev at 6 Mykoly Pymonenka St. You have to fill out a 'non-impediment to marriage letter" and have it notarized by a consular officer for a fee of $30. To complete this letter you will need to know the full name of your fiancee (first name, patronymic and surname) in Ukrainian. Alternatively, some county clerks will provide a letter stating that there is no record of your being married in the county in which you live. Some persons have reported success with such a document if it has been apostilled as well. Note that the last Friday of the month the American Citizens services are closed at the Kiev consulate. The web site for the consulate is http://www.usemb.kiev.ua Here is a quote from the consulate website. Authenticate the "Letter" at the Legalization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, located in Kyiv at 2 Velyka Zhytomyrska, tel: 238-1815, 253-1266, 212-8392, 238-1669, any working day of the week except Thursday from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (accepting documents) and 4:00 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. (returning documents). Please keep in mind the difference in working hours between the Ministry and the Embassy when you make your travel plans. The application fee is 8 Hryvnas for each document. The legalization fee is 8.50 Hryvnas (about $1.5) for Ukrainian citizens, 17 Hrivnas (about $3) for foreign citizens and 85 Hrivnas (about $16) for legal entities per document for next-day service. For one-day expediting service one has to pay a double fee. The fee must be paid to account 141924 of the National Bank of Ukraine in any neighborhood (They are called: Oshchadna Kasa). [Note: we have been informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now has a cashier where you can pay and so you do not need to pay at the Oshchadna Kasa. We recommend that your fiancée accompany you on this process to help you complete forms in Ukrainian.] Obtain a certified translation of the data page of your passport, any annulment decrees, divorce decrees or death certificates of your former spouse(s) (if you were previously married), and the letter of non-impediment to marriage. To arrange for your marriage, take all the documents, including your original passport (with a translation), the authenticated original death or divorce decree (if any) (with translation), and the authenticated Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage, with translation to ZAGS - loosely translated as the civil registrar’s office in the hometown of your fiancé(e)*. The Central ZAGS in Kyiv is located at 11 Prospekt Peremogy, tel: 236-0071. The person who deals with marriages to foreigners can be reached at 236-0243 or 236-0147 Your fiancee must also present certain documents to ZAGS. There is a 30 day waiting period from the time the documents are filed with ZAGs until the marriage, although sometimes this period can be waived for various reasons, such as a letter from a physician to the effect the bride is pregnant, limited vacation days of the groom, or other factors best discussed in person with ZAGS. Some ZAGS offices only accept filings certain days of the week. Once the marriage takes place you must complete and personally file Form I-130 with the US Embassy Kiev. You must get an official copy of your marriage certificate and other documents such as her divorce paperwork, if any, translated into English. The embassy will return the original to you when you file, to verify it’s a true copy. Note also that now the photos required are not the ADIT ¾ view, but passport style photos. The embassy will review the application while you wait and if all is in order, forward it to the US Embassy in Warsaw for processing. You can expedite matters by prepaying a DHL airbill to the Warsaw embassy. Warsaw will review the package and schedule an interview. The I-130 process has recently been taking about 6 to 8 weeks. See http://warsaw.usembassy.gov/poland/filing_I130.html for information on the I-130 filing requirements. http://warsaw.usembassy.gov/poland/filing_I130.html provides information about the documents necessary for the interview. The medical exam can be performed in Kiev at either of two locations, and can be completed up to one year before the interview. Upon completion of the interview your wife will receive her green card. |
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