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Would it somehow contravene immigration law to have a civil marriage ceremony in the U.S., using the marriage license obtained then and there as proof of marriage, with the religious ceremony taking place some time later? Could doing so jeopardize the application in any way?

Speaking of marriage licenses, once the license is issued and duly signed by whomever is approved by the State to perform marriages (clergy, Justice of the Peace, etc.), is that license, which has yet to be registered by the State, valid when bringing one's spouse into Canada (for a visit, I realize), or does one have to wait until the license (or whatever is ordinarily submitted) is registered by the State?

Are we given the original signed license and is it the original we must submit with our application, a notarized copy, or just a regular unnotarized copy?

Thanks again for your help.

The "certificate" you get from the officiant is just a keepsake. That person takes the form to the state and the official marriage certificate that CIC needs gets mailed to you.

You'll send a copy of that official, notarized certificate.

(09-12-2011 03:51 PM)yuckcanuck Wrote: [ -> ]Would it somehow contravene immigration law to have a civil marriage ceremony in the U.S., using the marriage license obtained then and there as proof of marriage, with the religious ceremony taking place some time later? Could doing so jeopardize the application in any way?

As long as your marriage is legal, they don't care if the ceremony is civil or religious. Take some photos and invite some friends to have something to add to your proof of having a genuine relationship.

That's what we did. It took an extra 6 months of classes and counseling to have our church wedding.