uk birth certificate & name change documentation..

[fulamuso 0]

hi, i'm new here.. (great site, btw!!)... we're getting ready to send the I-129F packet out.. i knew it was just a matter of time until i had to post a question

my fiance changed his name when he was a teenager. i know he needs his birth certificate and the documentation of his name change, but for some reason his solicitor (who did the name change) is telling him that he needs to take the two documents and have them specially 'notarized' to 'link' them together and make them acceptable for the US government.. and that said procedure would cost him 80 quid ! ? i told him, as far as i could find by reading this site and others for hours, is that he just needs Photocopies of the two documents and that they do not need to be notarized in any way. could anyone verify this for me?

thanks so much for any help!

[English Muffin 59]

Copies will suffice for the I-129F filing but originals are needed for the interview. Here is a list of what documents your fiance will need to take to his interview and there is no mention of anything needing to be notarized.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/docs169.html

Welcome to VJ.

[Talyss 0]

hi, i'm new here.. (great site, btw!!)... we're getting ready to send the I-129F packet out.. i knew it was just a matter of time until i had to post a question

my fiance changed his name when he was a teenager. i know he needs his birth certificate and the documentation of his name change, but for some reason his solicitor (who did the name change) is telling him that he needs to take the two documents and have them specially 'notarized' to 'link' them together and make them acceptable for the US government.. and that said procedure would cost him 80 quid ! ? i told him, as far as i could find by reading this site and others for hours, is that he just needs Photocopies of the two documents and that they do not need to be notarized in any way. could anyone verify this for me?

thanks so much for any help!

who is the USC and who is the UKC?

The UKC doesn't need to send a birth certificate when submitting the I-129 that is needed for the interview along with the name change document, if he is the USC you may want to ask this question in the general K1 forums.

KirstenUk just had an issue with a document from a solicitor not being notarized holding up issuance of her daughter's visa so it is possible that this may be an issue. It won't hold up sending off your petition if he is the UKC though and you can then consider whether or not to get it notarized in advance or wait and see if they ask for it closer to the interview.

[fulamuso 0]

hi, i'm new here.. (great site, btw!!)... we're getting ready to send the I-129F packet out.. i knew it was just a matter of time until i had to post a question

my fiance changed his name when he was a teenager. i know he needs his birth certificate and the documentation of his name change, but for some reason his solicitor (who did the name change) is telling him that he needs to take the two documents and have them specially 'notarized' to 'link' them together and make them acceptable for the US government.. and that said procedure would cost him 80 quid ! ? i told him, as far as i could find by reading this site and others for hours, is that he just needs Photocopies of the two documents and that they do not need to be notarized in any way. could anyone verify this for me?

thanks so much for any help!

who is the USC and who is the UKC?

The UKC doesn't need to send a birth certificate when submitting the I-129 that is needed for the interview along with the name change document, if he is the USC you may want to ask this question in the general K1 forums.

KirstenUk just had an issue with a document from a solicitor not being notarized holding up issuance of her daughter's visa so it is possible that this may be an issue. It won't hold up sending off your petition if he is the UKC though and you can then consider whether or not to get it notarized in advance or wait and see if they ask for it closer to the interview.

I'm the USC, he's the UKC, but since they ask on the G325a about 'other names used', i was just trying to be proactive... i'm paranoid

[Talyss 0]

he doesn't need these documents until the interview - its good to start preparing but you can send your petition off without them

[Nik+Heather 121]

I'd be sure to list his pre-change name under other names used. I'm sure you got that right off the bat, but I thought I would mention...just in case.

I wonder, have you looked at the total cost of this process? I think that 80 pounds will be a fairly insignificant portion of the total cost - and...why ask questions of someone who you thinks knows the answer if you are just going to ignore them (not us, the solicitor)? On the other hand, if the UKC's solicitor didn't make the change legal and watertight enough, he should complete this "linking" process for free!

Barring someone with more specific experience showing up, you'll just have to assess your own personal tolerance for risk. If the solicitor is in fact correct and more work needs to be done to "link" the original documents and the change documents, what will probably happen is at some point you'll have a request for more evidence (at petition stage or after the interview). At which time you'll go back, pay your 80 pounds and then send things back. It will probably introduce an extra week or two weeks of delay in the processing of your case. If you can handle that, then save your money, and keep your plans flexible. If you can't stand the idea of that happening, get it taken care of now, and pay for your peace of mind.

Oh, also, regardless of whether or not you get these notorizations completed now or later, I would mentally start preparing myself for being placed into additional/administrative processing. Again, I haven't heard of this specific situation, but it just SEEMS like something that would kick you into that state. Hopefully being prepared makes it not so bad if it happens...

Edited April 25, 2009 by Nik+Heather

[fulamuso 0]

he doesn't need these documents until the interview - its good to start preparing but you can send your petition off without them

thank you!

also, to nik+heather: my fiance only went to the solicitor to Get the copies of the documents, not to ask him questions. this info was offered up unsolicited (heh) .. i had already done lots of research, so it sounded very odd and unnecessary to me, that's why i came here to ask. and yes, i am aware of the total cost of this process and that is exactly why i don't want to spend ANY fees that are not required. i will obviously do more research before the interview to make sure it's all in order.. thanks for your input.