Civil Documents for NVC Processing

[syedmeesam 0]

The state department says that they need the "original" or "certified" copies of the following:

Birth Certificate

Marriage Certificate

Photocopy of Valid Passport Biographic Data Page

Police Certificate(s)

What would "certified" mean, especially in the context of Pakistan. Would a Notary Public certification of Birth and Marriage Certificates be enough?

Thanks in advance.

[WaitingforRakesh 0]

What they really what is the originals. I have seen so many problems with so called certified copies that the NVC regrets.

When they say certified copy, it would be like you in the USA going to get a duplicate copy of your birth cirtificate or marriage certificate from the country registry. They would produce the certificate and put their offical seal on it. I wouldn't recommend you making a copy and having just a notary stamp it. Notaries are just for signatures to say it was you that signed a document.

Perhaps others from your country will comment on where to go for these if you don't already have the orginal. If you are sending the orginal from other country, I recommend using a service like FED EX or DHL that has a tracking device and insures delivery. The embassy will return all orginals back to you at the interview.

[ARALB 0]

WaitingforRakesh is 100% correct! You really should send in original documents...or a duplicate that originated in the country you are working through, like a US birth certificate- It is always a good idea to have 2 "originals" ,HOWEVER, they want the ORIGINAL MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE INTERVIW WILL TAKE PLACE. I sent in first, only the ENGLISH version, and needed to have hubby send me the ORIGINAL Arabic one, because it got us an RFE! Be Cautious and send as many originals as possible!!!

The notary thing is really like Waiting said... for proof that you are the person that signed said document! Hope that didn't confuse matters!--good luck!-Amy

[syedmeesam 0]

they want the ORIGINAL MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE INTERVIW WILL TAKE PLACE. I sent in first, only the ENGLISH version, and needed to have hubby send me the ORIGINAL Arabic one, because it got us an RFE! Be Cautious and send as many originals as possible!!!

Thank you WaitingforRakesh and ARALB. In Pakistan it is difficult to get the original let alone getting TWO originals of each document. I guess I have no choice but to ask my wife to risk sending in the originals and retain photocopies of the same, just in case.

Our original marriage certificate was in English (we had a choice to use either Urdu or English at the time of marriage), although the language of the country is Urdu. We opted to use the English certificate precisely with immigration paperwork in mind. Please, somebody tell me that this is not going to be a problem.