American birth certificate information- quick question!

[july2009 1]

Hello again! Hopefully someone can help me out with this:

On the 129F form, question #10 asks "My citizenship was acquired through....

And I am checking "Birth in the US". I am also including the copy of my birth certificate that the state of Georgia mailed to me (with the raised seal).

1) It says to include a copy, front and back, of the certificate. Since I'm mailing in the copy that the state mailed to me, which has a raised seal on it that's obvious when you look and touch the front and back of the certificate, that's fine right?

2) More importantly, the 129F form asks: "Give number of certificate, date and place it was issued". I know that the city where it was issued, but am not sure which number it's asking for. On the certificate I see both a 6 digit "local file number" and an 11 digit "state file number". For the date that it was issued, that would be the date the state issued this copy to me, correct? That date would be 10/20/2010.

If anyone who has used an American birth certificate to verify citizenship could help me out I would be really grateful. Thank you!

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

First, don't send the original certified copy you got from the state. Keep it for your records. They rarely need to have the original document. Make a color photocopy of both sides, or scan and print with your computer, and send in the copies. Loan the original to your fiancee, as the consulate may ask to inspect it (they rarely do). If you have an AOS interview later on then the IO may also ask to inspect it (again, they usually don't).

You're getting confused about a poorly organized section of the form. The "Give number of certificate" box is for people who checked "Naturalization", and not for people who checked "Birth in the US". Leave the box empty.

[AlinaH 38]

First, don't send the original certified copy you got from the state. Keep it for your records. They rarely need to have the original document. Make a color photocopy of both sides, or scan and print with your computer, and send in the copies. Loan the original to your fiancee, as the consulate may ask to inspect it (they rarely do). If you have an AOS interview later on then the IO may also ask to inspect it (again, they usually don't).

You're getting confused about a poorly organized section of the form. The "Give number of certificate" box is for people who checked "Naturalization", and not for people who checked "Birth in the US". Leave the box empty.

oops. pretty sure we wrote one of the numbers in that box

[july2009 1]

Hey, thanks for the replies. I wouldn't worry too much about writing in the number- if you included the copy of the certificate, whoever reviews the documents will see that it matches up, and it should be fine.

The only reason why I'm going to send in the certified copy (the state of GA still has the original, and just mailed me the certified copy with the raised stamp) is because at the bottom of the certificate are disclaimers like "do not accept copy without raised seal, etc. etc.". I have another certified copy that I'll keep with me. Is there something wrong with mailing in the official certified copy, or is it just unnecessary? Thanks!!

[marriedtomrg 141]

Nothing wrong with sending it in, but you have to understand it will not be returned to you. On many of USCIS forms, they caution applicants from sending original documents when they are not required to...only photocopies are needed when petitions are being processed.

I think the disclaimer your read is telling YOU not to accept the certified copy of the birth certificate without a raised seal from GA, and if you do, it should be returned to GA and re-issued with a seal.

Hey, thanks for the replies. I wouldn't worry too much about writing in the number- if you included the copy of the certificate, whoever reviews the documents will see that it matches up, and it should be fine.

The only reason why I'm going to send in the certified copy (the state of GA still has the original, and just mailed me the certified copy with the raised stamp) is because at the bottom of the certificate are disclaimers like "do not accept copy without raised seal, etc. etc.". I have another certified copy that I'll keep with me. Is there something wrong with mailing in the official certified copy, or is it just unnecessary? Thanks!!

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

Hey, thanks for the replies. I wouldn't worry too much about writing in the number- if you included the copy of the certificate, whoever reviews the documents will see that it matches up, and it should be fine.

The only reason why I'm going to send in the certified copy (the state of GA still has the original, and just mailed me the certified copy with the raised stamp) is because at the bottom of the certificate are disclaimers like "do not accept copy without raised seal, etc. etc.". I have another certified copy that I'll keep with me. Is there something wrong with mailing in the official certified copy, or is it just unnecessary? Thanks!!

That's a general disclaimer that without the seal the document could be altered or fake. Frankly, I don't know why they bother to print that there because anyone who would make a fake or altered birth certificate would either fake the stamp (which really isn't that difficult to do), or edit out the disclaimer. This is the age of PhotoShop! In addition, USCIS can easily verify all of the relevant information on the birth certificate. They'll know pretty quickly if something doesn't jive.

Anyway, if USCIS has any suspicions that the document is fake or altered then they'll ask you to submit the original. If you see anything about that document that you believe might not look kosher in a photocopy then go ahead and submit the original, by all means. In the overwhelming majority of cases, they'll accept a photocopy without questions. I scanned my birth certificate and reduced the image by about 15% in order for the whole certificate to fit within the printable area of my ink jet printer, and also leave room at the top for a title line. That's what I sent with my I-129F petition. It was blatantly obvious it wasn't the original document because of the reduction and the title line. Nobody ever asked to see the original.

[Nik+Heather 122]

Hey, you've gotten some really good advice already. I think that you may have overlooked an extremely useful section of this website. At the top of the page there is a blue bar with some white text on it (stretch your window sideways, because the text wraps funny if your window isn't wide enough). They are links to valuable resources. The one you're looking for at the moment is "example forms" on the second row. There, you should be able to navigate to the example I-129f. it explains on that document that the number is only for the naturalization certificate.

It may be a good idea for you to read through the rest just in case there are any other errors for you to correct!

Edited October 25, 2010 by Nik+Heather

[FawkThisSite 13]

Aw man... I also added the Certificate Number, Date, and Place it was issued. I really hope I do NOT get an RFE for this...

The example DID NOT have the "ONLY fill in for Naturalization" when I was looking at it, or maybe it did and I somehow missed this when I QUADRUPLE checked everything... but! If you look at the form, it clearly looks as if it doesn't matter which one you check, I believe that they still want that information filled out even for a Birth Certificate.

[Nik+Heather 122]

Aw man... I also added the Certificate Number, Date, and Place it was issued. I really hope I do NOT get an RFE for this...

The example DID NOT have the "ONLY fill in for Naturalization" when I was looking at it, or maybe it did and I somehow missed this when I QUADRUPLE checked everything... but! If you look at the form, it clearly looks as if it doesn't matter which one you check, I believe that they still want that information filled out even for a Birth Certificate.

Heh. Well....I also didn't look at the example forms while I was filling things out , and found a number of my Birth Cert and just put that in there as well.We didn't get any RFEs

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

Aw man... I also added the Certificate Number, Date, and Place it was issued. I really hope I do NOT get an RFE for this...

The example DID NOT have the "ONLY fill in for Naturalization" when I was looking at it, or maybe it did and I somehow missed this when I QUADRUPLE checked everything... but! If you look at the form, it clearly looks as if it doesn't matter which one you check, I believe that they still want that information filled out even for a Birth Certificate.

Don't worry. They don't send RFE's for giving too much information. As I said previously, this is a particularly poorly designed section of the form. Judging from the number of VJ members who are tripped up by it, I'd guess USCIS receives dozens of forms per day where someone has entered the wrong information in that box. I've never heard of anyone getting an RFE specifically for what was or was not written there.

There is no national standardized format for a birth certificate. Each state issues certificates in the format they choose, and many states have changed the format multiple times over the years. A birth certificate may not have a certificate number, or it may have multiple numbers. There might be no indication on the certificate when or where it was issued.

My birth certificate is a parchment with a fancy pre-printed border. Inside the border is a printed photo-negative image of my original birth certificate, apparently taken from a microfiche file. The original certificate in the image had a number written on it that says "County Registrar No.". There's another number in the corner of the printed image that appears to be from the microfiche file and not part of the original birth certificate document. A third number is in a box within the fancy pre-printed border. This appears to have been printed on the parchment at the time the document was prepared. There is a fourth number in red ink printed on the back. None of the numbers are the same. None of them indicate that they are the "certificate number". There's a rubber stamped date near the embossed seal, which I presume is the date the certificate copy was prepared, but there's no indication where it was issued.

Contrasting this with my mother's birth certificate, hers has no record numbers of any kind on it. The certification stamp is a rubber stamp rather than an embossed seal, and there's no date or place of issue.