Birth Certificate - Fiasco...Please help!

[MAlove 0]

Hello all,

This may be a little long so I'm going to try and simplify it.

1) I , along with my parents, am a Canadian citizen through naturalization and renounced my Indian citizenship.

2) I was born in the United Arab Emirates to Indian parents (therefore, my birth certificate states that I am Indian)

3)My mother got a free laminating machine and laminated my birth certificate rendering it useless. It's also got a tear in it (from when I tried to see if the laminate would come off----it doesn't for those of you wondering).

4)I tried to have a new birth certificate sent to me but they refuse to do so since my nationality on the BC states that I am Indian but I am asking for it using my Canadian passport (since I no longer possess my Indian passport).

The following is paperwork I do have:

1) Baptism Certificate

2) Certificate of date of birth from the Indian Embassy to state that I was entered into their logs and my birth date.

3) Receipts to show that we attested documents to collect the birth certificate

4) E-mails saying that they refuse to give us the birth certificate due to the nationality issue

Can I use these instead of a birth certificate and send a letter in writing stating why they refuse to give me my birth certificate? Will they accept it or is lack of a birth certificate grounds to deny us?

The BC department asked for my father to come back into the country to get the birth certificate (I don't know why as I am 25...probably because I'm an unmarried woman) but he cannot as he left because his life was threatened and less importantly we can't afford to travel there.

If you're looking at my timeline to see where we are, we're waiting on the marriage certificate and are collecting papers in the meantime to have them ready to go to file I-130 and subsequent packages. I'm glad we spotted this now so we can "work on it" while waiting for the NOA.

Thanks in advance for your help VJers!!!

[canadian_wife 1,829]

First of all, they won't deny you for not having the proper form of a birth certificate. I would submit a copy of the one you have laminated (since you don't need to original until NVC)

Does the one you do have have your parents' names listed on it?

When it comes to NVC, I would submit the original one you have, a letter explaining the situation, and the e-mails from the embassy refusing to send you a new one. If this is insufficient they will ask you for the correct form. Upon that time you may call NVC to explain to them the situation and see if they have any suggestions.

As of right now, send a photocopy of the one you have to USCIS

Good luck.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

+1.

Unless you have been cloned, you were born to breathing human beings. Use the birth certificate you have, and if the worst case scenario happens and they won't accept the laminated one, and the story you have, and all of the documentation proving your case, and Sheva is angry, and it rains like the World is coming to an end, and a black cat crossed the street in front of you right when entering the USCIS building, on Friday the 13th, then figure out the next step.

[MAlove 0]

Ok Bob! Thanks for talking me of the ledge. I guess I'll just wait and see what they do but hand in the laminated copy version of the birth certificate.