Fiance information-Please HELP

[attaya_girl 1]

Hello all,

First time poster here. My fiance is from Senegal and we are in the process of gathering the items necessary for the k-1 visa. I am about to send off the I-129F and this website has been a life saver as far as compiling all the necessary documents and how to fill them out, etc. We lived together in Sengal for several months, so we have no trouble showing proof of relationship or anything like that, and I've been counting myself pretty lucky.

Now, I'm running into a potential problem. My fiance was orphaned at a young age and his uncle forged his paperwork when he was 15-making him 8 years older on his paperwork than he actually is. This is a pretty frequent practice in Senegal, and all his paperwork matches up. They all say the same date-just the wrong date. The only paper that doesn't match is his original birth certificate, but I'm not sure that he even has to have that? His national identification card..everything has this wrong date on it. What do we do? He's used it for everything. Can he continue to use it? Please Help!

[Krikit 1,164]

Hi Attaya_Girl. I'm going to move your post to the Africa: Sub-Saharan Forum to see if you can get a response to your question.

All the best, and welcome to VJ.

[Zee Bee 61]

He will need to present his birth certificate at the interview and if the dates do not match then that will be a problem.

Can he get a new birth certificate to match his documents, or new documents to match the birth certificate?

[attaya_girl 1]

ok. he just called me back and i apparently didn't fully understand. his birth certificate was changed as well, so it all matches up. it's just all wrong. oh my god. it would take months and months to change all his paperwork, and i don't even know if that works because he would essentially have to buy a new birth certificate, identity card, and passport which i'm sure wouldn't look good.

[attaya_girl 1]

ok. i'm going to leave this alone after this post, i'm just so worried. is this going to pose a problem? the fact that his paperwork shows that he's eight years older than he is? any responses would be so, so appreciated. i'm so scared right now that this isn't going to happen.

[WhidbeyGirl 1]

ok. i'm going to leave this alone after this post, i'm just so worried. is this going to pose a problem? the fact that his paperwork shows that he's eight years older than he is? any responses would be so, so appreciated. i'm so scared right now that this isn't going to happen.

If it were me personally, I would go through changing all documents to reflect correct information - but that is just me. Others may not see anything wrong with this type of deception.

[Alias 0]

ok. he just called me back and i apparently didn't fully understand. his birth certificate was changed as well, so it all matches up. it's just all wrong. oh my god. it would take months and months to change all his paperwork, and i don't even know if that works because he would essentially have to buy a new birth certificate, identity card, and passport which i'm sure wouldn't look good.

It would definitely be very difficult if not impossible to change all his ID to his real birth date. Actually, it is quite common in other countries as well. Not sure what the answer is but in my opinion, if all his documents are of the wrong date, then as far as everyone elses concern, it is that date.

[attaya_girl 1]

i don't want to lie and screw it up for the rest of our lives, but it'll be really difficult to change all the paperwork and i'm not sure if it's even possible...

Edited January 21, 2009 by attaya_girl

[chispas 0]

Hi Att.

I'd leave all as it is. If he went through school and everything else, I'd leave it alone. I know several people whose actual birthdates differs from their ID and they have not changed anything at all. Actually, the only one who knows for sure is passed on so there's no verification on that either.

Better to have all match up wrong than to have a "right" thing seem like he is trying to get away with something.

[WhidbeyGirl 1]

i don't want to lie and screw it up for the rest of our lives,

This would be my biggest concern also.

[Bassi and Zainab 1]

All his documents have the same birth date. I hesitate to ask, but why does he think the birth date is wrong? The reason I ask, is unless he has some type of proof that the date is incorrect to prove the need to change it, why are you considering it a lie, or "deception" as someone else on this thread labeled it. My husband felt the date on his passport was incorrect and it was the only ID he had besides work IDs. I asked him why he thought it was wrong and he just felt that it was wrong and he and his brothers discussed it. I asked him to find some proof of it being wrong. He eventually got his Burkina Faso passport (he has dual citizenship) and found that the date was actually correct. He thought he was 2 years younger than he really is. His parents don't remember any of their birth dates. They're both alive, but they don't know their own birth dates and it's not something their tribe sees as important. Age is relative to the others that are still living, rather than a number. So, I say all this to say that while he may feel he is younger, unless he has proof of his age, which he would need to change his birth certificate anyway, just leave everything as it is.

I would also add that someone on this board previously (maybe LL) had an incident where their spouse lost all the documentation in a taxi and had to replace everything. The Consulate put them under AR because all of his documents were brand new and that was a red flag. You have all the documents stating the exact same information. I don't think you should complicate an already complicated process.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Bassi and Zainab

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Hey AG!

I know other cases similar to this from Nepal and it didn't affect them getting their visa. It is quite common actually. In most developing countries a persons identity isn't officially documented until age 14-15 when they have to enter higher education. At that point a birth certificate is issued and the documentation is done by their elders if that be a mom or dad or uncle. From then on that documentation is their official identity for all things including passports even if the family lied about the age on it. Sometimes parents want to register their kids early for school if they know they are advanced and when they go to the bigger cities they need a formal ID. If everything is the same let it stay the same. I've seen other similar cases pass with success and you should have no problem either unless you feel the dire need to start all over from the beginning but that is someones whole life of records to change.

[LovinLiberia 0]

I would also add that someone on this board previously (maybe LL) had an incident where their spouse lost all the documentation in a taxi and had to replace everything. The Consulate put them under AR because all of his documents were brand new and that was a red flag. You have all the documents stating the exact same information. I don't think you should complicate an already complicated process.

I forgot all about that nightmare, but that did happen to us. All of our paperwork was recently dated and created. He had to replace all of his paperwork over there and I'd just gotten divorced, bought a new house, and started a new job. That meant that even all of the evidence I sent to him was brand new. We were held up for an extra month after the interview and it even caused us to get a home investigation. An investigator from the embassy went to his family's neighborhood and interviewed kids, street vendors, family members, etc.

The OP's situation does sound sticky and I know she's just trying to find the best solution to this problem. The horror stories and the whole process itself can make anyone paranoid, but you also don't want to overcorrect something and create a new problem for yourself. I would think that if he didn't have any other documentation to prove his real age before he was adopted, then I would go ahead and change the date on the BC.

[attaya_girl 1]

All his documents have the same birth date. I hesitate to ask, but why does he think the birth date is wrong? The reason I ask, is unless he has some type of proof that the date is incorrect to prove the need to change it, why are you considering it a lie, or "deception" as someone else on this thread labeled it. My husband felt the date on his passport was incorrect and it was the only ID he had besides work IDs. I asked him why he thought it was wrong and he just felt that it was wrong and he and his brothers discussed it. I asked him to find some proof of it being wrong. He eventually got his Burkina Faso passport (he has dual citizenship) and found that the date was actually correct. He thought he was 2 years younger than he really is. His parents don't remember any of their birth dates. They're both alive, but they don't know their own birth dates and it's not something their tribe sees as important. Age is relative to the others that are still living, rather than a number. So, I say all this to say that while he may feel he is younger, unless he has proof of his age, which he would need to change his birth certificate anyway, just leave everything as it is.

I would also add that someone on this board previously (maybe LL) had an incident where their spouse lost all the documentation in a taxi and had to replace everything. The Consulate put them under AR because all of his documents were brand new and that was a red flag. You have all the documents stating the exact same information. I don't think you should complicate an already complicated process.

Well, his uncle changed it on purpose when he was 14 or 15, but he didn't just lie by a few years. He made him 8 years older than he really is. So, we know it's not right, but he went through the military with that ID and all his past employers know him by that ID, etc, etc. Thank-you so much for all the comments. I was a frenzied mess yesterday and was pretty sure I'd just have to move back to Senegal, but I feel a lot better after reading everyone's comments.

Thank-you!

[K&A 0]

All his documents have the same birth date. I hesitate to ask, but why does he think the birth date is wrong? The reason I ask, is unless he has some type of proof that the date is incorrect to prove the need to change it, why are you considering it a lie, or "deception" as someone else on this thread labeled it. My husband felt the date on his passport was incorrect and it was the only ID he had besides work IDs. I asked him why he thought it was wrong and he just felt that it was wrong and he and his brothers discussed it. I asked him to find some proof of it being wrong. He eventually got his Burkina Faso passport (he has dual citizenship) and found that the date was actually correct. He thought he was 2 years younger than he really is. His parents don't remember any of their birth dates. They're both alive, but they don't know their own birth dates and it's not something their tribe sees as important. Age is relative to the others that are still living, rather than a number. So, I say all this to say that while he may feel he is younger, unless he has proof of his age, which he would need to change his birth certificate anyway, just leave everything as it is.

I would also add that someone on this board previously (maybe LL) had an incident where their spouse lost all the documentation in a taxi and had to replace everything. The Consulate put them under AR because all of his documents were brand new and that was a red flag. You have all the documents stating the exact same information. I don't think you should complicate an already complicated process.

WELL SAID Zainab! I wouldn't complicate an already complicated situation. UNLESS there is documentation or your fiance's physical appearance making him look younger then the 8 years increase in age, I would not bother. If your fiance went through the military with that ID, and had no problems..I really do not see the problem now. If you are worried that some documentation or paperwork will show up somehow showing that your fiance is younger then his current age, then you need to find that document or paperwork in order to use that as the basis to change his age to 8 years younger. You cannot just go and request to make adjustments to your Birth Certificate, ID or any legal document unless you have documentation and a good reason in order for the change to happen. So my advice is to use your own judgement...is this change worth waiting the extra time it will take to make the change and if you are going to make the change what document or paperwork can you show the current birth date and age of your fiance?

Good luck with whatever decision you decide.