i-485 - disagreeing documents, what would you do?

[wazzujoel 63]

We are filing my MIL from Cuba's I-485, and I noticed during the process that her birth city on her birth certificate does not much the birth city on her passport. Last year we filed a i-765 for her with the birth city being the one listed on her passport, and that application was approved. For the I-485 packet we were submitting both a copy of her birth certificate as well as her Cuban passport. 

 

My thought it to keep her I-485 consistent with prior documentation (i-765 and i-134a)  and list her birth city as the one on her passport. Technically though her birth city is the one listed on her birth certificate and this just wasn't caught previously when we applied for I-765 and I-134a because the birth certificate wasn't needed for those two applications. I think to fix this we would need to go through a massive hassle and get her passport corrected with the Cuban government and Cuban Embassy here in the US, which could take a very long time. My gut is telling me to just submit what we have and not worry about it because in the grand scheme of things, how important is a birth city???  everything else on these two documents match and is correct.   

 

thoughts? 

[wazzujoel 63]

To make things even more funny - We already filed for my partner (her daughter) and her son's I-485. We had asked her where she was both and she verbally told us a third city that was on neither her passport nor her birth certificate. The city she gave us is where her parents were born, and she mistakenly assumed that she was born there too. SMH. Don't ask me how someone of her age doesn't know what city she was born in. I don't think this should be an issue for her two kids applications because the information was true to the best of our knowledge..... but just wow. You'd think if you were getting a passport to come to the US that you would triple check everything 

[OldUser 6,614]

On 5/31/2024 at 3:46 PM, wazzujoel said:

My thought it to keep her I-485 consistent with prior documentation (i-765 and i-134a)  and list her birth city as the one on her passport. Technically though her birth city is the one listed on her birth certificate and this just wasn't caught previously when we applied for I-765 and I-134a because the birth certificate wasn't needed for those two applications.

That's a bad thought. You should always provide truthful answers. You should not play with changing information to fit whatever agenda. This can be percieved as misrepresentation causing even more issues down the immigration process. It may become a headache during I-485 or it may sail through and become even bigger issue when MIL applies for naturalization or has to do something else with her GC.

 

USCIS are not silly. They will treat birth certificate as the source of truth if you provide both passport and birth certificate.

[OldUser 6,614]

On 5/31/2024 at 3:46 PM, wazzujoel said:

thoughts? 

This is the way to go:

 

On 5/31/2024 at 3:46 PM, wazzujoel said:

I think to fix this we would need to go through a massive hassle and get her passport corrected with the Cuban government and Cuban Embassy here in the US, which could take a very long time.

[OldUser 6,614]

On 5/31/2024 at 3:46 PM, wazzujoel said:

My gut is telling me to just submit what we have and not worry about it because in the grand scheme of things, how important is a birth city???  everything else on these two documents match and is correct.   

I do not agree with this.

These pieces of information identify a person:

 

- Full name

- Date of birth

- City of birth

 

This information is used to conduct background check on somebody. If you put wrong information, you're pretty much misleading the US government by falsifying identity.

Edited June 5 by OldUser

[OldUser 6,614]

On 5/31/2024 at 3:54 PM, wazzujoel said:

To make things even more funny - We already filed for my partner (her daughter) and her son's I-485. We had asked her where she was both and she verbally told us a third city that was on neither her passport nor her birth certificate. The city she gave us is where her parents were born, and she mistakenly assumed that she was born there too. SMH. Don't ask me how someone of her age doesn't know what city she was born in.

That's aweful. Is she aware giving vague or incorrect information can have detremental legal consequences? Do not ever file anything without checking documentation. Immigration process is a very serious thing that should not be taken lightly. USCIS must be updated with valid information, especially if their cases are still pending.

 

On 5/31/2024 at 3:54 PM, wazzujoel said:

I don't think this should be an issue for her two kids applications because the information was true to the best of our knowledge..... but just wow. 

No, the information wasn't true. The city was wrong. And it wasn't best to your knowledge since you had a document that could be checked to verify the correct city. Unless thos gets corrected, it can become a huge issue if immigration learns about it.

[wazzujoel 63]

On 6/4/2024 at 8:41 PM, OldUser said:

That's aweful. Is she aware giving vague or incorrect information can have detremental legal consequences? Do not ever file anything without checking documentation. Immigration process is a very serious thing that should not be taken lightly. USCIS must be updated with valid information, especially if their cases are still pending.

 

No. She is not giving vague or incorrect information on purpose. She is a very sweet lady, but she is she is also uneducated and not the brightest. Prior to submitting the last documentations I didn't have her birth certificate because they were in Cuba and moving and didn't have it available. Since it wasn't required for the applications I was submitting on their behalf, I filled out all the information factually based on the information she sent me or verbally told me. She literally thought her birth city was a different city then what it said on either her BC or her passport. When I filed information, I went with the version on her passport. 

 

I appreciate your responses and you taking the time. Don't misunderstand me, I take great pride in filling these applications out accurately and getting them approved without issue. When I uncovered this issue where this 50 year old lady does not know her own birth city it blew my mind. And when she thought that her passport listing a different birth city was "no problem", it also blew my mind. To be perfectly honest with you, I also don't know what is the honest truth. It's very likely that both her BC and her passport are wrong, and what is correct is what she thought... She is from very very western Cuba in a place where they don't have restaurants, cell phones, hotels, or stores. They eat what they grow or slaughter, and children are often born at home. 

 

I certainly answered truthfully on my affidavit on the application where I said I filled out everything truthfully with information or data that was provided to me by the applicant.  

[wazzujoel 63]

On 6/4/2024 at 8:36 PM, OldUser said:

I do not agree with this.

These pieces of information identify a person:

 

- Full name

- Date of birth

- City of birth

 

This information is used to conduct background check on somebody. If you put wrong information, you're pretty much misleading the US government by falsifying identity.

 

Well the application was submitted with the most accurate information we can provide.  We submitted both her Cuban passport and her Cuban BC which list a different birth city, and are both different than the birth city she thinks she was born in. Nothing to do but sit back and see if it results in an RFE, and then try and understand what we could do to fix it. 

 

You should try and understand that this country (Cuba) does not have infrastructure and excellent record keeping as other countries like the USA. The processes and methods for getting errors in records fixed is almost impossible to navigate. So what should one do to get their birth city and their passport in a country that has limited communication infrastructure to resolve issues like this even if you were physically present? Should we just say that "her BC is the factual evidence of what city she was born in" and tell her to "forget the city she thinks she was born in, you are really born in the city listed on the BC" and then work on getting the passport changed in anticipation of an RFE?