Receipt Today, but Country of Origin "Unknown"?

[Kali & Steven 1]

So I received my receipt for my I-129F.

I was so excited until I looked at my fiance's country of origin.

It said "Unknown".

He is in Northern Ireland, and that's what he told me to put as his country. Should I have put the UK or Ireland?

Is this just a formality? Will I get a RFE that tells me this will be a problem?

[Ryan H 3,812]

Northern Ireland is not a country, it is part of the UK. UK is what should have been written.

[Kali & Steven 1]

Is there any way to change/review this, or should I just wait to get the RFE?

[grrrrreat 109]

Northern Ireland is not a country, it is part of the UK. UK is what should have been written.

Actually from the perspective of the UK, the UK is comprised of four separate countries: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The UK itself is of course also a sovereign state and a nation.

From our perspective, I don't know if we view it the same way. Not sure why the form was Country of Origin Unknown, but I find it hard to believe that a USCIS adjudicator would hold up the petition for this reason.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I don't believe you'll get an RFE for this.

[renecherubs 18]

it happened to us. my husband just called USCIS and let them changed it. the agent who answered the call forwarded it to his supervisor...and the supervisor was kind enough to change it. we got a new NOA1 in the mail with the edited country.

[orangedesk 27]

So I received my receipt for my I-129F.

I was so excited until I looked at my fiance's country of origin.

It said "Unknown".

He is in Northern Ireland, and that's what he told me to put as his country. Should I have put the UK or Ireland?

Is this just a formality? Will I get a RFE that tells me this will be a problem?

I don't think the UK/Northern Ireland thing will make a difference. I believe I put "England" as my guy's country but my NOA1 said United Kingdom.

The whole country "unknown" situation I think is a common occurrence. I remember reading something similar when I first came on the forums here and found some other threads with your situation:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/269880-noa1-country-of-birth-unkown/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/352106-noa1-fiancee-country-of-birth-unknown/

I guess you can call USCIS if you're worried, but I don't think it should be a problem

[grrrrreat 109]

They should probably change it to "Nation Issuing Passport" or something like that to avoid these semantic issues.

If another country asked a U.S. citizen "State of Birth" would you know to put U.S. instead of the domestic state?

[rocks 494]

They should probably change it to "Nation Issuing Passport" or something like that to avoid these semantic issues.

On the passport it says "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

I've had a CBP agent at the airport assume that it means I am from Northern Ireland.

United Kingdom is always a safe bet in my experience, it causes the least confusion.

[grrrrreat 109]

On the passport it says "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

I've had a CBP agent at the airport assume that it means I am from Northern Ireland.

United Kingdom is always a safe bet in my experience, it causes the least confusion.

That's like when someone here in the U.S. asked me where I was from and I said "Georgia" and they thought I meant the Eastern European country, and I have a Southern drawl even.

[rocks 494]

That's like when someone here in the U.S. asked me where I was from and I said "Georgia" and they thought I meant the Eastern European country, and I have a Southern drawl even.

People ask the silliest questions sometimes!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

We did this for three people, my wife and two sons. For whatever reason one of the boys green cards said "unknown" for country of origin. We are waiting and I think his passport will say the same. even his 10 year green card said "unknown" despite everything we sent for all the different processes. They never were able to get their head out of their tookus long enough to correct it.

It is not a problem. I have heard it is actually an advantage for some countries.

[Kali & Steven 1]

They should probably change it to "Nation Issuing Passport" or something like that to avoid these semantic issues.

If another country asked a U.S. citizen "State of Birth" would you know to put U.S. instead of the domestic state?

The Northern Irish are allowed to get an Irish passport or a United Kingdom passport. Because it's less of a hassle - or so I've been told - a lot of NI citizens are getting Irish passports d/t the terrorist issues in the past?

Anyway, thank you guys for all the help!

I'll be sure to try and call, but if not, hopefully it won't be too much of an issue!

[grrrrreat 109]

We did this for three people, my wife and two sons. For whatever reason one of the boys green cards said "unknown" for country of origin. We are waiting and I think his passport will say the same. even his 10 year green card said "unknown" despite everything we sent for all the different processes. They never were able to get their head out of their tookus long enough to correct it.

It is not a problem. I have heard it is actually an advantage for some countries.

I suppose this suggests that the country of origin is simply not relevant for most I-130 spousal petitioners. Off the top of my head, it's mainly going to be relevant in the non-IR family preference categories where certain countries are oversubscribed and have longer waiting lists.