Venezuelan divorce decree for USCIS: decree + finality

In Venezuela, the court that handled the case issues the divorce decree, not the Registro Civil. Couples without minor children go through a Tribunal de Municipio or a Tribunal de Primera Instancia en lo Civil, Mercantil y Tránsito. When there are minor children, the case goes to a Tribunal de Protección de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes, under Venezuela’s child-protection law (LOPNNA).

The decree is a typed document on plain paper, with no hologram, verification code, or electronic signature. A usable copy usually shows:

• The judge’s and court secretary’s signatures.
• A legible ink stamp from the court, on every page or at least the last one.
• The case file number and the full name of the judicial circuit that issued it.

A decree on its own doesn’t prove the divorce is final. You’ll usually also need the constancia de firmeza (sometimes called auto de ejecutoria or cómputo de días de despacho). It certifies that no appeal was filed within the legal window. Without it, the reviewer can’t confirm that the marriage was dissolved.

Once the decree is final, the court sends a certified copy to the Registro Civil office that holds the marriage certificate. That office records the nota marginal, a notation on the marriage record itself. Before you translate anything, ask to see that notation. If it hasn’t been recorded yet, ask for the court’s transmittal letter to the Registro Civil.

The most common trap with this document is submitting the decree without the firmeza certification. Before you send it for translation, check:

• That you have both the decree and the firmeza certification, not just one.
• That the court’s stamp reads clearly on your copy or scan, with no smudges covering the circuit’s name.
• That the name on the decree matches your passport letter for letter, including both surnames.

Say your passport reads “María Alejandra Rodríguez Blanco” but the decree only shows “Maria Rodriguez,” without accents or the second surname. Flag that discrepancy before translating. The reviewer may doubt it’s the same person and ask for more evidence.

Since January 24, 2019, Venezuela has had no operating consulates in the United States. The two countries agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations in March 2026, and the Venezuelan posts in the U.S. are being refurbished. As of this guide, none has reopened for passports, legalizations, or civil registry services. Check the current status before you plan anything that depends on a consulate.

In the meantime, you can’t request the decree, its firmeza certification, or an apostille through a consulate, as you could for most other countries.

What usually works:

• Grant a special power of attorney (poder especial) to someone you trust in Venezuela. Sign it before a notary in the U.S. state where you live, and have that state apostille it.
• That person requests the certified copy of the decree and the firmeza certification directly from the judicial circuit that handled the case.
• With those documents in hand, they get the Venezuelan apostille from the Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores in Caracas. Venezuela has been a party to the Apostille Convention since March 16, 1999, so its documents are apostilled rather than legalized by a consulate.
• For anything that needs a Venezuelan consular service, people often turn to the Venezuelan embassies in Mexico or Canada, since no Venezuelan diplomatic post currently operates inside the U.S.

How long each step takes depends on the court and the Registro Civil office involved. Nobody can promise a fixed timeline in advance. The power of attorney alone can take a few weeks to notarize, apostille and ship to Venezuela before your representative can even walk into the courthouse.

Keep every version of the decree you receive along the way: the plain court copy, the firmeza certification, and the apostilled set from Caracas. If you remarry or file a new USCIS petition later, you may be asked again for proof that the earlier marriage was dissolved. Having the complete set on hand saves you from repeating this whole process from the United States.

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Official source

Review the applicable federal requirement directly at 8 CFR § 103.2(b)(3) on eCFR .

Fidelis Certified Translations is an independent translation service and is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by USCIS or any U.S. government agency. Final acceptance of any document rests solely with the receiving agency or institution.