How to Marry A Cambodian Woman
How-to Marry a Cambodian Woman
And Bring Her To The States
A Step-by-step guide for American Men
(….but also applies to women)
Find a Cambodian Woman
1. Find a girl that speaks English.
2. Get her a Cambodian passport (if she doesn’t have one already). Cost $120.
Get Affidavit
3. Take her to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.
4. Ask for an “Affidavit for Eligibility to Marry.”
5. Fill it out in the Embassy. You don’t need to leave.
6. Pay $30 dollars to the Clerk.
7. Get the Affidavit stamped/certified right then and there.
i. The Consular Officer will ask how/where you met, how long you’ve been here, her job, your job, how long you intend to stay and if you can speak Khmer or she can speak English.
ii. The “interview” takes less than 5 minutes and is conducted right in front of the Bank-Teller style window.
Get Paperwork to Get Married
1. Take the Affidavit to the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh”
2. You have two options:
3. Option A:
i. Talk to an official in the ministry.
ii. Tell him you want to get married and want to do it fast.
iii. He will show you all the paperwork and you should ask him to help you with it. The papers are supposed to be filled out by Commune Chiefs where she lives, but the Ministry Official will happily do that for you for a price of $600 (as of August 2006)
iv. The Official should also give you a paper to be signed by Police in her Hometown stating that she has no police record.
4. Option B:
i. Talk to an official in the ministry.
ii. Tell him you want to get married.
iii. Take the paperwork he gives you (for free) and leave.
iv. Your bride will fill out the paperwork because it is in Khmer. Attach pictures, etc.
v. Go to her hometown (bring all documents acquired so far and passports)
vi. Meet the “Sangkat.”
vii. Tell him/her you want to get married. The Sangkat should lead you to the commune chief’s house where there will be a negotiation.
viii. Tell the commune chief and Sangkat that you want all the papers stamped. You will have to pay about $200 (as of August 2006).
ix. Tell them you want the “Marriage Certificate” as well.
x. Return the completed paperwork to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh.
xi. Pay $170 to have the paperwork completed by the Ministry and the marriage authorized.
5. Option B is $230 cheaper than Option A but Option B takes longer, with many more steps.
Get Married
With the Yellow Paper from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Marriage Certificate, you are now officially married, but you need a ceremony with pictures (for Visa purposes)
Quick and Dirty Ceremony
1. Get the Bride’s Mother, Father, Brothers and Sisters.
2. Go to any Photography Store located all over Phnom Penh.
3. Pay between 10 -20 dollars to have full garb marriage pictures made in about an hour and a half.
4. Go to Wat Ounalom in Phnom Penh.
5. Find a Monk (If you don’t know one already, it’s easy, just walk in and start asking the first one you see. Seriously.)
6. Get the monk to do a brief marriage ceremony where they tie strings around your wrists, etc. Pay him $10.
7. Take Pictures of the ceremony. Get the two of you and especially the family in both posed and candid shots.
A Note Regarding Marriage Ceremonies
The quick and dirty Ceremony is used to obtain her Visa. You can explain to the Consular Officer interviewing you (he will obviously see the pictures as “not exactly real”) that you just did a quick ceremony here, but the real ceremony will take place in the States (at a later undetermined date) as per the tradition of your family.
Traditional Ceremony
Let your Bride/Bride’s family handle this. A Phnom Penh Wedding may cost something like $5000 (or more). A countryside wedding can be done for only $2000.
Get the Visa
You will need to apply for a K1 marriage visa. It’s for people who are already married and want to go to live permanently in the USA. Fill out the forms and wait for your Interview Date.
Pre-Interview Preparation: Proving Domicile
Domicile is the idea that you have a set-up “homebase” of operations and that place is the United States. Think of when you went to College: Well your college address was Northwest Dormitory, Room #304, but your home address was 16 Golden Meadow Lane, East Haven Connecticut (or whatever). You need to prove this domicile in order to return with a wife to the States.
1. If you are not registered to vote. Go to www.democratsabroad.com and register. You can register with either party, not just democrats.
2. Get a photocopy of your latest Bank Statement. Get a signed statement from your bank stating how long you’ve had the account and how much money is in it.
3. Call 800 829 1040
4. Get Tax return transcripts for the last 3 years (no charge)
5. If you are not making money in the USA (i.e. you’ve been living abroad for a while), then you will need a joint sponsor. I.E. your mother or father. The joint sponsor will fill out the same form you fill out. And will need all the same documents.
The Interview
...to be continued when I do this...
And Bring Her To The States
A Step-by-step guide for American Men
(….but also applies to women)
Find a Cambodian Woman
1. Find a girl that speaks English.
2. Get her a Cambodian passport (if she doesn’t have one already). Cost $120.
Get Affidavit
3. Take her to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.
4. Ask for an “Affidavit for Eligibility to Marry.”
5. Fill it out in the Embassy. You don’t need to leave.
6. Pay $30 dollars to the Clerk.
7. Get the Affidavit stamped/certified right then and there.
i. The Consular Officer will ask how/where you met, how long you’ve been here, her job, your job, how long you intend to stay and if you can speak Khmer or she can speak English.
ii. The “interview” takes less than 5 minutes and is conducted right in front of the Bank-Teller style window.
Get Paperwork to Get Married
1. Take the Affidavit to the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh”
2. You have two options:
3. Option A:
i. Talk to an official in the ministry.
ii. Tell him you want to get married and want to do it fast.
iii. He will show you all the paperwork and you should ask him to help you with it. The papers are supposed to be filled out by Commune Chiefs where she lives, but the Ministry Official will happily do that for you for a price of $600 (as of August 2006)
iv. The Official should also give you a paper to be signed by Police in her Hometown stating that she has no police record.
4. Option B:
i. Talk to an official in the ministry.
ii. Tell him you want to get married.
iii. Take the paperwork he gives you (for free) and leave.
iv. Your bride will fill out the paperwork because it is in Khmer. Attach pictures, etc.
v. Go to her hometown (bring all documents acquired so far and passports)
vi. Meet the “Sangkat.”
vii. Tell him/her you want to get married. The Sangkat should lead you to the commune chief’s house where there will be a negotiation.
viii. Tell the commune chief and Sangkat that you want all the papers stamped. You will have to pay about $200 (as of August 2006).
ix. Tell them you want the “Marriage Certificate” as well.
x. Return the completed paperwork to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh.
xi. Pay $170 to have the paperwork completed by the Ministry and the marriage authorized.
5. Option B is $230 cheaper than Option A but Option B takes longer, with many more steps.
Get Married
With the Yellow Paper from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Marriage Certificate, you are now officially married, but you need a ceremony with pictures (for Visa purposes)
Quick and Dirty Ceremony
1. Get the Bride’s Mother, Father, Brothers and Sisters.
2. Go to any Photography Store located all over Phnom Penh.
3. Pay between 10 -20 dollars to have full garb marriage pictures made in about an hour and a half.
4. Go to Wat Ounalom in Phnom Penh.
5. Find a Monk (If you don’t know one already, it’s easy, just walk in and start asking the first one you see. Seriously.)
6. Get the monk to do a brief marriage ceremony where they tie strings around your wrists, etc. Pay him $10.
7. Take Pictures of the ceremony. Get the two of you and especially the family in both posed and candid shots.
A Note Regarding Marriage Ceremonies
The quick and dirty Ceremony is used to obtain her Visa. You can explain to the Consular Officer interviewing you (he will obviously see the pictures as “not exactly real”) that you just did a quick ceremony here, but the real ceremony will take place in the States (at a later undetermined date) as per the tradition of your family.
Traditional Ceremony
Let your Bride/Bride’s family handle this. A Phnom Penh Wedding may cost something like $5000 (or more). A countryside wedding can be done for only $2000.
Get the Visa
You will need to apply for a K1 marriage visa. It’s for people who are already married and want to go to live permanently in the USA. Fill out the forms and wait for your Interview Date.
Pre-Interview Preparation: Proving Domicile
Domicile is the idea that you have a set-up “homebase” of operations and that place is the United States. Think of when you went to College: Well your college address was Northwest Dormitory, Room #304, but your home address was 16 Golden Meadow Lane, East Haven Connecticut (or whatever). You need to prove this domicile in order to return with a wife to the States.
1. If you are not registered to vote. Go to www.democratsabroad.com and register. You can register with either party, not just democrats.
2. Get a photocopy of your latest Bank Statement. Get a signed statement from your bank stating how long you’ve had the account and how much money is in it.
3. Call 800 829 1040
4. Get Tax return transcripts for the last 3 years (no charge)
5. If you are not making money in the USA (i.e. you’ve been living abroad for a while), then you will need a joint sponsor. I.E. your mother or father. The joint sponsor will fill out the same form you fill out. And will need all the same documents.
The Interview
...to be continued when I do this...
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