filing in Italy-Italian Birth and Marriage Certificates

[katieO1727 0]

Hello,

I'd just like to start off by saying I'm so grateful for all of the information I've already found on this forum, it's been incredibly helpful!

I'm a US citizen and I've been living in Italy for the past 6 years with my Italian husband, who I married 4 years ago. We sent in our I-130 etc. to Rome on May 15th of this year and received approval to continue the process on June 17th. In the last month I've been working to assemble all of the necessary documents needed in order to request our interview in Naples. I have everything pretty much ready to go (I-864s, DS-230, both the Carico Penale Generale abd Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti from the police as well as military records). The only thing I'm having a little doubt about is my husband's birth certificate and our marriage certificate. When we applied for the I-130, my husband found that both of these certificates were available online through our Comune and we had no problems with them being accepted in Rome when they reviewed our application. They're a little strange, it's a simple paper with the comune's seal, then the information is written in a typical birth/marriage certificate style, there's a signature of the Official of the county and then a bar code on the bottom that's used as an official certification (in place of a stamp/seal). I noted that my husband's birth certificate does not list his parents' names. Knowing that they specifically request this information (it's listed on the checklist), I wrote Naples via email to ask if they would accept his certificate in spite of that. They've replied saying it won't be a problem. I'd like to believe them but I'm so worried about going all the way down there, paying all the money needed between travel, lodging etc and having to turn around and go back for something as simple as this. I wanted to see if anyone else has had any experience with presenting these types of documents for this process. Honestly, I'm fairly confident that these are acceptable since I had no issues in Rome, but I'd like to double check, just in case!

Also, if anyone has any advice in terms of the next step (preparing to go to Naples/the interview etc), I'd really appreciate it and I'd be happy to return the favor if I can help anyone who's still on the first step.

Grazie a tutti!

Katie

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

**** Moving from K3 progress report to CR-1 spousal visa forum for more answers *****

[Eli&Dan 1]

The "Certificato di Nascita" reports only the date and the birthplace. The document you may need is the "Estratto di Nascita". It has the same information as the birth certificate and it also reports the names of the parents. And yes, it's a very simple piece of paper. You might want to take a look at this website that i found pretty useful when i was assembling all the documents for the interview:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_5455.html?cid=8984

I hope this helps you!

[christeen 966]

Agreed, the estratto is what you need... We also took ours to the Prefitura for certification....

[katieO1727 0]

Hello again,

thank you for responding. I'm in a bit of a conundrum because I'm ready with everything at the moment and I'd really like to send in my Applicant's Statement today, but I'm afraid I'm not 100% sure about the birth certificate. Again, I wrote Naples yesterday stating that I had gotten my husband's b.c. from the comune and it did not list the parents' names and they responded by saying that 'it won't be a problem.' Should I accept this okay (since it's coming from the office where we will have our interview) or delay more to get this certificate? Any advice?

[katieO1727 0]

Another question I ran into was the fact that I don't have the original W2s for my joint sponsor. I have their original 2012 1040 tax return, but all of the W2s are scanned copies. Did anyone have a problem with presenting copies or these documents (since they are my father's it would be difficult to ask him to hand over the originals).

Thanks again!

[christeen 966]

Scanned W2 should be OK, at least for the initial package..... But in our experience in Naples several years ago (and from some recent stories), they really scrutinized the financials (that they earn enough) so just be prepared... While the paperwork processes, I might recommend that your joint-sponsor call the IRS request line and request tax transcripts... It is free and easy and proof of income... You can bring this with you at the interview just in case they are still being pickey... If the embassy said OK on the birth certificate, I guess yo are good to go... If they RFE you for it, at least you know what it is you need to get (the estratto ) which is relatively easy from the commune.

[katieO1727 0]

Hello all and thank you again for all of your help!

I have had the great fortune of having most of my questions answered by whoever is responsible for responding to email. I've asked about the W2 issue so we'll see. I have scanned copies of 3 years of W2s and 1040s from my joint sponsor, so if they accept copies (which would seem reasonable since it's a joint sponsor) I hope I'd be okay. Otherwise, I'm afraid requesting special forms from the IRS would be too time consuming (although, obviously I'll do it if necessary).

I'm also curious if the policy has changed for Naples because I'm not sure what the reference is to the 'initial package' that I've also seen referenced on other websites. My instructions from Naples were dated in July, so I'm wondering if they've changed their policy. I'm instructed to send in a sworn statement saying I have all documents in my possession, once I sign this paper and fax it to them, my appointment will be scheduled. Is this the same procedure you all have gone through, or is this something new?

Thanks again or the help!

[christeen 966]

Ok... So you are filing DCF (directly to the consular/embassy)? Since most everyone here filed from the USA so it is a two step process with the initial package being sent to a lockbox in the USA, then forwarded to the embassy where the rest is examined... Yours is a one step process to the embassy since you reside in Italy.... So just turn in all the paperwork as you are doing and you should be fine...

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

***** Moving from CR-1 to DCF (Direct Consular Filing) forum *****