Is a church wedding in Mexico considered a legal wedding to United States immigration?
May 3, 2010 by Bay Area Bridal
In mexico, all citizens must go to a court to get a marriage certificate to make the wedding legal. Otherwise, it’s just a ceremony in the church. Does United States Customs and Immigration consider just the church wedding a legal marriage?
You must be 100% legally married in Mexico to be legally married in the United States. If that means going to court then that’s what you have to do if you want it to count.
No and neither does Mexico.
Only a civil wedding is legal in Mexico so you have to have a civil marriage for it to be legal in the US.
Any marriage legal in any country is considerd legal in the USA.
You have to have some documented proof or else everybody would claim they are married to get into this country
No. A church wedding in Mexico is not a legal marriage. It is only a marriage in the church, not by the government. You need to have an “Acta de Matrimonio” from the Mexican government (civil wedding) for it to be considered legal in Mexico or any where else.
In Mexico only a civil wedding performed by a civil judge is considered legal in Mexico and internationally. The Registro Civil office of each town and city can perform the ceremony as long as all of your documents and paperwork is in order.
Having been through this, I can give you the correct answer.
If you are asking for the sake of immigration, it doesn’t really matter what happens in Mexico. You would need to have a civil wedding in the US.
I would get married at the American Embassy in Mexico to be safe.