Birth place (city) on passport different from birth certificate

[mj_1109 0]

We are about to file a standalone I-130. The birth place (city) on my passport is different from my birth certificate. My birth certificate is the correct one. The encoder put my city of residence when I first got my passport and just never had it corrected. Will this cause an issue and do I need to correct my passport first?

 

Correcting my passport will be really complicated as I got married in the US, have to register it with Philippine Consulate in LA, get a PH-issued marriage certificate (takes a year), and currently living in the UK away from my husband.

 

I didn’t have issues getting other visas (UK Skilled Worker, US B1/B2, other tourist visas) but worried this might affect my CR-1 application because it is an immigrant visa.

 

Any advice appreciated!

[D-R-J 192]

They are going to look at both those documents. I think I would start fixing now.

[Chancy 6,241]

16 hours ago, Michaella Jovan said:

We are about to file a standalone I-130.

 

Will your husband be moving to the UK with you?  And are planning to file directly with the consulate?  I ask because you posted in the DCF sub-forum.

 

As for your passport, it's not required at the I-130 stage.  Do you intend to use your married name in the US soon after you move?  If so, you will need to get a new Philippine passport anyway, so might as well correct your place of birth when you renew it.

 

[mj_1109 0]

6 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Will your husband be moving to the UK with you?  And are planning to file directly with the consulate?  I ask because you posted in the DCF sub-forum.

 

As for your passport, it's not required at the I-130 stage.  Do you intend to use your married name in the US soon after you move?  If so, you will need to get a new Philippine passport anyway, so might as well correct your place of birth when you renew it.

 

My husband stays in the US and I’m staying in the UK during this process.

 

I’m intending to use my married name when I move but I’ve seen other people say they were able to kept their maiden name in their passports.

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from DCF forum to IR1/CR1 Process & Procedures -- OP will go through normal processing for a spouse visa, not through DCF ***

 

7 hours ago, Michaella Jovan said:

I’m intending to use my married name when I move but I’ve seen other people say they were able to kept their maiden name in their passports.

 

Yes, you may keep your maiden name in your passport, but if you do, that will be your legal name in the US immediately after you move.  The consulate will print your visa with whatever name is on the passport you submit at your visa interview.  The name on your spouse visa will be the name on your green card and SSN card in the US, which means it will be the name on your US state ID/driver's license and possibly all your other IDs issued in the US.  If you want to use your married name as your legal name in the US, while retaining your maiden name in your passport, you will need to pay $540 to replace your green card after you move to the US.

 

Check the thread below for further discussion on changing your name as a Filipina spouse visa applicant --

 

[OldUser 6,561]

9 hours ago, Michaella Jovan said:

I’m intending to use my married name when I move but I’ve seen other people say they were able to kept their maiden name in their passports.

Agreeing with @Chancy here. It's easier to change name in UK passport now and have consistent name across all documents when establishing life in the US.

 

Otherwise, you'll have mismatch in multiple places. It'll take time and money to fix it. Not saying it's impossible, people do it all the time. I just find it a bit messy, and easily avoidable in your case.

 

Alternatively, can live with maiden name until you naturalize in the US, change your name in N-400 and then, update UK passport.

 

In my opinion only, it's easier to navigate through entire immigration process with one name.

[OldUser 6,561]

Sorry @Michaella Jovan , I thought you had a British passport. With Philippinnes it may be more difficult to change name in passport, I guess you have to evaluate level of effort. Ideally, names should match everywhere for easy travel and immigration

Edited November 22, 2023 by OldUser

[top_secret 2,387]

On 11/21/2023 at 12:05 AM, Michaella Jovan said:

Correcting my passport will be really complicated as I got married in the US, have to register it with Philippine Consulate in LA, get a PH-issued marriage certificate (takes a year), and currently living in the UK away from my husband.

 

It's not quite that complicated to file the ROM or change your Philippine passport.  It can all be done mail, and ordinary mail between UK and the US is reasonably fast and reliable.  They generally tell you it takes 6 months to a year to file a ROM and have it available from PSA but 3 months is probably more realistic in practice.  Ours took less than 2 months.  If you DO want to use your married name, changing your Philippine passport now will be faster, easier and cheaper even after you factor in the additional step of filing the ROM.

 

My suspicion is that the mistake of the birth place on your passport would not cause a major problem since your birth certificate would be the definitive legal document that establishes your birth place and I don't see that the mistake on your passport invalidates it as a Philippine passport.  But if it were me, I would still start fixing both that and the name now since if you are just now filing the I-130 there is plenty of time and it would save trouble later on.

[pushbrk 12,827]

If you want to use a married name, do the ROM and get a new Philippines Passport with the married name.  The I-130 does ask for your passport number etc. but it's fine to change it when asked again at NVC stage.

[mj_1109 0]

5 hours ago, top_secret said:

They generally tell you it takes 6 months to a year to file a ROM and have it available from PSA but 3 months is probably more realistic in practice.  Ours took less than 2 months.  If you DO want to use your married name, changing your Philippine passport now will be faster, easier and cheaper even after you factor in the additional step of filing the ROM.

Do they notify you when your PSA marriage certificate is available?

 

Can we still submit our I-130 with my current passport with incorrect birth place, or should I wait until I get PSA and new passport before filing?

[Chancy 6,241]

21 minutes ago, Michaella Jovan said:

Can we still submit our I-130 with my current passport with incorrect birth place, or should I wait until I get PSA and new passport before filing?

 

Do not wait.  File as soon as you have all the required and supporting documents.  On the I-130, enter the passport number you have now.  It's ok to show up at your visa interview (in around a year or so) with a different passport from the one listed on the I-130.