IR-5 for Ghanaian parents: Need Petitioner's orig birth certificate at interview?

[bunky623 4]

Hello.  My wife (a U.S. citizen) is bringing her parents here from Ghana.  They finally have an Interview scheduled on Dec. 19th in Accra.  The attorney that has been helping us with the documents says that they will need to bring the daughter's (my wife's) original birth certificate to the interview.

 

Is that really true?  If so, we'll need to figure out how to mail it (or UPS) to Ghana prior to the interview.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Chancy 6,241]

4 hours ago, bunky623 said:

Is that really true?  If so, we'll need to figure out how to mail it (or UPS) to Ghana prior to the interview.

 

Original or certified copies of all supporting civil documents must be presented at the visa interview.  Petitioner's birth certificate is one of the primary civil documents for an IR5 visa case.

 

Was your wife born in Ghana?  If so, are parents not allowed to get a certified copy of their adult children's certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths?

 

[bunky623 4]

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

Was your wife born in Ghana?  If so, are parents not allowed to get a certified copy of their adult children's certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths?

 

Yes my wife was born in Ghana.  I asked the attorney the same question:  Can they get another certified copy there in Ghana?  But maybe that is more work than just mailing her copy from the U.S. to Ghana?

[Mike E 11,739]

Be certain about your method of sending the birth certificate abroad, especially to a developing country.
 

Generally the only credible way for a such a difficult to replace item isn’t I use DHL.  
 

If you use USPS, you can expect it be stranded in a port like Los Angeles for a. Oath or more.  And that’s the best case.  
 

Also, her parents should bring  photo copies (one for each parent) and the original to the interview but take care to not leave the original with the embassy. 

[nastra30 2,284]

11 hours ago, bunky623 said:

Hello.  My wife (a U.S. citizen) is bringing her parents here from Ghana.  They finally have an Interview scheduled on Dec. 19th in Accra.  The attorney that has been helping us with the documents says that they will need to bring the daughter's (my wife's) original birth certificate to the interview.

 

Is that really true?  If so, we'll need to figure out how to mail it (or UPS) to Ghana prior to the interview.

 

Thanks in advance!

When were the parents DQ'ed? Just trying to get a sense of how cases are moving at Accra.

Wife's parents can go get a certified copy from births and deaths in Accra. No issue at all. You can even get it on the same day depending who you to talk to there.

In general, for difficult US consulates like Accra, you want to go extra prepared so always go with the docs requested even if you think they might not need it.

[bunky623 4]

14 hours ago, Mike E said:

Generally the only credible way for a such a difficult to replace item isn’t I use DHL.  
 

Thanks.  I assume you meant to say "Generally the only credible way for a such a difficult to replace item isn’t USPS, I use DHL"? 

 

Just to be clear, you are recommending DHL?

[bunky623 4]

9 hours ago, nastra30 said:

When were the parents DQ'ed? Just trying to get a sense of how cases are moving at Accra.

Wife's parents can go get a certified copy from births and deaths in Accra. No issue at all. You can even get it on the same day depending who you to talk to there.

In general, for difficult US consulates like Accra, you want to go extra prepared so always go with the docs requested even if you think they might not need it.

Mother was DQ'ed the end of Oct. 2020.  Father was DQ'ed mid-Jan 2021.  I assume they pulled the father in with the mother so that they could interview together.

 

Attorney told us it would be cheaper to send the birth certificate from U.S. than to try to get another certified copy.  According to him "I understand there are shortage of paper to print new birth certificates, and obtaining a new one might cost a fortune."

 

So I guess we will look at the best way to ship it.

Edited November 23, 2022 by bunky623

[Mike E 11,739]

20 minutes ago, bunky623 said:

Thanks.  I assume you meant to say "Generally the only credible way for a such a difficult to replace item isn’t USPS, I use DHL"? 

 

Just to be clear, you are recommending DHL?

Yes. Sorry. Autocorrect is evil. 

[nastra30 2,284]

32 minutes ago, bunky623 said:

Mother was DQ'ed the end of Oct. 2020.  Father was DQ'ed mid-Jan 2021.  I assume they pulled the father in with the mother so that they could interview together. - Thanks

 

So I guess we will look at the best way to ship it. - That too works as already recommended. Go with DHL. Good luck.

 

[Asonaba 3]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:25 AM, bunky623 said:

Hello.  My wife (a U.S. citizen) is bringing her parents here from Ghana.  They finally have an Interview scheduled on Dec. 19th in Accra.  The attorney that has been helping us with the documents says that they will need to bring the daughter's (my wife's) original birth certificate to the interview.

 

Is that really true?  If so, we'll need to figure out how to mail it (or UPS) to Ghana prior to the interview.

 

Thanks in advance!

Yes my friend. I'm a parent of us citizen and I had my interview on the fourth of October. I arrived in the US about a month ago. You surely need to produce the original birth certificate to the consular officer. This is the only way to prove that you are the parents