original birth certificate lost

[bellsbells 3]

I'm ready to file the IV for my husband and have got everything in order (certified copies of my husband's birth certificate, his police record, and our marriage certificate are being mailed to us and should arrive any day now) except a little problem with my birth certificate: my parents lost the original many years ago, and all I have is a 10 year old certified copy. As I'm in France, it will take up to 30 days for me to receive another one (I checked with my county of birth's registrar). Ugh, wish I had realized this sooner! I think I read that French birth certificates need to be less than 3 months old, but what about US BCs? Is my copy too old? BTW it doesn't say "long form" on it but it has both my parents' names.

Thanks for your insights!

[bellsbells 3]

I tried to edit my post above but it didn't work, so I'm adding a little more info here to be more specific:

On the list of documents page from the NVC website (http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3195.html) it doesn't mention anywhere how recent the documents need to be. However, on the Paris-embassy-specific page (http://travel.state.gov/pdf/pk3_supplements/PRS-PKT3-ENGL-0001-1007.pdf) it says that all birth certificates must be under 1 year old, and French ones must be under 3 months old. Further adding to the confusion is that the same page refers to submitting the IV to the Paris embassy, which means it's outdated because since 2011 the embassy here no longer has a USCIS presence and I had to submit my I-130 to the Chicago lockbox.

So... has anyone had success submitting a birth certificate certified copy more than one year old? Should I take the risk or wait 30 days for a new one? (We need our visa by August at the latest.) Thanks for your insight...

[Laure&Colin 558]

You don't send the USC's BC in the IV package! The civil documents are only for the foreign spouse.

[bellsbells 3]

OMG, I can't believe it—I have been misreading the lists all this time! Duh! Thanks for alerting me. What a relief that I don't need to show my birth certificate. But is it possible that throughout this whole process, as the sponsor I will never have to provide my BC?

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

OMG, I can't believe it—I have been misreading the lists all this time! Duh! Thanks for alerting me. What a relief that I don't need to show my birth certificate. But is it possible that throughout this whole process, as the sponsor I will never have to provide my BC?

The only role the Petitioner's (or Sponsor for I-864) serves is to establish that you're a US Citizen which can be done using your passport.

[bellsbells 3]

OK, good to know, thank you!