Copies of Official Documents

[reinsterling 1]

Hi, I'm working on putting together the I-130 packet to petition for my wife's CR-1 Visa. I just have a question about what kind of copies of official documents are acceptable:

• I have a photo copy of my American birth certificate, but was wondering if it needs to be a certified copy that I have to get from the County Clerk's office in the US.
• Also, I have my official copy of our California Marriage Certicate, but was wondering if I can submit a color photocopy of it instead of the official one. I'd rather not have to send in my only official copy of it in case the packet gets lost in the mail or something.

Oh, and one more question unrelated to copies of documents. Should I submit the I-864 Affidavite of Support forms with the I-130, or should I wait and send them at a later time?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Hollyday 122]

Please read the guide for CR-1/IR-1. You submit copies of documents with the petition (don't need to be certified). Originals of documents should be provided to NVC after the petition is approved by USCIS.

[Ando. 0]

Please read the guide for CR-1/IR-1. You submit copies of documents with the petition (don't need to be certified). Originals of documents should be provided to NVC after the petition is approved by USCIS.

In fairness, the guide does not say if the copies need to be certified or not for the I-130 package. I am in this thread after doing a forum search to find out the same information, so perhaps the guide should specify.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

In fairness, the guide does not say if the copies need to be certified or not for the I-130 package. I am in this thread after doing a forum search to find out the same information, so perhaps the guide should specify.

If you read the whole guide, you'll see where it says they can be photocopies. Whoever has editing rights on it needs to make that more clear, and update the page to reflect the new application forms.

[Ando. 0]

If you read the whole guide, you'll see where it says they can be photocopies. Whoever has editing rights on it needs to make that more clear, and update the page to reflect the new application forms.

I'm not sure about other countries, but photocopies can be certified here in Australia so it's still ambiguous.

[Hollyday 122]

In fairness, the guide does not say if the copies need to be certified or not for the I-130 package. I am in this thread after doing a forum search to find out the same information, so perhaps the guide should specify.

Ok, here goes. This is what i find in this forum with search for words "I-130" "certified" and "copies" in IR-1/CR-1 related forums since 1 Jan 2012: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I could go on. Must have a different search or something.

[Ando. 0]

Ok, here goes. This is what i find in this forum with search for words "I-130" "certified" and "copies" in IR-1/CR-1 related forums since 1 Jan 2012: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I could go on. Must have a different search or something.

You make the assumption that I didn't to that search. In fact I did that exact search and found the information I was after. I posted in here because this is the most recent thread on the topic and the fact still remains that to find this information you need to do a search in the first place, as backed up by your comment. If you read my previous comments again, you'll notice that I never said I didn't find the information, but that the information should be in the guide in the first place.

I like this website, I find it incredibly helpful. I have made a suggestion to improve it in a tiny way by adding a small yet important piece of information to one of the guides. It saddens me that some of the people that make up this great community can be so quick to shut down people asking for help. The bane of online communities are those who simply reply "do a search".

[NikLR 13,227]

I'm not sure about other countries, but photocopies can be certified here in Australia so it's still ambiguous.

A certified copy for this process is a copy that is certified to be an exact copy of the original by the issuer. It can only be provided by the issuer of the document.