long version of birth certificates

[suzique3 0]

I am not sure if this information is posted anywhere but I was wondering on one of the forms that you have to fill out for the packet 3 to submit it had said to list all your children even if they are not accompanying you. It then stated below in small print that I would require birth certificates of all the children listed. I had asked my lawyer if I was required to obtain the long version for two of my children who are not moving with me, (they are in college in other cities). My lawyer had not heard of anyone needing these before, but with the way my visa journey has gone thus far I am making sure I have more information then less. I figured if anyone would have this information it would be someone on this site.

Hopefully someone out there has this information, I am a basket case waiting for our interview and want to make sure that I have everything.

[pushbrk 12,107]

I am not sure if this information is posted anywhere but I was wondering on one of the forms that you have to fill out for the packet 3 to submit it had said to list all your children even if they are not accompanying you. It then stated below in small print that I would require birth certificates of all the children listed. I had asked my lawyer if I was required to obtain the long version for two of my children who are not moving with me, (they are in college in other cities). My lawyer had not heard of anyone needing these before, but with the way my visa journey has gone thus far I am making sure I have more information then less. I figured if anyone would have this information it would be someone on this site.

Hopefully someone out there has this information, I am a basket case waiting for our interview and want to make sure that I have everything.

All birth certificates supplied should be the long form but they are only needed from visa applicants. Since your adults are not applying for visas, they will not be needed until or unless they do.

[Wei&Shu(Joe) 2]

I am not sure if this information is posted anywhere but I was wondering on one of the forms that you have to fill out for the packet 3 to submit it had said to list all your children even if they are not accompanying you. It then stated below in small print that I would require birth certificates of all the children listed. I had asked my lawyer if I was required to obtain the long version for two of my children who are not moving with me, (they are in college in other cities). My lawyer had not heard of anyone needing these before, but with the way my visa journey has gone thus far I am making sure I have more information then less. I figured if anyone would have this information it would be someone on this site.

Hopefully someone out there has this information, I am a basket case waiting for our interview and want to make sure that I have everything.

What has come to be known as the "long form" or "long version" is just the information that states collect on births. What has come to be known as the "short form" is a political fabrication and what has always been known previously as a "birth certificate." That form certifies that the state has indeed collected the information and registered you at the time of your birth. If they put more information on the form, it would still be a paper that certifies that your birth was registered in that time and place to those parents. The official certificate of birth (in some states labeled "certificate of live birth" since they also register stillbirths) is all that you ever need for any immigration purpose. If your name is Obama, the rules could be different.

Other countries have a variety of ways of obtaining/presenting birth certificates. It is highly likely that if you ask in a country other than the US about long forms and short forms they won't know what you are talking about as the "cult of the long form" is a uniquely American phenomenon.

[Wei&Shu(Joe) 2]

All birth certificates supplied should be the long form but they are only needed from visa applicants. Since your adults are not applying for visas, they will not be needed until or unless they do.

I'm surprised you would say that pushbrk as the certificate that our Chinese spouses obtain, while "long" because of the attached translation and government certification (the equivalent of what we would call an Apostille) contains only the information about our spouses that is commonly displayed on what is now called the "short form" in the language of the cult of the long form.

[pushbrk 12,107]

I'm surprised you would say that pushbrk as the certificate that our Chinese spouses obtain, while "long" because of the attached translation and government certification (the equivalent of what we would call an Apostille) contains only the information about our spouses that is commonly displayed on what is now called the "short form" in the language of the cult of the long form.

You are inadequately informed. Canada and UK, for example have "short"er forms of birth certificates and the OP is from Canada. Their long form is equivalent to the US "standard" birth certificate. The short one doesn't carry the parents' names.

Some questions require country specific answers. This was one of them.

[nickm 1]

Is the UK "Short form" birth certificate acceptable? My birth certificate does not include my parents names. Is that still accepted?

I cannot find any other type of birth certificate in the UK so i am assuming it will be fine, but just to be safe i thought i would ask if anyone has encountered issues with the UK birth certificate format.

[pushbrk 12,107]

Is the UK "Short form" birth certificate acceptable? My birth certificate does not include my parents names. Is that still accepted?

I cannot find any other type of birth certificate in the UK so i am assuming it will be fine, but just to be safe i thought i would ask if anyone has encountered issues with the UK birth certificate format.

No, it will not be acceptable. You'll need the long form with parent information.

[Audy_Rob 26]

What I have read from many previous postings is thatt a Birth Certificate was umacceptable when it does not list the Parents' names. So I think whether long, short or whatever,m if it does contain the names of the parents it should be acceptable. Of course there are some circumstances where the name of the father does not appear on the birth certificate. That usually comes up when the child is going to also be coming to the USA.

[HeatDeath 430]

You are inadequately informed. Canada and UK, for example have "short"er forms of birth certificates and the OP is from Canada. Their long form is equivalent to the US "standard" birth certificate. The short one doesn't carry the parents' names.

Some questions require country specific answers. This was one of them.

Pushbrk's description of the options for Canadian birth certificates is exactly correct. The Vancouver consulate's Packet 3 actually uses the term "short-form birth certificate" and says that "short-form or wallet sized birth certificates are not acceptable for visa purposes." The Province of Manitoba form that I used to order my birth certificate worded the format option as "Large" or "Small", but they have since revised the form, and the new form (two pages instead of one) uses the extra space to provide the more verbose but clearer options of "Birth certificate with parents name's" and "Birth certificate without parent's names."

My whole life, the only birth certificate I had ever had was a wallet-sized laminated card printed in the late 70's. I must've taken more than a dozen trips to the US with it. I had never even heard of "long-form" birth certificates before beginning this process. The Manitoba long-form birth certificate is significantly larger than wallet sized, 6 by 4 inches or thereabouts, printed on a plastic film with numerous security features, including transparent regions. It's a pretty cool document

Edited February 28, 2010 by HeatDeath

[nickm 1]

here in the uk, i have a what i guess is a "short form" birth certificate, however it is a piece of paper about 3 x 5 inches but does not include parents names.. I found out where to order the "long form" from. Anyone who needs to find out where to get a long form birth certificate can find it here http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/.

And this PDF file show what a UK "long form" birth certificate looks like. Up until this week i had never even heard of one.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/gr...t/dg_176217.pdf

Time to order a new birth certificate for me, another cost in the visa journey :-)

Edited February 28, 2010 by nickm

[HeatDeath 430]

Since your adults are not applying for visas, they will not be needed until or unless they do.

The DS-156K says quite unambiguously that you need birth certificates for all unmarried children under the age of 21, whether they are coming with you or not. Combined with what the Packet 3 says about short vs. long form, you definitely need long form birth certificates for any such children. If your college-age children are over 21, you don't need their long form birth certificates, otherwise you do, even if they aren't coming with you.

Edited February 28, 2010 by HeatDeath

[pushbrk 12,107]

The DS-156K says quite unambiguously that you need birth certificates for all unmarried children under the age of 21, whether they are coming with you or not. Combined with what the Packet 3 says about short vs. long form, you definitely need long form birth certificates for any such children. If your college-age children are over 21, you don't need their long form birth certificates, otherwise you do, even if they aren't coming with you.

I know what it says and you won't find the words "whether they are coming with you or not". Birth certificates are not required from people not applying for visas. That's just the way it is, regardless of what you read in some instruction. You'll read instructions asking for notarized affidavits of support too. They are outdated instructions. The DS 156k is simply incomplete in its instruction about birth certificates.

[HeatDeath 430]

I know what it says and you won't find the words "whether they are coming with you or not". Birth certificates are not required from people not applying for visas. That's just the way it is, regardless of what you read in some instruction. You'll read instructions asking for notarized affidavits of support too. They are outdated instructions. The DS 156k is simply incomplete in its instruction about birth certificates.

I hate to disagree with you, since you're virtually always right, but I'm looking at a DS-156K right now. Question 5 asks you to list "all unmarried children under 21 years of age", and the instructions immediately beneath it ask for "Birth Certificates of all children listed in Number 5". If other instructions on the form were obviously outdated in any way I might be inclined to disregard those "all's", but there is no reference on this form to notarization of anything. All it asks for is "Evidence of financial support." Perhaps the DS-230 or the DS-156 is outdated and requires some nontrivial reinterpretation, but the DS-156K, by itself, clearly and unambiguously asks for the birth certificates of all unmarried children under the age of 21, and provides no textual reason to suspect that any of these instructions are outdated or require nontrivial reinterpretation.

[pushbrk 12,107]

I hate to disagree with you, since you're virtually always right, but I'm looking at a DS-156K right now. Question 5 asks you to list "all unmarried children under 21 years of age", and the instructions immediately beneath it ask for "Birth Certificates of all children listed in Number 5". If other instructions on the form were obviously outdated in any way I might be inclined to disregard those "all's", but there is no reference on this form to notarization of anything. All it asks for is "Evidence of financial support." Perhaps the DS-230 or the DS-156 is outdated and requires some nontrivial reinterpretation, but the DS-156K, by itself, clearly and unambiguously asks for the birth certificates of all unmarried children under the age of 21, and provides no textual reason to suspect that any of these instructions are outdated or require nontrivial reinterpretation.

Yes, I know what it says. The instructions are incomplete, making it natural to misinterpret them as you did. You could even argue your interpretation is literal and therefore correct. I can sympathize with that thinking. Nevertheless, birth certificates are only required from visa applicants.

[Carlawarla 1]

I obtained a K-1 visa and was interviewed in Vancouver. My son, at the time was 18. He was listed, as was required on all papers that requested he be included by name as he was under 21. At no time during the process did I have to include, nor did I, a copy of his BC. At the Consulate stage, I was asked if he was going to accompany me, I stated, no, and something was written on the form by the Consulate staff. They didn't ask me, nor was I required to produce a BC. This is just my experience.