Actual Birth Date differs from Hokou

[LBeachey 44]

A friend of mine just married a Chinese woman whose Hokou says she is three years younger than her actual birth date. I believe her ID Card and Passport also have the same date as the Hokou. His question is what date should he use on the immigration forms?

My first thought was to say to use the date you can document even though you know it is wrong. However, I would think this will also then become her official birthdate in the US. Other than social security elgibility, being three years younger might not be that big of a deal and maybe even an advantage.

Is there any other way to handle this? Anyone ever run into something similiar?

[xiaozhu 4]

It is common in China that the birth date in Hukou is different from real age. Some are caused by mistake, but most of them are made on purpose for certain benefits which is only known by the people who change it. Do not think the birth date was changed when the baby was born. Actually it was done when people find there are benefits after they grow up. Such as some people change their age for late retirement, education.... It is a fraud but in many cases China authority has no ground to detect them out or these people have inside-help to make a change.

In the case you mentioned, your friend’s wife clearly shows the error but no intention to correct it. So she has it on passport, ID and other documents. So why correct it now? Just forget her real age, and think she was born after three years stay in her Mom’s belly.

[FrankandLotus 0]

My wife's birthdate is one year off as well on her Hokou, this was a result of the last Census taken ten years ago, her birth certificate has her real birthdate but now every official piece of paper including our marriage cert. has the wrong birthday. it is not a [problem.