short form birth certificate

[danneriam 0]

While I have seen some posts addressing the issue of birth certificates, I have not really seen a clear answer to the questions I have.  Before long, I will be submitting the i-129F package.  As of now, I am including both a copy (in color) of the front and back of my birth certificate, and a copy of all pages of my passport, to be on the  safe side.  The only birth certificate I have is short, one side only, containing my and my parents' names, my county and city of birth, my date of birth.  It was issued by the Health Department of the state where I was born, and the date on it indicates it was issued when I was 12 years old.  It certifies that it is a correct copy of a birth certificate as filed in the Vital Statistics Office.  This is the only birth certificate I've ever had or known of.

I have seen posts which swear I have nothing to worry about because I am a U.S. citizen, but I've also read a lot about the importance of being able to produce a long form birth certificate or an 'original' birth certificate.

Can I move forward confidently with this birth certificate?  Or do I need to spend what would no doubt be a lot of time and energy trying to find an 'original' birth certificate which could well end of being a colossal waste of time?  And assuming I do pass muster with USCIS, do I need to concern myself with what happens when the i129F package goes to the consulate (in Manila)?  Can they make an issue of my birth certificate?  If so, I need to start the process of trying to find an 'original.'

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Hey there! I am not 100% sure if your "short form" birth certificate is sufficient. I'm generally very cautious with the documents that we choose to submit in any of our paperwork packages every step of the way and we lean towards being as prudent as possible. Having said that, if you can obtain/order a certified copy of your birth certificate which comes with your birth state's health department's seal, might as well just do it and then send in a photocopy of that and not have to worry if you'd end up with a RFE. The usual issue with birth certificate, however, generally happens with the foreign beneficiary's birth certificate because some may not be in the "long form" or acceptable format for US immigration purpose. 

[AnaidAaron 42]

Hi, I looked into this myself because we made the mistake of sending the short form one. It depends on your country's consulate requirements, some are more strict than others. On my country's consulate website it especifically said they require the long form one for the interview, whereas for the processing at USCIS, requirements are equal for every country. So I would say a copy of all pages of your passoport will suffice, If you wanna be extra sure, I'd also add copy of your passport card (if you have it) and the short form birth certificate, just so they can make sure you're a USC. For the interview though, look into the requirements of your beneficiary's country, because you might need the long form one. 

[danneriam 0]

Thanks for your responses......I'm just wondering how they handle it if no long form exists......

[Naes 12,205]

On 1/18/2018 at 8:04 AM, danneriam said:

While I have seen some posts addressing the issue of birth certificates, I have not really seen a clear answer to the questions I have.  Before long, I will be submitting the i-129F package.  As of now, I am including both a copy (in color) of the front and back of my birth certificate, and a copy of all pages of my passport, to be on the  safe side.  The only birth certificate I have is short, one side only, containing my and my parents' names, my county and city of birth, my date of birth.  It was issued by the Health Department of the state where I was born, and the date on it indicates it was issued when I was 12 years old.  It certifies that it is a correct copy of a birth certificate as filed in the Vital Statistics Office.  This is the only birth certificate I've ever had or known of.

I have seen posts which swear I have nothing to worry about because I am a U.S. citizen, but I've also read a lot about the importance of being able to produce a long form birth certificate or an 'original' birth certificate.

Can I move forward confidently with this birth certificate?  Or do I need to spend what would no doubt be a lot of time and energy trying to find an 'original' birth certificate which could well end of being a colossal waste of time?  And assuming I do pass muster with USCIS, do I need to concern myself with what happens when the i129F package goes to the consulate (in Manila)?  Can they make an issue of my birth certificate?  If so, I need to start the process of trying to find an 'original.'

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

We did the exact same thing short form of birth certificate and all pages of the passport. In our case we had the long form but the mother's name was written wrong so we didn't want to risk it.

 

I am a September filer so if you like follow my timeline so you can see if there's an rfe happening about that.

 

good luck!