RFE Chinese Birth Certificate question (split topic)

[FayeY 0]

5 minutes ago, FayeY said:

Was your problem solved? Have you got the government written statement indicating the reason why the record does not exist? I received a letter from USCIS requiring a letter of such. Could you please share your experience? Where did you get the letter from the local government and what was on the letter? What documents did you use to obtain the letter? Thank you in advance.

 

On 5/15/2017 at 2:32 PM, klee030 said:

I filed for AOS based on marriage. For birth certificate I got the Chinese Notarial Certificate (the white booklet) issued by Gong Zheng Chu. The Notarial Certificate contains my birth information in Chinese and then in English on the following pages. I got an RFE stating that I need to submit an English translation of the foreign language birth certificate.

 

The Notarial Certificate I submitted has all the necessary English translation, and is deemed the standard for all Chinese applicants. What's wrong? 

 

Does this Notarial Certificate count as Birth Certificate? I was born before 1996 in China, so no official birth certificate was available back then. However online, it is said that the Notarial Cert IS the Birth Cert. Is that correct?

 

I've consulted my lawyer. She said I will need to have someone to translate and notarize and state that the person understands both Chinese and English. Do I need to repeat exactly what the translation says on my Notarial Cert, and have another person sign and notarize and state that s/he understands both languages? That just sound ridiculous.

 

I also went to talk to an immigration officer through infopass. He said his guess is that they don't understand what file it is, since there are two pages in Chinese and not a single English words. He said I should include a cover letter saying that my birth cert is not available, and what the notarial cert is. Also on the notarial cert's Chinese page, put a sticky note saying that the translation of this page is on the next page. USCIS sates that if birth cert is not available, you will need government titled letter stating why it is not available. Do I need to do that? How can I do that?

 

Anyone faced with similar situations? Almost all threads online says that the Notarial Cert form Gong Zheng CHu is exactly what is needed. I got RFE anyways... And no one knows for sure what is going on. 

 

Was your problem solved? Have you got the government written statement indicating the reason why the record does not exist? I received a letter from USCIS requiring a letter of such. Could you please share your experience? Where did you get the letter from the local government and what was on the letter? What documents did you use to obtain the letter? Thank you in advance.

[millefleur 5,047]

**Hijack post of old thread split into new topic. Please do not post a new question on old threads. Keep all related questions to your case to this thread.**

 

VJ Moderation

[Pitaya 2,577]

9 hours ago, FayeY said:

 

Was your problem solved? Have you got the government written statement indicating the reason why the record does not exist? I received a letter from USCIS requiring a letter of such. Could you please share your experience? Where did you get the letter from the local government and what was on the letter? What documents did you use to obtain the letter? Thank you in advance.

Interesting that you are having issues with Notarial Certificates (White Books) accepted by USCIS? That seems rather odd. Is the notary office that produced the notarial certificates from your beneficiaries home town. My wife  and stepson successfully used White Books for their birth certificates, divorce decree, high school transcripts for their successful visa applications at the US consulate in Guangzhou, and again at the USCIS -CSC during the successful AOS process. Perhaps you got an adjudication official that wasn't familiar with the Chinese-style documents? The letter explanation letter sounds like a good idea. A copy of the K1 Visa instructions (English) from the GUZ consulate may be helpful.

http://ustraveldocs.com/cn/K Visa Instructions-English DEC2018.pdf

 Having not gotten much further after the InfoPass official, and exhausting all else....perhaps seek the assistance of the USCIS Ombudsmen to help sort through this confusion?

https://www.dhs.gov/contact-cisomb

 

 It helps everyone that uses the forum. Additionally, it helps forum members quickly understand where you are in the process.

 

Good luck.