Marriage Certficate delays -- any advice?!

Hi, my fiance and I are getting married in the US in September and will be sending off for my spousal visa by post.  We're getting married by a justice of the peace in Texas, and after calling them yesterday for information, fiance and I are in a panic as we were told the marriage certificate will take 7-8 WEEKS to arrive.  We DO NOT want to be apart for that long, and were hoping to be married and obtain the visa in the 2 weeks we are planning to be in Texas with my family. 

Is there any way you can get away with just sending the marriage license for a spousal visa, or does anyone know how we can speed up the processing time for the certificate?  Is there another state we can get married in which will give us the certificate in a more reasonable amount of time?  I'm willing to do anything...we are attached at the hip and the thought of being 2 months apart right after our marriage is depressing the both of us.  Any help would be much much appreciated!

You have to present a marriage certificate when applying for the visa -- they'll be looking for that raised seal.

The speed of the process really varies from county to county, so call the registrars of deeds in your neighbouring counties to see how quickly they can get things done.

We were married on a Saturday and the preacher submitted our signed marriage license on Monday.  We picked it up on Tuesday -- see if your county allows you to pick up the certificate in person.

If you're applying by post, the two weeks is not enough.  Most people around here seem to get their visas back 2-4 weeks from the day they send them in.  You can always apply in person, though! 

  You can always apply in person, though! 

That would also mean flying to Los Angeles.
I wonder if a Las Vegas marriage would work?
Anyone know if they give you a notarized certificate at places like the  Elvis Wedding Chappel?

ive done some calling around about vegas.  it seems that if the place that marries you lets you have it, you can take the license in to the clark county recording office and have them give you a certificate the next day.

like lola said, it varies from county to county, try calling around.

My husband and I called around to different counties to find out who would be willing to give us a certified copy the same day. We found one. After the judge married us, the bailiff walked to the office with us we had it in five minutes. I'd try calling some other places if you're willing to get married by someone else.

That would also mean flying to Los Angeles.
I wonder if a Las Vegas marriage would work?
Anyone know if they give you a notarized certificate at places like the Elvis Wedding Chappel?

I've only just seen this. My wedding was in Vegas, we had to wait 12 days for the certified certificate. We tried to get it earlier but the county said that was impossible. I don't think it matters if you're married in a chapel or wherever. I think it all relies on the county.

Of course, once you get the certificate, it's just a short drive to the LA consulate. You could enjoy the time in Vegas while you wait.

Well I called the county clerk's office back and begged them for mercy, ha ha.  I explained our situation and he said that we can take the marriage license down to the main court office in Fort Worth and get a certified copy of the certificate the same day.  So now my question is, is a certified copy ok???  Someone said something about a raised seal, but the guy says only the original has the raised seal and that won't be sent out for 7-8 weeks.  He says the copy, however, has a copy of the seal on it and it is also stamped certified.  I would think this would work.

Also, I'm a bit worried as someone said people are getting their visas back 2-4 weeks when sending by post.  I read if you FedEx overnight, it comes backs within 10 days?  My fiance and I will be in Texas a total of 20 days so I was hoping this would be enough time for any delays.  Oh this is starting to give me gray hair, and I'm only 21!   

no advice.. just sympathy.. we were  separated  for  a month after  marriage..  me in the states and he was in england.. We were  just going to get married  a city hall but then Reagan died and  we had  to just  'wait'..   :\\\'(

hang in there..

Twenty days might be enough time...your original post said 2 weeks.  I suspect the 10 day thing is 10 working days from the receipt of your application, so you might just make it.  If you have to send your DH back to the UK before you, though, you should be following along fairly quickly...you'd probably only be apart for several days.

Does that mean the certified copy will work?  Thanks!

I don't know about the certified copy -- I was told that I needed something with a raised seal.  You might want to call or email the consulate to ask.

I emailed them and asked if a certified copy would be ok and they gave me a general answer about each case being unique and therefore can not answer my questions for me.  Oh well, I guess I'll just try and see!

i dont know if this will be any help but you might want to look at one of my old posts here http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=13971.msg143611#msg143611
there is the certified copy (which, im guessing, should be what they are looking for) and an abstract copy.  you can see the differences there.  the abstract actually says its a copy and the certified does not (this is why im guessing this is what the offices are looking for).  i have to say im still pretty confused about this though.  BUT when i used the website to email the LA office, someone replied telling me to phone them directly. I explained to her that in my state they only give out copies (at this time i did not know there were different types of copies, i just said certified copy to her) of the certificate and asked if that would be ok, at first she said no but then after telling her many times that no where in my state could i get the original certificate (that they keep them on file, wont give them out) she said it would be alright and to just include a cover letter explaining that i had talked to her and she said it would be ok.   so, i guess, if i were you i would try to get ahold of someone in the actual office your going to be applying to and asking them about it.   yuck! i hate not knowing exactly what they want!! stresses me out..