Legal Question in Immigration Law in United States

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding. Note that you did not discuss US Immigration. You should consider your fiance's status in the US before he leaves the US. But this is not your question.

The Simple answer is all documents are required to be translated and apostille attached. .

In order to get married through a civil ceremony you must obtain proof of birth and (if applicable) divorce certificate(s) and/or death certificate(s) as proof of your civil status.

Please note that the birth/divorce/death certificate (with an Apostille attached) need to be issued 60 days prior to the proposed date of the civil ceremony.

If the issue date of the certificate(s) is older, the citizen should obtain a new valid certificate(s).

In order to be valid in El Salvador the certificate(s) must be taken to the Apostille Authority in the state where the certificate was issued for authentication with an apostille seal. In most states, the Apostille Authority is that state's Secretary.

NOTE that the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador does not assist in obtaining apostille, birth certificates, death certificate and/or divorce decrees from the United States or provide translation services . All U.S. documents must be translated to the Spanish language through a Salvadoran notary public who is a "Perito Traductor" (Certified Translator).

BEWARE, the chosen official could ask to the U.S Citizen a �Certificate of Singleness� . The American Citizen Services at the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador can provide this service. This notarization cost $50 USD.

Prenuptial agreements are required by Salvadoran law and couples must choose one of three prenuptial regimes:

1) Separation of assets: Each one keeps what is theirs at the moment of the marriage.

2) Participation in utility: each individual keeps its pre-marriage assets, however the couple must divide equally the properties that appreciated during the marriage

3) Division of Assets: divide all assets (initial and accrued) equally at the end of the marriage.

At the same time the chosen official will ask the bride which last name she will take at this time.

A civil ceremony should be held within the time frame of the certificates and the couple should sign the �Escritura P�blica de Matrimonio� (Deed of Marriage) in the presence of two witnesses.

The chosen official will be responsible for entering the marriage in a Protocol book and send a photocopy of the entry to the Salvadoran�s citizen known place of birth city hall.

Immediately after the ceremony the public notary should register the �Escritura P�blica de Matrimonio� (Deed of Marriage) at the appropriate Salvadoran�s City Hall and give two copies to each of the married individuals. The City Hall�s certification will issue a �Partida de Matrimonio� (Marriage Certificate) based on the Escritura (Deed).

If you wish to register your foreign marriage in the U.S., check with the Clerk of the County Court where you reside in the United States. I don't see the need. You should however, have the Salvadoran marriage certificate "apostille". To do so, take it to the Offices of the Salvadoran Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores-RR.EE).

I hope that this was useful.

Best wishes,

Joseph Brien, Esquire

THE PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE

[email protected]