Interview with USC Missing Birth Certificate

[AHPS2014 0]

Hello,

My spouse is a US citizen and we got married during November of 2013.

We were notified that our application was received at the end of January and I had my biometrics appointment on February 25th.

We have been waiting on the EAD so that I can apply for a SSN and this past weekend we got a letter scheduling us for our interview. A lot sooner then we expected which is great!

The problem is that my husband legally changed his name back in 2010 and didn't know he had to amend his birth certificate. When the court approved his name change they kept his original birth certificate. He went to request a new one earlier today with the necessary changes but was told it can take 4 weeks to receive the birth certificate in the mail. That would be April 17th!

They gave him a receipt that confirmed the order was placed but he doesn't currently have a copy of his old birth certificate. When we submitted all of our paper work he showed his US Passport with the current legal name on it and sent along a copy of a baptism certificate and an official court document detailing the name change.

We tried talking to USCIS but they were very unhelpful and told us to talk to an immigration lawyer.

Has anyone else had a similar situation or heard of anyone else whose US Spouse didn't have a birth certificate on hand?

Any help would be so appreciated!!! We are freaking out over here.

Thanks!

[Hypnos 6,576]

If you have alternative proof of your husband's US citizenship, such as his passport (as you indicate) then it's unlikely you'll need his birth certificate. You just need to show that he is a US citizen, which usually means showing his US-issued birth certificate / CRBA or a copy of his naturalisation certificate (if a naturalised US citizen) or a copy of the biographical page of his US passport. You're unlikely to be asked to provide this again if you've already provided a copy with the initial filing.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Hypnos

[AHPS2014 0]

Thanks for the advice!

We have been worried because the notice for the interview said to bring a birth certificate and other forms of ID that establish citizenship.

The interview is the 15th and the birth certificate might not come until April 17th. So there is a lot of stress worrying that it might not come soon enough.

I just wanted to know if our case would get denied because of something like this. We were't able to afford an immigration lawyer and we have done everything ourselves. Not being able to get the birth certificate in time is a huge stress on us when we have worked so hard to do everything else as right as possible.

[hmh33 117]

There's no way this will cause a denial. I agree with Hypnos that it's extremely likely the passport will be sufficient, but in the event that it's not they'll give you an RFE and you'll bring the birth certificate in to the office a few days later when it arrives.

[serena28 2]

Please keep me posted too! I am in the same situation as you are except that I am simply missing my spouse (USC) birth certificate from Saudi Arabia and I have NO WAY of getting it from there. I'm still trying to figure out how we can request a copy ..

Do let me know what happens at your interview and if they even bother looking at the birth certificate.