Questions on docs for CR-1 (I-130) and expiration

[JordanCosta 0]

2 hours ago, Troy B said:

 

Since you seem to have failed to "google",  the link is Reciprocity for VietNam   Your questions about the divorce and birth certificate are covered there.  Telling you exactly what you need from there to satisfy the requirements.   For the USCIS portion of the process note they only allow English,  so you will need to get any records for that translated.  And the NVC portion only English and the local language are supported,  so if that is not VietNam,  those too would need to be translated to English.

Thanks Troy... I did actually read that previously, but some parts appeared incorrect... For example, under the police certificate info, it says you have to request that from Hanoi in person only, if you're a Vietnamese non-resident, and nobody can go on your behalf.  But my wife already successfully obtained that same document from the HCMC office, not Hanoi office, and by asking her father to go on her behalf.  It was subsequently authenticated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and stamped.  I suspect the State Dept.'s information on that page is a little outdated or incomplete.

 

However, there is one piece that I'm concerned/confused about on that page you sent.  It concerns the birth certificate:

"If Vietnamese citizens outside of Vietnam would like a copy of their birth certificates, they can authorize a family member or friend to obtain it for them from the local authorities.  Vietnamese birth certificates purportedly obtained overseas should be referred to Mission Vietnam’s Fraud Prevention Unit for verification.  Please note that this verification process can take several weeks."

 

It's not clear whether they are saying that the birth certificate obtained by a family member, from local authorities, would also need to go to the Fraud Prevention Unit for verification?  Or whether that is separate from the certificate "purportedly obtained overseas"?   If she gets the certificate from authorities, then has it authenticated & stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, maybe that's fine?  (I wrote an email to the Fraud Prevention Unit in Vietnam asking this question, but I don't know if they will reply anytime soon.)

 

I've done plenty of Googling and reading on these topics, and will continue to do so... Just trying to get this right!  VJ seems like the best place to do that.  Thanks again.

 

 

 

[JordanCosta 0]

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

You are using selective reading, and convenient speculation.  Please follow my advice and do your homework.  One police report is time sensitive.  It's the one for the country in which the visa applicant currently lives.

Thanks for the clarification sir... I get it now.  And I am trying to do my homework!  🙂  Before posting this thread I searched VJ, Google, USCIS and elsewhere to try and find these answers.  I'm grateful to this community for helping each other with this process, and I'm not trying to waste anyone's time.

 

One more nuance that came up just now... We were looking over a certified copy of her birth certificate which we have here already.  It is also stamped by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Unfortunately, it was then prepared for use in Panama for our marriage, but was never required.  On the back of the document is stapled an authentication certificate from the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign affairs, along with stamps which extend their ink over onto the back of the document itself.  The birth certificate itself is stapled to its Spanish translation pages as well.

 

I'm guessing it wouldn't work to just remove the extra Panamanian attachments, and use this copy for our CR-1 process?  Something like holes where staples were removed, or half of a stamp from another country, would likely render the document unusable, no?

[Troy B 224]

8 minutes ago, JordanCosta said:

Thanks for the clarification sir... I get it now.  And I am trying to do my homework!  🙂  Before posting this thread I searched VJ, Google, USCIS and elsewhere to try and find these answers.  I'm grateful to this community for helping each other with this process, and I'm not trying to waste anyone's time.

 

One more nuance that came up just now... We were looking over a certified copy of her birth certificate which we have here already.  It is also stamped by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Unfortunately, it was then prepared for use in Panama for our marriage, but was never required.  On the back of the document is stapled an authentication certificate from the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign affairs, along with stamps which extend their ink over onto the back of the document itself.  The birth certificate itself is stapled to its Spanish translation pages as well.

 

I'm guessing it wouldn't work to just remove the extra Panamanian attachments, and use this copy for our CR-1 process?  Something like holes where staples were removed, or half of a stamp from another country, would likely render the document unusable, no?

I would advise against altering documents.  Just get a 2nd translation done on it.

[pushbrk 13,027]

1 hour ago, Troy B said:

I would advise against altering documents.  Just get a 2nd translation done on it.

Specifically, "Obtain the exact document described on the reciprocity page I advised to search."