Request for Initial Evidence (I-485) and birth certificate

[lucyschmoocy 1]

I received a Request for Initial Evidence (I-485), saying that I need to "Submit a copy of the applicant's foreign birth certificate issued by the appropriate civil authority" etc.

I submitted a photocopy of my certified copy of a registration, which is listed as an acceptable document on the Visa Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country page on travel.state.gov, with my application. (the document is in English)

 

Does this likely mean that they lost the photocopy in the shuffle? Could it mean a different scenario than that? If it was an unacceptable document for some reason, would they have sent me a letter saying something to the effect of "You have submitted secondary evidence and/or a birth affidavit as proof of your birth record. However, the evidence you have submitted is insufficient."?  I don't want to resend them a copy of the birth certificate I have if it isn't what they want.

 

I have ordered the other option of acceptable form of birth certificate from my country (Canada), but it'll take close to a month to get to me and they don't even guarantee that they'll send it. I can wait for it to (hopefully) come and send a copy of both in, but since my application is on hold until they receive this evidence I'd rather not wait if I don't have to.

 

Any light anyone can shed on this would be greatly appreciated! I've looked in the forums but I haven't come across this (yet), and with something as important as my AOS I could use some hand-holding/assurance. Thanks!!!!

[Echel0n 27]

Just call them and ask? Nobody knows but them...

[lucyschmoocy 1]

I will try and call them in the morning but from what I've read from other's experiences, they are very nice but not able to help much. I've found this forum to be extremely useful, so I thought maybe there was someone on here who was in the same situation. 

[NikLR 13,227]

Personally I would get a copy of the birth certificate and expedite it. 

[lucyschmoocy 1]

Thanks for your input! For the short form and certified copy, Service Ontario offers a 5 day expedited service but for the birth certificate with parental information they don't offer any expedited service or any guarantees at all. If I could get this third type of birth certificate with some sort of assurance I wouldn't be on here asking quite frankly--I would just get it and send it off .  I guess I can wait for a month and see what happens, and if nothing comes from Service Ontario I can resend the certified copy I have. 

[NikLR 13,227]

Probably best idea.  BC sent me my long form birth certificate in 4 days.  Ontario is always longer for everything.  Sorry! That does suck. 

[lucyschmoocy 1]

Thanks! Hopefully it will come faster than I think

 

I also just realized there's a mistake on my certified copy--I'm of course kicking myself so hard for not noticing this back in July when I first got it. So now I'm trying to figure out what proof I need to show them that it's merely a clerical mistake. I'm assuming having Service Ontario change it on their end will take more than the 80 days I have to get back to USCIS...but I'll give that a shot too. Sigh. 

[MoroccanInTexas 24]

Quote

 

Same thing here, I got RFE from USCIS asking for foreign birth certificate, even though it was already included in initial package.

I am just going ahead and sending an original as I had three at hand

[lucyschmoocy 1]

Hopefully for both of us it just means that they misplaced the copy we included with our application!

 

That's interesting that you have three copies. Where I'm from, there's only one official copy--once you order a new one, the others are void. Regardless, I'm sure it'll suit their purposes!

[MoroccanInTexas 24]

 

On 10/6/2018 at 11:17 AM, lucyschmoocy said:

Hopefully for both of us it just means that they misplaced the copy we included with our application!

 

That's interesting that you have three copies. Where I'm from, there's only one official copy--once you order a new one, the others are void. Regardless, I'm sure it'll suit their purposes!

In Morocco they go by the French system of a literal Family Book. Where the Book is held by the family and copy is at the county. So you can get an original document that is a copy of the extract if the birth record for like 25c. Translation from French/Arabic to English costs around $10

Edited October 7, 2018 by MoroccanInTexas
copy issues

[lucyschmoocy 1]

That's so interesting--I'd never heard of a Family Book before! I really like the idea of that. Getting copies sounds pretty convenient too, especially given they can translate it for you. 

I've been looking into what it's going to take to get my birth certificate corrected, and one thing is you have to send them back all the copies you have before they'll send you the new one. That makes me kind of uncomfortable and vulnerable actually, but I'll do whatever I have to do to get the accurate one. 

[MoroccanInTexas 24]

Good luck

[Mrs Thor 16]

Hello, I was just wondering if this issue has been resolved and approved already? 

 

Searching a lot of topics in VJ about this as I am going through the same as of the moment. Thank you!

[lucyschmoocy 1]

Hi!

 

It did get resolved, but it ended up being a bit complicated. I consulted a lawyer, who told me that in my case the RFE was their way of telling me something was wrong, and it was my responsibility to figure out what they were unhappy about. Since there was an error on my birth certificate and that seemed to be the likely issue, I had to go about getting the error fixed, which was the complicated part. I managed to get it all done and sent in the corrected birth certificate before the deadline I was given, but if I couldn't get it in time I was told to write them to request an extension.

 

Since then, it seems like my application is back on track and I haven't received any further RFEs. Does that help clarify what might be going on with your application? I'm happy to fill in more details if you have more questions!

[Tini1234t 0]

On 9/5/2019 at 4:24 PM, lucyschmoocy said:

Hi!

 

It did get resolved, but it ended up being a bit complicated. I consulted a lawyer, who told me that in my case the RFE was their way of telling me something was wrong, and it was my responsibility to figure out what they were unhappy about. Since there was an error on my birth certificate and that seemed to be the likely issue, I had to go about getting the error fixed, which was the complicated part. I managed to get it all done and sent in the corrected birth certificate before the deadline I was given, but if I couldn't get it in time I was told to write them to request an extension.

 

Since then, it seems like my application is back on track and I haven't received any further RFEs. Does that help clarify what might be going on with your application? I'm happy to fill in more details if you have more questions!

Can I use certified translation birth certificate  from my country that I use for the US Embassy k1 visa?