Derrick Williams

Hi everyone! I am planning to go to Belarus in a month or two to marry
my fiancee' in Minsk, and I have all the paperwork except for an
"Affidavit of Free Status". I understand this paper declares that I am
free to marry, and not actually already married or not yet final in a
divorce case.

However, this form is very annoying since I keep reading references to
it but I haven't found a description of what it actually is. Is it a
statement I write myself? Is there a form I can obtain and print out?
I was told that I needed to go to my local courthouse and have it
executed, but when I went there the clerk looked at me blankly and
shrugged her shoulders. I can prove I am married or divorced, but
there isn't anything in the US that declares I am single. Perhaps I
was asking for the Affidavit by the wrong name, and it is commonly
known by another description?

I know that South Korea has a form you can download from the US
Consulate in Seoul if you want to marry there, but as far as I know it
is the only country with such a form.

I am told that I can get this Affidavit executed in the US Embassy in
Minsk, but to tell the truth, I'd rather have all the paperwork taken
care of and with me on the plane, since Murphy's Law will kick in and
the US Embassy is sure to be closed for renovations or they decide to
all go on vacation on the very month I am there.

Any help is appreciated! I enjoy reading this newsgroup, and I am sure
I will be joining in with K-3 stories of my own!

-Derrick

BeachBunny

I'm sorry, I don't have your answer.. but thanks for the laugh!!!

Ron

Have you thought of looking on the US Embassy Minsk website?
http://www.usis.minsk.by/html/marriage.html

Quote - "Certificate of Free Status (Certificate of Non-Impediment) -
required of all foreigners marrying in Belarus. ZAGS offices generally
accept an "Affidavit of Free Status" executed before an American Consul in
Belarus (See on the Main Page - Consular Services: U.S. Citizen Services; or
enter http://travel.state.gov/acs.html#marriage on your internet browser) or
before a notary public in the U.S. In the latter case, the affidavit should
be translated into Russian and authenticated in accordance with the Hague
Legalization Convention (see http://travel.state.gov/hague_foreign_docs.html
for additional information on the Hague Legalization Convention and its
procedures) and bear an apostille. Documents issued in the U.S. can be
authenticated only in the U.S. The state where the document is issued will
need to affix the apostille.

In case the "Certificate of Free Status" lists the American fiancé(e)'s
status as "divorced" or "widowed" a divorce decree or death certificate is
required. In both instances the document must be translated into Russian and
have an apostille affixed to it."


"Derrick Williams" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi everyone! I am planning to go to Belarus in a month or two to marry
    > my fiancee' in Minsk, and I have all the paperwork except for an
    > "Affidavit of Free Status". I understand this paper declares that I am
    > free to marry, and not actually already married or not yet final in a
    > divorce case.
    > However, this form is very annoying since I keep reading references to
    > it but I haven't found a description of what it actually is. Is it a
    > statement I write myself? Is there a form I can obtain and print out?
    > I was told that I needed to go to my local courthouse and have it
    > executed, but when I went there the clerk looked at me blankly and
    > shrugged her shoulders. I can prove I am married or divorced, but
    > there isn't anything in the US that declares I am single. Perhaps I
    > was asking for the Affidavit by the wrong name, and it is commonly
    > known by another description?
    > I know that South Korea has a form you can download from the US
    > Consulate in Seoul if you want to marry there, but as far as I know it
    > is the only country with such a form.
    > I am told that I can get this Affidavit executed in the US Embassy in
    > Minsk, but to tell the truth, I'd rather have all the paperwork taken
    > care of and with me on the plane, since Murphy's Law will kick in and
    > the US Embassy is sure to be closed for renovations or they decide to
    > all go on vacation on the very month I am there.
    > Any help is appreciated! I enjoy reading this newsgroup, and I am sure
    > I will be joining in with K-3 stories of my own!
    > -Derrick

Derrick Williams

Ron-

Yes, I had looked at the website, and this is the source of my
aggravation. I know WHAT it's about, but what is the wording of the
document? What constitutes an Affidavit? Can I download or order a
form to have notarized? Do I just write "I AM NOT MARRIED." on a peice
of paper and that's it?

I had sent the Embassy of Minsk an e-mail for clarification but they
never did reply.

-Derrick

"Ron" wrote in message news:...
    > Have you thought of looking on the US Embassy Minsk website?
    > http://www.usis.minsk.by/html/marriage.html
    >
    >
    > In case the "Certificate of Free Status" lists the American fiancé(e)'s
    > status as "divorced" or "widowed" a divorce decree or death certificate is
    > required. In both instances the document must be translated into Russian and
    > have an apostille affixed to it."

Ron

Go to google.com and search for "Affidavit of Free Status", with the
quotation marks. There are two pages of hits that provide enough
information to cobble such an affidavit together.


"Derrick Williams" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Ron-
    > Yes, I had looked at the website, and this is the source of my
    > aggravation. I know WHAT it's about, but what is the wording of the
    > document? What constitutes an Affidavit? Can I download or order a
    > form to have notarized? Do I just write "I AM NOT MARRIED." on a peice
    > of paper and that's it?
    > I had sent the Embassy of Minsk an e-mail for clarification but they
    > never did reply.
    > -Derrick
    > "Ron" wrote in message
news:...
    > > Have you thought of looking on the US Embassy Minsk website?
    > > http://www.usis.minsk.by/html/marriage.html
    > >
    > >
    > > In case the "Certificate of Free Status" lists the American fiancé(e)'s
    > > status as "divorced" or "widowed" a divorce decree or death certificate
is
    > > required. In both instances the document must be translated into Russian
and
    > > have an apostille affixed to it."
    > >

lairdside

My husband and I had to provide something along these lines recently to the CSC to clear up some confusion re: the number of previous marriages we had had. I just wrote a letter somewhere along the lines of " I the undersigned, hereby certify ...." I could dig out a boilerplate "penalty of perjury" document with spaces for a notary's signature etc if that would help ?

Derrick Williams

Lairdside-

That would be great if you could find the text of your Affidavit. It
would be something very nice to include in the FAQ and I am sure other
people would find it useful. If you manage to find it, you could post
the text (removing personal information of course!) I think that would
serve as an excellent place to start when one has to draft such a
document.

Thank you very much!

Derrick



lairdside wrote in message news:...
    > My husband and I had to provide something along these lines recently to
    > the CSC to clear up some confusion re: the number of previous marriages
    > we had had. I just wrote a letter somewhere along the lines of " I the
    > undersigned, hereby certify ...." I could dig out a boilerplate "penalty
    > of perjury" document with spaces for a notary's signature etc if that
    > would help ?

meauxna

Take it from someone who's been there: get it at the Consulate. They have the form all ready, typically it's in English and the native language so you don't have to get it translated, and you won't have to get an Apostille.

The stories I read about trying to get one from the States, and my own machinations trying to get one from other than the Consulate, convinced me to make the trip to the Embassy complex.