在美国结婚的步骤总结

州与州之间是有差异的，你首先要做的就是google “How to get married in XX (your county or state)”， 看看你所要结婚的州（尤其是County）的规定。

一般的顺序为：Marriage License －〉Marriage Ceremony －〉Certificate of Marriage


先以纽约市为例：(英文原文来自于http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov 5/26/2011)
1) All persons who intend to get married in New York State must obtain a Marriage License. The fee for a Marriage License is $35 by credit card or money order payable to the City Clerk. A New York State Marriage License is valid for 60 days (except for active military personnel, for whom the validity runs for 180 days). A Marriage License issued in New York can be used anywhere within New York State but may not be used outside New York State.

第一步：在网上申请纽约州的Marriage License （具体步骤参见http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/license.shtml）。这个marriage license 有效期为60天，即你们必须在60天内在纽约州内结婚。（如果结婚一方为军人则有效期为180天）。超过60天后，就得重新申请marriage license。


2) Once you have obtained your marriage license, the next step is to have a Marriage Ceremony. You must wait for 24 hours after you obtain your Marriage License before you can have your wedding. You and your prospective spouse must have at least one witness, who must be 18 years of age or over.

第二步：拿到 marriage license，可以在24小时之后，60天以内举行婚礼Marriage Ceremony。必须至少有一个证人在场。婚礼可以在指定的政府机关内（必需是他们的工作时间内，一般是周一到周五，早上八点半到下午三四点），也可以在教堂丶酒店丶自家后院等地方。


3) A Certificate of Marriage Registration is the official documentation of your wedding that lists the date, time, location, Marriage Officiant's name and title, and any changes in surname.
If you get married in the City Clerk's office, you will receive your Certificate of Marriage Registration at the conclusion of the ceremony.
If you have a Marriage Ceremony outside of the City Clerk's office, you will receive your Certificate of Marriage Registration in the mail within approximately 20 days from the date when we receive and process the Marriage License from your Marriage Officiant and process it.

第三步：拿结婚证Certificate of Marriage。Certificate of Marriage 上显示了婚礼的时间丶地点丶由谁主持丶是否改姓。如果婚礼是在政府机关举行，婚礼仪式结束后，当场就可以拿到结婚证。如果是在别的地方举行，大约20天后结婚证会寄到你家。收到结婚证后，请核实。如果有错误，在一定时间内可以要求纠正。


别的很多州都有差不多的程序, 但规矩有些出入。NJ, PA等州要申请三天后才能拿到Marriage license，CA , Ut 则不需要等。
Marriage license有效期长短不一; Certificate of Marriage 也不一定能一结婚就能当场拿到。

此外Mississippi 和Montana 需要婚前blood test .其他州已经没有这个要求了。
再来看看Las Vegas － 美国结婚最容易的地方。
http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/clerk/Services/Pages/MarriageLicenses.aspx
marriage license申请费$60 by cash, cashier’s check, money order, or credit card.如果用信用卡，再加$5.00手续费。有效期为一年。拿到marriage license后可以马上结婚，需要至少带一个见证人。Las Vegas Marriage Bureau Hours：8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.(Midnight)， Seven Days a Week。别的州一般下午三四点就关门了，更别提周末上班了。
The marriage official who performs the ceremony has ten days to submit the marriage certificate to this office for recording. Normally a certified copy of the certificate would be available one day after the certificate has been received from the official.
顺便附上与美国公民结婚后，办绿卡的步骤图：

a 临时绿卡的有效期为两年。转正式绿卡的申请应在得到临时绿卡两周年之前提出。移民法允许申请人提前90天提出申请。
b 美国公民的配偶在拿到绿卡（临时绿卡也是绿卡）三年就可以申请公民。移民法允许申请人提前90天提出申请，但提出申请时，婚姻必须已满三年。
来源网络