Interview in 2 days, no birth certificate, Tokyo Embassy

[bikozu 0]

My fiancee had to give her birth certificate to the police office in order to get her police certificate, but they never returned her birth certificate and her interview is in two days! Is secondary evidence enough in this case?

Thank you!

[Anh map 2,098]

According to the embassy fiance(e) visa checklist ( http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-niv-kchecklist.html ) she is required to bring an original or certified copy of her birth certificate along with a certified translation. Her situation does not qualify for the unobtainable document provision. She could likely leave the interview with a blue slip requiring the birth certificate and translation to be submitted prior to receiving the visa.

Plus she will likely want to have more certified copies when she arrives in the US. It's typically easier to get them now when in country.

[bikozu 0]

According to the embassy fiance(e) visa checklist ( http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-niv-kchecklist.html ) she is required to bring an original or certified copy of her birth certificate along with a certified translation. Her situation does not qualify for the unobtainable document provision. She could likely leave the interview with a blue slip requiring the birth certificate and translation to be submitted prior to receiving the visa.

Plus she will likely want to have more certified copies when she arrives in the US. It's typically easier to get them now when in country.

Thanks for the response!

The Japanese instructions just say "if you don't have birth certificate, you can use secondary evidence" without the "only if it's unobtainable" part so I wondered if the case was different for the embassy in Tokyo.

Edited September 5, 2009 by bikozu

[Anh map 2,098]

The worst that could happen is the delay until the proper document is submitted. I'd try like h#ll to get another certified BC and get a translation just to avoid the delay.

God luck to you both.