Noorah101

Witnesses can be anyone. The courthouse usually has a few extra people around to witness, might cost $50 more, but shouldn't be an issue. USCIS doesn't care who the witnesses are.

Rene

theroon

Wow!! That sounds a bit nuts but great to know. Thanks.

BigT103

I'm not gonna lie, it has been rough.

Hopefully soon I will be back in LA my wife is there and we have no plans to leave, well not for the next ten years at least.

theroon

Good luck mate - hope all goes well for you. I am lucky that we both have UK passports. Hopefully it will be a fairly smooth process...

BigT103

Likewise buddy.

Rete

I was married in city hall in NY and our witnesses were court personnel. You don't have to know them

theroon

Wow! So you just ask them and they say yes?

Noorah101

Yes, it's quite common here. They know that's part of the job working there. The JP calls them in.

Rene

theroon

Ok. I've just been looking at the process in LA. We can buy a marriage licence online and then have to collect it in person. Once we have it we can arrange a civil ceremony and pay $20 for a court witness. We then need to register the licence and collect a certificate. My only concern is getting all that done in a week - we arrive Thursday 22nd March - Depart Sunday 1 April.
So, collect licence on Thursday 22nd March.
Civil ceremony 23rd March.
Register and collect copies the following week in person. Does all that sound doable? My concern is that they won't have any slots available for the ceremony etc.
Any tips gratefully received!

BigT103

I don't think you will get the copies of the certificate in a week, we had to wait 6-8 weeks and take a long drive out to Norwalk to collect them.

theroon

Thanks. That's what I feared. Thinking of going down the married in one hour route. A bit more expensive but seems less hassle.

BigT103

I think getting married in Vegas would be your answer mate

tom169

Sucks that CA is so slow. Here in NC I got married at the courthouse, went over to the registrar and had a certified copy of the certificate ready right away.

BigT103

We were married in a hotel, maybe it's quicker in the courthouse.

theroon

That's fantastic! Exactly what I need.