The following procedures apply to any American citizen who would like to marry in Indonesia. Once you have made the decision to marry in Indonesia, you must choose the type of religious ceremony that you intend to have. Indonesian law does not provision for non-religious civil marriages. If your fiance(e) is Moslem, the ceremony should be held at the Kantor Urusan Agama (KUA) or the Office of Religious Affairs. These offices will issue a Marriage Book, which is evidence that you have legally married. Persons wedded in a Moslem ceremony and issued a Marriage Book need not record their marriage with the Civil Registry. If both you and your fiance(e) are Christian, Buddhist or Hindu, you must hold the church (or temple) ceremony first, then record the marriage with the Civil Registry. The Civil Registry will in turn issue a Marriage Act which is evidence that you are legally married. (A non-Moslem wedding which is not recorded by the Civil Registry is not considered legal.) There is normally a ten-day waiting period in order to register your marriage with the Civil Registry. In order to register your marriage with the Civil Registry, the following documents are normally required (documentary requirements may vary from district to district, particularly outside Jakarta):
Once you are married and wish to take your spouse to the United States to reside, you must file a petition (Form I-130) for your spouse to be classified as an immediate relative for immigrant visa eligibility. You may file the petition at this Embassy or at the Consulate General in Surabaya. For this purpose you must present your valid passport, the original marriage certificate, and if applicable, proof of termination of any previous marriages for both you and your spouse (original court decree or copy certified by the issuing government office). If you are in the United States, you should file the I-130 petition with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) office having jurisdiction over your place of residence. In addition to the marriage certificate and proof of termination of any previous marriages, INS may require other documents such as your U.S. birth or naturalization certificate and evidence of your spousal relationship. After approval, INS will forward the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. When the NVC has received the approved petition, you spouse will be sent a list of documents which must be presented to the Embassy in order to obtain the immigrant visa. In addition to the documents required for filing the petition, the following documents are also required for processing the visa: birth certificate; a medical certificate from a physician authorized by the Embassy to perform medical examinations; a police certificate from all countries in which the applicant has resided since his/her sixteenth birthday (none required from the U.S. or Indonesia); and evidence of financial support available in the U.S. such as a notarized affidavit of support, accompanied by your three years federal income tax, W-2 forms, and bank statements. All documents not issued in English must be accompanied by a translation from a sworn translator registered with this Embassy. As soon as your spouse has all of the required documents, he/she will be scheduled for an interview. Visas are normally issued the next working day following the interview, barring any ineligibility. After your spouse is admitted into the United States, he/she will be issued a permanent resident card by the INS. The statutory fees for an immigrant visa are:
The Embassy’s Consular cashier may accept fees paid in either U.S. or Indonesian currencies, or travelers checks (U.S. currency only). Personal checks cannot be accepted. The above fees are subject to change upon notification by the Department of State. |
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