Need Birth Certifiacte Back

[LuvMyPortuGAL 1]

Hi,

My fiance will be coming to the US on Friday. We are starting to make arrangements to be civilly married to start AOS process as soon as possible (which takes forever I understand) and AP process (which better not take long!) ASAP! It is crucial that we get AP as soon as possible and cannot afford any delays.

Working papers is obviously very important as well.

Anyway, I called local offices and they say they will need among other things the original birth certificate and certified translation. However, they were forfeited at the consulate interview. Is the *original* birth certificate and translation in the sealed envelope and will we be receiving both of them back at the POE? It is highly important that we have it.

Any comments on AP approval (and speed there of) would be helpful.

Thanks.

[payxibka 10,048]

Hi,

My fiance will be coming to the US on Friday. We are starting to make arrangements to be civilly married to start AOS process as soon as possible (which takes forever I understand) and AP process (which better not take long!) ASAP! It is crucial that we get AP as soon as possible and cannot afford any delays.

Working papers is obviously very important as well.

Anyway, I called local offices and they say they will need among other things the original birth certificate and certified translation. However, they were forfeited at the consulate interview. Is the *original* birth certificate and translation in the sealed envelope and will we be receiving both of them back at the POE? It is highly important that we have it.

Any comments on AP approval (and speed there of) would be helpful.

Thanks.

not likely

[GueraKristina 1]

Hi,

My fiance will be coming to the US on Friday. We are starting to make arrangements to be civilly married to start AOS process as soon as possible (which takes forever I understand) and AP process (which better not take long!) ASAP! It is crucial that we get AP as soon as possible and cannot afford any delays.

Working papers is obviously very important as well.

Anyway, I called local offices and they say they will need among other things the original birth certificate and certified translation. However, they were forfeited at the consulate interview. Is the *original* birth certificate and translation in the sealed envelope and will we be receiving both of them back at the POE? It is highly important that we have it.

Any comments on AP approval (and speed there of) would be helpful.

Thanks.

If you gave it to the person at the interview, it will be in the sealed secret envelope you couldnt open, but i know that everyone on visajourney warns to NOT give originals, TAKE THEM, but DO NOT GIVE THEM, take copies, if they want to see the original, let them see them, but if they insist on taking the original convince them with a copy, b/c the original you will need that even after AOS process. It says specifically on USCIS paperwork to NOT GIVE ORIGINALS. BUt if you gave it them in portugal, then they will still be in the envelope, but when the AOS paperwork asks for copies of the original birth certificate, if you dont have any on hand, you might just have to put 'refer to original already sent in the yellow manilla envelope' or something of the alike. The AP is different for everybody, but i am sure that you are already aware that AP, EAD and the greencard, can all be done together, if you do it together, and not seperately, it is cheaper and typically faster. My husband got his AP first then his EAD, and we jst got card production ordered for his greencard on Nov. 18th, our case also took really long, we submitted in march, and we are just now receiving his GC sometime in december. that i 9 mnths. It usually doesnt take that long, people that filed in march with us got apprved for greencard in june, july, so it is different for everybody. Hope this helps.

[LuvMyPortuGAL 1]

not likely

Thanks for the quick reply. Little short, doesn't help much. If it is an original birth certificate then you would think it would be in there being it is a necessary document. The FAQ says it is but may be unreliable because it is pretty old entry.

I would hope that anyone who has gone though a POE as of late could answer the question.

Thanks again.

[TayRivers 4]

not likely

Thanks for the quick reply. Little short, doesn't help much. If it is an original birth certificate then you would think it would be in there being it is a necessary document. The FAQ says it is but may be unreliable because it is pretty old entry.

I would hope that anyone who has gone though a POE as of late could answer the question.

Thanks again.

No documents will be returned to you at POE. If you no longer have the original then you will need to get another one from the place where the birth was registered.

Tay

[Nik+Heather 122]

Actually, Nik found the people at POE to be quite friendly. It is worth a question (at least) to ask them if they will copy the originals, keep the copies and return the originals to you. We wanted to get a copy of the medical, just in case, and the first guy didn't think it was a problem, but he forgot to ask again in secondary. At any rate, a question like that isn't going to make him inadmissible, so how could it hurt?

The other alternative would be for him to get with the embassy and see if they will open, copy, and reseal the envelope and give you your originals back.

[Darnell 8,480]

If possible to get another 'certified copy and translation' then I suggest you get that quickly, even pay for any expedite fee.

[LuvMyPortuGAL 1]

If possible to get another 'certified copy and translation' then I suggest you get that quickly, even pay for any expedite fee.

Everyone,

First of all, thanks for your help.

I called USCIS ( I pretended I was on a rotary phone on my second try .. the menus were a nightmare). The woman I spoke with said that the birth certificate is in the yellow envelope and that she should simply ask for her originals back. She said that it is pretty standard thing. However, as Darnell says, if we can, then get another one just in case. It is very late though and there is an amazing amount of things that need to be done. Not sure if we can pull it off. The stress is overwhelming. Ahhhhh!

Tchau!