Paula Dixon is an unmarried lady. She was therefore shocked to learn in February 2006 that the Registrar General's Department (RGD) had record of her getting married in Seaview Gardens in 1997.

Dixon learnt the disturbing news when she applied to the RGD for a non-impediment certificate that would allow her filing process to be complete. The non-impediment certificate is required by the U.S. Embassy to prove that an applicant is not married or otherwise bound. A day after she applied for the certificate, she received a letter from the RGD stating that they had a marriage certificate with her name on it.

Needless to say, Dixon was taken aback. She had never met the man she was supposedly married to and she had no idea who the supposed officiating minister was. What is even more interesting is that Dixon told THE STAR that she had never been to Seaview Gardens before. It is not a case of someone just having the same name, as even the birthday, middle name and father's name are the same.

Dixon also learnt that her 'husband' had remarried and that the second marriage was also officiated by the minister who is said to have done hers. She told the STAR that she has been to the RGD several times and has spoken to several persons, but has made no strides in her quest to clear her name.

The false record has severely affected Dixon's life as she only has one month left for the filing to be completed. As long as the record says she is married, however, she will never get the non-impediment certificate. If the filing is not completed within the month that is left, the process will have to start all over again and could take up to five years. Her children who were living abroad, came to Jamaica for interviews at the embassy, and are now trapped here. Dixon was forced to get them into school. "It is costing me a lot to run up and down and for lunch money, bus fare and school fee. I just want to go about my life, my life has been on hold," she said.

The matter was reported to the Fraud Squad last year and when THE STAR contacted them yesterday, a police officer, involved in the matter, confirmed that investigations were ongoing. She says that she has made several visits to the RGD office but still has not received the marriage certificate. She also revealed that once they received the certificate, they would ques-tion the minister involved.

Dixon has also been doing her own investigations. She also revealed that she met with the minister who said he could not remember much about the wedding because it was so long ago. He reportedly said he was asked to do a marriage by someone named 'Mark' but said he did not know where to find this person.

Her desperate attempts to have the matter resolved led her to meet with the CEO of the RGD and Deputy Keeper of the Records, Patricia Holness. Dixon said that during a visit to the RGD, she also paid to get a copy of the marriage certificate but was told that because of the ongoing investigations, she could not get it.

Holness, when contacted by THE STAR, said that she is aware of the case and sympathised with Dixon. She also added that the RGD has done everything it could to help the police and is willing to do more.

"It is such a sad case. It's very strange for us. We provided the information to the police and we even sent a letter to them. We have no reason to doubt her credibility," she said.

Checks done by the RGD, she said, revealed that the minister was legitimate and she added that the RGD does not create records. She, however, admitted that they were hesitant to release the marriage certificate and "wouldn't want to put it out until everything is resolved." She said though, that once investigations were complete, they would have no problem doing this.