Finally, I Have Legalized My Marriage

Today after over  four years of struggle with Soviet era red tape I finally successfully registered my marriage with my Kyrgyz partner of nearly seven years at the ZAGS on Sovetskaya in Bishkek. The Kyrgyz authorities rejected my first four attempts at various points along the way. That is the cover of the marriage certificate to the right. According to the US Embassy website on the issue, "Marriages which are legally performed and valid in the Kyrgyz Republic are also legally valid in the United States." If there is a country where it is harder for a US citizen who is not connected to the military or powerful people like Soros to get married to one of their citizens, I don't know what it is. But, I finally did it. Unfortunately, for all the talk of marriage equality, it is not a reality. Somebody like me who manages to overcome all the hurdles to marry a Kyrgyz woman still has an even greater uphill battle to get her a visa to come to the US as can be seen by the information in the link above to the  website of the US embassy in Bishkek.