Getting married b4 the wedding to have the spousal visa in time for the real one

I always thought that you were legally married once you had the marriage license and that the religious ceremony was just for the religion/family part of it, not legality. Maybe I've had it all wrong all along!

But yeah, what did end up happening? You originally said the wedding would be in Feb 2010 and you've applied for your spousal visa already according to your sig....

I always thought that you were legally married once you had the marriage license and that the religious ceremony was just for the religion/family part of it, not legality. Maybe I've had it all wrong all along!

It depends on your state and how you choose to do it.  You are not legally married until your license is signed by an officiant (or other designated person - like in CO, you can sign your own!)  It seems that most people apply for their license , have a ceremony, have the officiant sign the license and turns it into the county and THEN they are legal.  But you are right that the ceremony itself has no legal implications.