Do you need a certified copy of the fiancee's birth certificate to file for AOS?

[Roxy and Emmy 43]

Hey everyone! My partner is from China and we are ready for AOS (K-1). Do we need to put in a certified copy of the birth certificate or will a regular copy be okay?

 

Thank you so much.

 

Best regards,

 

Roxanne 

[payxibka 10,044]

1 minute ago, Roxy and Emmy said:

Hey everyone! My partner is from China and we are ready for AOS (K-1). Do we need to put in a certified copy of the birth certificate or will a regular copy be okay?

 

Thank you so much.

 

Best regards,

 

Roxanne 

Per the directions.   All evidence submitted is legible photocopies unless an original or certified copy is SPECIFICALLY requested 

[Pengunista 221]

6 minutes ago, Roxy and Emmy said:

Hey everyone! My partner is from China and we are ready for AOS (K-1). Do we need to put in a certified copy of the birth certificate or will a regular copy be okay?

 

Thank you so much.

 

Best regards,

 

Roxanne 

What @payxibkasaid and if the birth certificate is not in English it needs to be translated.

[dhaubau86 47]

FYI we got RFE for not sending original translation. If you have BC from foreign country in Foreign Language, you need to send

1.COPY of BC from Foreign Country and 

2.ORIGINAL TRANSLATION DOCUMENT.

If BC is in English then a copy of it should be Okay

Edited May 10, 2019 by dhaubau86

[p-ana 933]

1 hour ago, dhaubau86 said:

FYI we got RFE for not sending original translation. If you have BC from foreign country in Foreign Language, you need to send

1.COPY of BC from Foreign Country and 

2.ORIGINAL TRANSLATION DOCUMENT.

If BC is in English then a copy of it should be Okay

Not true.

 

I was approved with a simple copy of birth certificate and a simple copy of a translation I had made back in my country. Originals are kept safe with me

[dhaubau86 47]

46 minutes ago, p-ana said:

Not true.

 

I was approved with a simple copy of birth certificate and a simple copy of a translation I had made back in my country. Originals are kept safe with me

Well Okay.. however you can't say "Not true". We got RFE and you can't change the fact that we got RFE cause of that. 

The RFE clearly states that "If the BC is in other language than English, you must submit of COPY of Original BC and Translated Certificate".  

Not that by sending Copies One will get RFE, but there is a higher chances to get one and why should one do that??

 

[payxibka 10,044]

2 minutes ago, dhaubau86 said:

Well Okay.. however you can't say "Not true". We got RFE and you can't change the fact that we got RFE cause of that. 

The RFE clearly states that "If the BC is in other language than English, you must submit of COPY of Original BC and Translated Certificate".  

Not that by sending Copies One will get RFE, but there is a higher chances to get one and why should one do that??

 

Yes copies of both 

[Shiran 1,134]

The translation doesn't have to be paid of. Self translated "original" seems to be perfectly fine. You do need to submit translation for the BC if it is not in English. 

[Ontarkie 13,915]

~~Moved to AOS Family K1/K3, from K1 Progress Reports - As this is now a AOS process~~

[RandyW 149]

You will most likely need the white book Notarial Certificate of Birth, or 出生公证书, or chu sheng gong zheng shu, unless your partner has one of the newer Medical Certificate of Birth - 出生医学证明  (chu sheng yixue zheng ming).

 

Birth certificates were not issued in China prior to 1996.

 

A Medical Certificate of Birth looks like this

 

[Pitaya 2,576]

Agree with Randy, unless you are in the "new group" as he describes, you will likely have to provide a copy of all pages of your partner's Notarial Certificate "White Book" - Birth Certificate . Go to the China Regional Forum  for a thorough explanation of this document, and other Notarial Certificates. it is basically an abstraction taken from his family's hukou. This is an ancient system of family registration that is slowly changing.

 

Your partner should have had several copies of their "White Book" - Birth Certificate prepared while he was in China. We provided a copy of all pages of my wife's and stepson's "White Book" - Birth Certificate with the rest of their AOS documentation. We took an original with us for the AOS interview, should the need for comparison have arisen.

[Pitaya 2,576]

After reviewing page 9 of the Form I-485 instructions:

Quote

2. Birth Certificate

   All Form I-485 applicants, except refugees and asylees, must submit a photocopy of their birth certificate issued bythe appropriate civil authority from the country of birth. Although refugees and asylees are not required to submit aphotocopy of their birth certificate, if the birth certificate is available, refugees and asylees should submit a copy of the birth certificate. USCIS will only accept a long-form birth certificate which lists at least one parent.

   If your birth certificate is unavailable or does not exist, you must prove its unavailability or nonexistence and provideacceptable alternative evidence of birth. (Refugees and asylees do not need to prove unavailability or nonexistence
   of their birth certificate.) You can look up your country of birth on the following website, travel.state.gov/content/ visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country.html, to see if birth certificates are known to be unavailable or nonexistentin that country.

REF: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-485instr.pdf

 

Just follow the instructions.....

[Rosalind F 178]

23 hours ago, Shiran said:

The translation doesn't have to be paid of. Self translated "original" seems to be perfectly fine. You do need to submit translation for the BC if it is not in English. 

I've read on the other forum that a person got in trouble (=RFE) for sending a self-translated document (since there is a potential for a conflict of interest). Are you sure self-translated documents are okay or it stays up to IO? 

[Shiran 1,134]

11 minutes ago, Rosalind F said:

I've read on the other forum that a person got in trouble (=RFE) for sending a self-translated document (since there is a potential for a conflict of interest). Are you sure self-translated documents are okay or it stays up to IO? 

I can tell you that we did self translated/self certified copy, and case right now read "Ready for Interview" 

 

This is what we used as a guide and certification template: 

https://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/154965.htm

[Pitaya 2,576]

24 minutes ago, Rosalind F said:

I've read on the other forum that a person got in trouble (=RFE) for sending a self-translated document (since there is a potential for a conflict of interest). Are you sure self-translated documents are okay or it stays up to IO? 

Your point may be moot, as that the beneficiary, mentioned in the initial posting, will likely need to provide a copy of their Chinese "White Book" Notarial Certificate Birth Certificate. It is a bound booklet four pages in length.  The actual Chinese abstraction page from the family book (hukou) and Chinese certification page of the document are each followed by an English language translation page, all signed and sealed by a Chinese Notary Public. The US Consulate in Guangzhou, China and USCIS understand their purpose and accept them for Chinese birth certificate use.

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Pitaya
clarification