it's illegal to duplicate USC's birth certificate

[icee 0]

hi guys, I have a question here concerning USC's birth certificate. he was born in 1984 and in his birth certificate down right on the frace it says: "warning" it is illegal to duplicate this copy by photostat or photograph", so I guess it means we cannot make a copy of his birth certificate, so what should we do then? should send his original one? we can order a copy online, but is it all worth it? or can we still make a copy of his birth certificate in this case? we need for his I-864? we noticed that not all the USC's birth certificates have that information; for example our co-sponsor's birth certificate doesn't have that information, maybe back then when he was born they didn't have that concept of making copies of the papers like that.. what do you think guys? would appreciate any insights on this.

[arashh 5]

hi in my case let me tell u one thing in the naturalization certificate its written down that making a photocopy of this certificate is illegal..

but we took photocopy and sent to embassy for petitioners proof of USC..

so i think its okay to take a photocopy for a petition related case

[icee 0]

hi in my case let me tell u one thing in the naturalization certificate its written down that making a photocopy of this certificate is illegal..

but we took photocopy and sent to embassy for petitioners proof of USC..

so i think its okay to take a photocopy for a petition related case

hmm, thank you arashh for your respond, but did you get to "use" that copy yet? did they react to it in any ways? just want to make sure it really does work. other insights would be greatly appreciated.

[arashh 5]

no not at all i already approved i did not sent it in my wish i needed to sent it cause they needed it for proof.. so no they did not tell me anything about it

and not only me i saw many post regarding this i was at first confused as u now but after reading those helpful answer i did it

[icee 0]

no not at all i already approved i did not sent it in my wish i needed to sent it cause they needed it for proof.. so no they did not tell me anything about it

and not only me i saw many post regarding this i was at first confused as u now but after reading those helpful answer i did it

oh ok. so are you saying your case has been approved already even though you sent the USC's birth certificate that has information saying "no duplicating"? that's cool then.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

hi in my case let me tell u one thing in the naturalization certificate its written down that making a photocopy of this certificate is illegal..

but we took photocopy and sent to embassy for petitioners proof of USC..

so i think its okay to take a photocopy for a petition related case

That's different. The statement on the certificate of naturalization is that it's illegal to copy it "without lawful authority". USCIS is the agency that issued it, so they can authorize you to copy it, or request a copy of it from you. USCIS does not issue birth certificates - they are issued by each state. They don't have the authority to authorize you to copy a document issued by a state government.

icee, you might be able to get some guidance from the department of vital records in the state that issued the birth certificate. They may tell you it's ok to photocopy the certificate for submission to USCIS. If you can't get a straight answer, then send the original and order another copy for your own records.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I have that written on the bottom of my marriage certificate. I did it anyway and was approved without RFE and without interview. I will admit I didn't feel too good about it, but it's a government document and I used it for government purposes.. that and certified copies from the Registrar were REALLY expensive.

[Andz 1]

well i did not know that we need to send usc's birth certificate and so i did not send one when i filed my aos.. i received my interview appointment letter last week and found out that i need to take my husband's (usc) birth cert. too. So we ordered it and will probably receive it next week. But my father in law is my co-sponsor, should i take his birth certificate with me when i go to interview?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

well i did not know that we need to send usc's birth certificate and so i did not send one when i filed my aos.. i received my interview appointment letter last week and found out that i need to take my husband's (usc) birth cert. too. So we ordered it and will probably receive it next week. But my father in law is my co-sponsor, should i take his birth certificate with me when i go to interview?

Your co-sponsor has to be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident who is at least 18 years old, so you need something to prove your fathe-in-law meets those requirements. If he was born in the USA, then his birth certificate will do that. Or a US passport bio page would also show he is eligible.

[icee 0]

hey folks,

anyway, we ordered online his bc and sent it with the rest of my papers to be on the safe side even though I think copy would still work. we sent my papers today, so wish us good luck! hopefully we had everything required in our packet. I wonder what will happen next.. :-]