By Tami Faram

It seems rather old-fashioned for couples to have to ask permission to be married. And many still do out of respect for each other's parents. But Sailors who plan to marry someone from another country must go beyond traditional parental approval and get an official "stamp of approval" from the U.S. Navy and other agencies.

What the Navy and Marine Corps Want
Before Illustrator Draftsman 1st Class Ronald Hill married his wife, a native of Japan, he had to obtain the official Secretary of the Navy instruction and a "Request for Authorization to Marry." The instruction, provided by his commanding officer in the Pacific, is a checklist of information, policies, and procedures regarding marriage to a foreign national.

Though the instruction and forms Hill obtained were specific to his command, Sailors and Marines deployed anywhere can get similar information - each command will provide its own written instructions.

Marines typically follow the same process as Sailors. First, they must submit to their company officer or officer in charge a request for approval of marriage. From that point, each Marine command may have different provisions that must be met.

For example, according to the Commander, Marine Corps Bases, Japan, once a Marine makes a marriage request, he or she must appear in person at the nearest Legal Service Support Section to obtain an Affidavit of Competency to Marry. And according to the Marine Corps command in Japan, the applicant must translate the Affidavit of Competency to Marry into Japanese. Applicants marrying Japanese nationals must get a blank form of notification of marriage (called Konin Todoke) from City Hall and complete it in Japanese.

Two witnesses over the age of 20 (of any nationality) must sign and witness the Japanese forms, and then the couple must get a marriage certificate that includes an English translation.

Other provisions within various Marine Corps commands include certain age requirements, filing applications for immigration visas, providing tax identification numbers, obtaining physical exams for both individuals, and attending a Marine Corps premarital seminar.

Sailors might not have to attend a premarital seminar, but Navy chaplains and certain commanders will suggest it before a couple marries.

For Sailors, the basic marriage form is a one-page special request chit that requires the couple's names, addresses, places of birth, the Sailor's rank, and whether the Sailor has been married before.

Cmdr. Ann Delaney, deputy assistant Judge Advocate General for Legal Assistance in Washington, D.C., says there are other things to consider within the Navy instruction (SECNAVINST 5510.30A) before marrying a foreign national.

According to the instruction, "If you hold a security clearance, marriage to a foreign national could jeopardize that clearance until a determination is made regarding the security risk that is presented, depending on which country your prospective spouse is from. A security risk may exist when an individual's immediate family, including cohabitants and other persons to whom the individual is bound by affection or obligation, are not citizens of the United States.

"Having a financial interest in a foreign country may also present a security risk."

The Navy's Military Personnel Manual (MILPERSMAN 5352-030) also includes financial concerns that must be addressed. Sailors will often need to prove financial ability to prevent the spouse from becoming a public charge and get a notarized written consent from the parents or legal guardian of either party if under the legal age for marriage in the state, territory, or country in which the marriage is to take place.

DM1 Hill, now serving on the flagship USS Blue Ridge, (http://www.blueridge.navy.mil/) has been married to his Japanese wife for two years now. He says that for them the Navy's marriage approval process really didn't take very long.

"In the military, any time you request something, there's a normal process time of three days," Hill explains. "The actual request letter falls under the same time requirements. The process becomes lengthy when you're waiting for blood test and physical exam results.

"That's because the blood tests are sent stateside unless you pay to have them done at a Japanese hospital," Hill adds. "And the Commander, Naval Forces Japan, will only accept the results from one hospital in this area. The process only took six weeks, which in my opinion was not long at all."

Immigrant Status
Because Hill's wife and their two children remained in Japan after their marriage, there was no need for her to obtain a U.S. visa before they wed. But if a marriage between an American and a foreign national is performed in the United States, or the spouse-to-be plans to live in the States after marriage, he or she is required to get a visa before entering the country.

The process to get a visa may require more time for some couples. According to Russ Bergeron, chief press officer for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Washington, D.C., a Sailor must get an INS petition for his or her betrothed to immigrate to the United States. The individual can apply for either a fiance or immigrant visa.

"Sailors must be aware that just because you've married someone, it doesn't give them automatic immigration status," Bergeron says. "There is a process you have to go through. So it's not something you can do at the last minute."

He further explains that a couple should be prepared to wait three to six months from the time they get their visa application until approval to immigrate is given. Once the initial petition to marry is completed, the Sailor will go to a U.S. embassy or consulate to get a visa application for his or her spouse-to-be.

Bergeron says that if the marriage were to be performed in the United States, the couple would need to prepare a fiance visa, which allows an individual to remain the country for 90 days, during which time the marriage must take place. Otherwise, the visa will expire and the fiance will have to return to their country. Once a couple is married, they will then petition the INS for a change in immigration status and file for a legal immigrant visa so the spouse can remain in the country.

If a couple chooses to marry in a foreign country, they still have to apply for a U.S. visa before they can enter the United States as husband and wife. Bergeron says that the INS and State Department both make it their duty to watch out for fraudulent marriages, so a couple must be prepared to prove that they have a bona fide relationship.

He suggests that if a Sailor has an ongoing relationship with a foreign national and hopes to later have that individual enter the United States, it's a good idea to keep letters, e-mail, and airline tickets to document their relationship.

There are situations in which individuals are denied visas - for example, when individuals have a criminal backgrounds or have a communicable disease such as HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis.

And Bergeron says that, although no new policies have been issued since September 11, 2001, there is much more scrutiny and a heightened sense of security, which means that all forms and visa requests are even more closely examined than before the tragedy.

Preparing the Paperwork
The INS provides further information about immigrant visas and paperwork, and also provides links to actual forms to download.

The U.S. State Department provides information about policies of other countries, getting visas, and required fees. Some countries require little with regard to approval for marriage, while others require an American to obtain local approval that might even occur on a tribal level. The Travel Warnings / Consular Info Sheets (http://www.travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html) section gives further information about other nations and travel safety issues.

For Ronald Hill and his Japanese-born wife, little paperwork was required from her government.

"Actually, none of the items she needed to provide from the Japanese government posed a problem," Hill says. All she had to provide was her family register, or Koseki Tohon."

But on the local level in Japan, Hill did have to answer some questions regarding his intentions.

"I think the concerns were that I wouldn't go through with the marriage," he says. "The Japanese hear a lot of rumors about American military men that make the older Japanese community skeptical. There's also the concern of how well their daughter will adapt to life in America."

Dependent Eligibility
All the officials interviewed say there's really nothing that can prevent a couple from being married. But when it comes to the military, if a Sailor doesn't get the special request chit for marriage, he or she may find that the new spouse will not be eligible for military benefits.

"Without the paperwork, where DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) is concerned, it might take much longer for the spouse to obtain benefits," says Delaney.

And according to DEERS, something as simple as a home address being outdated or not included on a form could be enough to deny health benefits to a couple, so do keep DEERS updated to reflect new information.

After the wedding, the Navy also will define the Sailor's spouse as a Command-Sponsored Dependent, an Acquired Dependent, or a Noncommand-Sponsored Dependent.

Command-Sponsored Dependent - A dependent who is entitled to travel to overseas commands at government expense and is endorsed by the appropriate military commander to be present in a dependent's status. Command-sponsored families have full access to post and base exchanges, commissary, medical care, schools, and other facilities. They are authorized to live in government housing or, if that's not available, to receive financial assistance with their rent.

Acquired Dependent - A dependent acquired via marriage, birth, adoption, etc., while serving a restricted or unaccompanied tour. Acquired dependents are entitled to transportation from port of entry to new permanent duty station.

Noncommand-Sponsored Dependent - Also called "hardship" or "remote" tours, the family members do not accompany the Sailor on this tour.

Certain marriage instructions provided by the Navy also suggest that Sailors who choose to "bypass the requirements will be denied command sponsorship of their family member until such time as certain requirements of this instruction are met."

Also, if a Sailor married to a foreign national refuses or fails to provide for entry of family members into the United States or territory of residence, the family members will not be granted logistical support from the command.

In addition to the websites listed above, many of the Navy's Fleet and Family Support Centers (FFSC) provide information on marriage to a foreign national and information about certain cultures and customs. And for a foreign-born husband or wife, the FFSC also provides help in adapting to their new lives in the United States, as well as to their roles as military spouses.