Mother's Maiden Name incorrect on US Citizen's Birth Certificate

[jonholmes92 0]

Hi there,

Minor thing but I wonder if it will impact in any way.

My wife's (US Citizen) birth certificate displays her mother's maiden name (in error) as her previous married name before she married my wife's father (after birth).

For example:

Mother's maiden name = Jane Smith

Mother's maiden name on Wife's Birth Certificate = Jane Brown (from 1st Marriage, has since divorced before my wife was born)

Mother's married name now = Jane Yellow

Trouble is, as me and my wife are living in the UK it could be a lot of hassle to get her birth certificate amended from here. Would this be an issue? Should we get it amended or include supporting documents such as my Wife's mother's divorce certificate and her birth certificate (if available that is).

I'd think it'd be okay but then again, better safe!

Thanks,

Jon

[Mindy & Raju 11]

You never know with protocol if some small error will cause a huge problem, but in my experience, the birth certificate has not been scrutinized too closely. First of all, I didn't have my long form birth certificate, only a certified copy of a short form. My fathers name was not on my birth certificate at all, which is supposedly an issue, but it never presented a problem for me. I think somehow that the passport biographic data page will make up for it, but I'm no expert and I can't really assure you. I think if it came down to the birth certificate, they would issue an RFE and give you a chance to provide an amended one at that point.

[jonholmes92 0]

Thank you for your reply! Looks like we'll have to provide additional evidence as we can't get the Birth Certificate changed. That's okay though

[listeriolysin 2]

That name needs to match the legal name. Where is the issue. Why wouldn't I then, for example, just create a new, fake name? Everything needs to be correct. It's make sense to me.

[Mindy & Raju 11]

Thank you for your reply! Looks like we'll have to provide additional evidence as we can't get the Birth Certificate changed. That's okay though

I'm glad to offer any advice that might be helpful! Maybe a notarized affidavit by your mother explaining why her maiden name was listed incorrectly and why the change is impossible would help? I know in some cases a sworn testimony under penalty of perjury can be good enough for legal matters, but not sure about civil documents. I also had some blatant misspellings in some of our civil documents that are minor, but I thought they would be picked on anyway. They don't always pick up on the errors.