birthplace

[frankd2222 0]

My wife was born in RFSFR, Russia during the Soviet Union. Should I put exactly what is on the birth certificate for birthplace on the I-130 (etc.), or do they want "Russia" or "CIS" on this stuff?

Also, it seems that many supporting documents must be submitted more than once, like the same stuff you already submitted with forms also must be taken to the interview (photos, marriage certificate, financial documents that you already sent with Affadavit of Support, and so on). Is this correct, or do things only need to be submitted once?

For an I-130 for a CR-1, do I need to file separate forms for my stepchildren, or is that only for AOS? I'm pretty sure that I need separate DS-230s and G-325As, but not sure about I-130.

Thanks for the help.

[SMR 368]

My wife was born in RFSFR, Russia during the Soviet Union. Should I put exactly what is on the birth certificate for birthplace on the I-130 (etc.), or do they want "Russia" or "CIS" on this stuff?

Also, it seems that many supporting documents must be submitted more than once, like the same stuff you already submitted with forms also must be taken to the interview (photos, marriage certificate, financial documents that you already sent with Affadavit of Support, and so on). Is this correct, or do things only need to be submitted once?

For an I-130 for a CR-1, do I need to file separate forms for my stepchildren, or is that only for AOS? I'm pretty sure that I need separate DS-230s and G-325As, but not sure about I-130.

Thanks for the help.

I don't know for sure if you need separate forms for children. Yes, you do take some of the same stuff to the interview that you send with your packet. My understanding is that they should have it if you sent it with the packet, but if you trust the government to do what it "should" do in this process then you will be sorely disappointed.

As far as birthplaces, I have heard a lot of people say different things without anyone getting into trouble for it, as long as it's reasonable. I think the best thing is to write what is written on the birth certificate. We wrote Leningrad, USSR, neither or which, of course, exists anymore. No questions were asked.

[slim 1,533]

I think the I-130 is for the family and then you do the "individual" forms for each child. Don't quote me on that as I did a K-1 and the rules for CR-1 are quite different. Plus, they may've changed since last I heard. There are a couple guys here who've done CR-1 more recently so they can more accurately inform you of what to do.

As for the birthplace question, like SMR said, you can pretty much put whatever you want and it should be allright. My suggestion is to pick one and stick with it. Once you've decided that the birthplace is "Moscow, Russia" or "Leningrad, USSR" then make sure you type that same birthplace in all her documents from this point on. I don't think they really try to track down everyone's birthplace, only make sure the birthplace listed is the same as on the cert. (And they can translate docs. They realize FSU/CIS/USSR/Russia, etc. all mean pretty much the same place.)

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My wife was born in RFSFR, Russia during the Soviet Union. Should I put exactly what is on the birth certificate for birthplace on the I-130 (etc.), or do they want "Russia" or "CIS" on this stuff?

Also, it seems that many supporting documents must be submitted more than once, like the same stuff you already submitted with forms also must be taken to the interview (photos, marriage certificate, financial documents that you already sent with Affadavit of Support, and so on). Is this correct, or do things only need to be submitted once?

For an I-130 for a CR-1, do I need to file separate forms for my stepchildren, or is that only for AOS? I'm pretty sure that I need separate DS-230s and G-325As, but not sure about I-130.

Thanks for the help.

Eneter what it says on the birth certificate. For Alla that was "Ukraine SSR" for one child it was "Russian Federation" and for the other it was "Ukraine" even though they were all born in the same hospital.

Yes, for a CR-1 you need separate petitions (I-130) for each person and separate application forms when you come to that point. Yes there is reptition of documents, you are submtting them to dofferent agencies as you go along. Make plenty of copies, DO NOT send original documents, DO NOT send anything to anyone at anytime without delivery confirmation and always make a copy of everything you send for yourself.

[eekee 182]

Yep, write what is on the birth certificate. I believe Russian internal passports also list what the city/country was at the time of birth, not what it is now, so have it all match.

[shikarnov 7]

Write whatever is on the birth certificate. The last thing you need is to trip over a bureaucratic shoelace by having your SO's *official* birth certificate say one thing and everything else say another. As Slim mentioned above, they know that Russia and the USSR are one and the same, but it just takes one ####### jerk to make your life miserable. Play it safe. And good luck.

[frankd2222 0]

Thanks for the advice, all. Perhaps it's most important to remember that "it just takes one ####### jerk to make your life miserable."