Fiancee received letter requesting birth certificate - I may not have it?

[LuckyDucky 0]

Hi everyone!

My fiancee got her letter from the Consulate in Vietnam stating that when she comes to her interview they'll need the I-134, Affidavit of Support and a copy and original of our birth certificates.

So the problem is that I was born in Seoul, S. Korea and was adopted at around 1 week old. I think my parents gave me all the paperwork they had on me, and a birth certificate wasn't part of it.

I do have my original naturalization papers, though, when I was around 6 or 7 years old.

What's the motivation for asking for the birth certificate? If it's to authenticate nationality, then I figure my naturalization papers would suffice. If it's to verify that we're not related ... then I'm not sure what to do. I think I have my old Korean passport when I first came to the US at 6 months old, but I don't look anything like the picture anymore. hehe. Plus my name changed from my passport to now.

Thanks!

[PeterFB 0]

You can use other evidence in place of your birth cerificate if it isn't available. You need a statement from the civil registrars office explaining why you can't get one and secondary evidence such as household records, basptismal certificates, school records. In your case that may take too long so contacting the consulate now would be good so you can find out what exactly they want instead. The USCIS accepted your I-129f so maybe just the records you provided for that will be enough. The Consulate may not remember that so you should remind them about that.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

[PeterFB 0]

I kept thinking about your post since it seems HCMC Consulate has a history of causing problems whenever it's possible. I wasn't able to find a concrete answer tho.....

I went back and at looked at the instructions for the I-129f. For proof of your being a US citizen, If you are Native born citizen, you need a birth certificate, If you are a Naturalized Citizen, it states "B. If you were naturalized, give USCIS a copy, front and back, of your original Certificate of Naturalization." If you sent that in your petition and they approved it, then sending the original and a copy of it instead of your birth certificate should be ok.

So as my earlier post said, you should call and talk to an American CO about using your Certificate of Naturalization instead of your birth certificate. If the HCMC Consulate really wants a S Korean Birth Certificate, then you need to contact the S Korean authority and or orphanage in the area you were born and get a statement from them or maybe they do have your birth certificate. I would get this settled as soon as possible before the interview so your fiancee can go to the interview knowing it's not a problem. Also sending emails to the Consulate can help because you can print them out and take them to the interview along with the notes you made while talking to the Consulate over the phone.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11

I-129F RFE(s) :

RFE Reply(s) :

I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26

Touched: 2007-11-02

NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16

Consulate recieved ??????

Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11

Packet 3 received 2007-12-24

Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28

Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14

Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23

Interview Date 2008-2-27

Passed Interview 2008-02-27

Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05

Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)

POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles

[LuckyDucky 0]

Thanks! I really appreciate it. I've contacted my parents and they weren't sure about my birth certificate, but they said they would poke around their files.

In the meantime, I've written the Consulate inquiring about the birth certificate and mentioned that I have my naturalization papers.

Thanks for the help! I appreciate it.

Edited March 20, 2008 by LuckyDucky

[chuckandkim 0]

Contact your County Court where you are living, asking for a Affidavit of Birth Certificate Record.... I don't know what they call it in your county/town. A county-clerk will fill it out and have a judge sign/seal/notarize it for you. Even HCMC would do one for you for $50 (in 2004) when you show up there, given that you have your US Passport in hand when you arrive.

Good luck! Don't sweat, HCMC wants to double check if you're not related to her Fraud Prevention standard precedure!

[LuckyDucky 0]

Thanks! I shall do that. I appreciate the help!