Birth Certificate question (post-AOS interview)

[pamawemo 78]

Hello ! It's been awhile since I've been here on this forum. We had our AOS interview yesterday and the first question the IO asked my wife was why her middle name is not on her birth certificate. What??

 

Long story but she had to have her birth certificate amended through an affidavit years ago. Grandma filed her birth and misspelled my wife's last name by one letter - or it was a clerical error. My wife's first passport and all of her ID is based on the amended birth certificate. She had to renew her passport 4 years ago and needed a new birth certificate because the family lost all their legal papers in a typhoon. She  had a relative go to the Civil Registrar in her hometown to get one. (My wife was OWF at the time.) She has used that certificate for everything since then and it wasn't until yesterday she was even aware her middle name is not listed. Her mother's name - which is my wife's middle name - is there, of course as the birth mother.

 

My wife has two first names, used her mother's maiden name as her middle name and then her last name. So Anna Belle Smith Olson. This is what is on her passport, her Philippine ID, and it is what we used on all of the USCIS paperwork. However, in looking at this "new" birth certificate, it says Anna Belle Olson (leaving out her middle name, Smith). Through marriage, my wife changed her name to Anna Belle Olson Johnson (her first two names, her maiden name and my name). 

 

The IO asked, "so it's a clerical error?" and my wife was flustered and produced all the other documents showing the order of her name as she has used it her entire life. The rest of the interview went well and we received the standard "your case must be reviewed" letter and nothing has changed on the USCIS website. Most people at our field office have had their case switch to "card is being produced" later in the day of their interview. 

 

My question is - should we try to get a new birth certificate for her or just wait and see? I know there is a wait time for lots of AOS folks. If we do start the process of getting an amended birth certificate, is there a process to follow? Her current BC is from a civil registrar; should we be going through PSA? Hard to believe we got this far and are looking at a possible delay. Ugh.

[Hank_ 9,173]

48 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Hello ! It's been awhile since I've been here on this forum. We had our AOS interview yesterday and the first question the IO asked my wife was why her middle name is not on her birth certificate. What??

 

Long story but she had to have her birth certificate amended through an affidavit years ago. Grandma filed her birth and misspelled my wife's last name by one letter - or it was a clerical error. My wife's first passport and all of her ID is based on the amended birth certificate. She had to renew her passport 4 years ago and needed a new birth certificate because the family lost all their legal papers in a typhoon. She  had a relative go to the Civil Registrar in her hometown to get one. (My wife was OWF at the time.) She has used that certificate for everything since then and it wasn't until yesterday she was even aware her middle name is not listed. Her mother's name - which is my wife's middle name - is there, of course as the birth mother.

 

My wife has two first names, used her mother's maiden name as her middle name and then her last name. So Anna Belle Smith Olson. This is what is on her passport, her Philippine ID, and it is what we used on all of the USCIS paperwork. However, in looking at this "new" birth certificate, it says Anna Belle Olson (leaving out her middle name, Smith). Through marriage, my wife changed her name to Anna Belle Olson Johnson (her first two names, her maiden name and my name). 

 

The IO asked, "so it's a clerical error?" and my wife was flustered and produced all the other documents showing the order of her name as she has used it her entire life. The rest of the interview went well and we received the standard "your case must be reviewed" letter and nothing has changed on the USCIS website. Most people at our field office have had their case switch to "card is being produced" later in the day of their interview. 

 

My question is - should we try to get a new birth certificate for her or just wait and see? I know there is a wait time for lots of AOS folks. If we do start the process of getting an amended birth certificate, is there a process to follow? Her current BC is from a civil registrar; should we be going through PSA? Hard to believe we got this far and are looking at a possible delay. Ugh.

 

You have been using a BC from the LCR and not PSA/NSO ?   For the embassy interview you had to provide a PSA/NSO certified copy, that is what you should still be using.  (or did she interview in another country other than the Philippines?)

 

In the Philippines the naming format (this is the law) is GIVEN NAME, MOTHER'S NAME (middle name), SURNAME.  Once married the mother's maiden name is dropped and her birth surname now becomes her middle name and your surname is now her surname.   A birth certificate from the Philippine will NEVER match the middle name of a married woman.  

 

Looks like grandma messed up the BC more than she fixed anything if the BC doesn't have her mother's maiden listed as middle name.    

 

To correct a BC you start at the civil registrar, that paperwork is then forwarded to PSA to be recorded.      Do you have a copy of the original BC (before it was "corrected" by grandma) ?

[pamawemo 78]

1 hour ago, Hank_ said:

 

You have been using a BC from the LCR and not PSA/NSO ?   For the embassy interview you had to provide a PSA/NSO certified copy, that is what you should still be using.  (or did she interview in another country other than the Philippines?)

 

In the Philippines the naming format (this is the law) is GIVEN NAME, MOTHER'S NAME (middle name), SURNAME.  Once married the mother's maiden name is dropped and her birth surname now becomes her middle name and your surname is now her surname.   A birth certificate from the Philippine will NEVER match the middle name of a married woman.  

 

Looks like grandma messed up the BC more than she fixed anything if the BC doesn't have her mother's maiden listed as middle name.    

 

To correct a BC you start at the civil registrar, that paperwork is then forwarded to PSA to be recorded.      Do you have a copy of the original BC (before it was "corrected" by grandma) ?

What she has been using has a PSA seal on the top left corner and Office of the City Civil Registrar on the letterhead. It reads: To Whom It May Concern and then a line "we certify that the following facts of birth appear in our Register of Births on Page XXX, Book XXX. There is a Registry Number and then a formal-looking paragraph listing her name, gender, DOB, place, parents names, etc. It then reads: "This certification is issued by OCRG, PSA, Quezon City upon her request." There is a barcode on the bottom left as well as a stamp and PSA official's signature on the bottom right. This was dated in 2016 and is what she received when she requested a copy of her birth certificate as she had to renew her passport and her original was lost in the typhoon. It's what she used to get her three police clearances (including her NBI), her CENOMAR and it's what she presented at the embassy in Manila. We have submitted it with all of our paperwork, we used it for SS and our marriage license. We got all the way to the GC interview before anyone asked about it.

 

Yes, she has always used the format you provide in the second paragraph and her BC has always been accepted until now. 

 

And no, the original BC is gone. My wife is 49 and has used the same BC so she was pretty shaken when the IO questioned her and I honestly thought that was how the Philippine BC is supposed to look so I never questioned it either.

 

So looks like we need to start with the civil registrar. Can that be done from here?

[Hank_ 9,173]

1 hour ago, pamawemo said:

What she has been using has a PSA seal on the top left corner and Office of the City Civil Registrar on the letterhead. It reads: To Whom It May Concern and then a line "we certify that the following facts of birth appear in our Register of Births on Page XXX, Book XXX. There is a Registry Number and then a formal-looking paragraph listing her name, gender, DOB, place, parents names, etc. It then reads: "This certification is issued by OCRG, PSA, Quezon City upon her request." There is a barcode on the bottom left as well as a stamp and PSA official's signature on the bottom right. This was dated in 2016 and is what she received when she requested a copy of her birth certificate as she had to renew her passport and her original was lost in the typhoon. It's what she used to get her three police clearances (including her NBI), her CENOMAR and it's what she presented at the embassy in Manila. We have submitted it with all of our paperwork, we used it for SS and our marriage license. We got all the way to the GC interview before anyone asked about it.

 

Yes, she has always used the format you provide in the second paragraph and her BC has always been accepted until now. 

 

And no, the original BC is gone. My wife is 49 and has used the same BC so she was pretty shaken when the IO questioned her and I honestly thought that was how the Philippine BC is supposed to look so I never questioned it either.

 

So looks like we need to start with the civil registrar. Can that be done from here?

OK, that is a PSA document.   PSA is just a recorder and issues certified copies of what the LCR forwards to them, much like the county recorder in your state where you recorded your marriage certificate and got certified copies for completing AOS.   PSA doesn't create any documents.

 

This document your wife has that lists her vital info, it does not include her mother's maiden name, that is where her middle name was omitted?   That is what you would need to get corrected, that exact document, don't know how you can do this outside the Philippines.

 

For the moment I don't know that I would do anything.  Maybe wait until you hear from USCIS.   I mean in reality it is as the IO asked -  It is a clerical error.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by Hank_

[pamawemo 78]

1 minute ago, Hank_ said:

OK, that is a PSA document.   PSA is just a recorder and issues certified copies of what the LCR forwards to them, much like the county recorder in your state where you recorded your marriage certificate and got certified copies for completing AOS.   PSA doesn't create any documents.

 

This document your wife has that lists her vital info, it does not include her mother's maiden name, that is where her middle name was omitted?   That is what you would need to get corrected, that exact document, don't know how you can do this outside the Philippines.

 

For the moment I don't know that I would do anything.  Maybe wait until you hear from USCIS.   I mean in reality it is as the IO asked -  It is a clerical error.

 

 

Her mother’s Maiden name is listed as is her father’s name. The document does not indicate the maiden name is part of her name. So FIRST NAME (part one) FIRST NAME (part 2) and LAST NAME. 
 

I think you are right about waiting but my wife isn’t one to twiddle her thumbs. She already has half her family working on a plan!

[pamawemo 78]

The other thing the IO said which was confusing is that she was waiting for our K-1 package. Shouldn’t that be at our FO before our interview? Where does that come from? Maybe that is what is delaying a change in status. 

[Hank_ 9,173]

1 minute ago, pamawemo said:

Her mother’s Maiden name is listed as is her father’s name. The document does not indicate the maiden name is part of her name. So FIRST NAME (part one) FIRST NAME (part 2) and LAST NAME. 
 

I think you are right about waiting but my wife isn’t one to twiddle her thumbs. She already has half her family working on a plan!

 

Yes that would make since that the document list the names of the parents (it is represented as a BC)     So you have a clerical error where the clerk at the LCR omitted "Smith" when completing the correction;  Anna Belle Smith Olson 

 

Here is the thing with all of this.  Your wife could go through all the work to get the BC corrected, one more time.    You two will complete ROM and she will get her passport in her married name and SMITH will disappear once more.          I would follow rule #1 - Never DO-DO when DO will DO.     Wait for USCIS to update things.

[pamawemo 78]

2 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

 

Yes that would make since that the document list the names of the parents (it is represented as a BC)     So you have a clerical error where the clerk at the LCR omitted "Smith" when completing the correction;  Anna Belle Smith Olson 

 

Here is the thing with all of this.  Your wife could go through all the work to get the BC corrected, one more time.    You two will complete ROM and she will get her passport in her married name and SMITH will disappear once more.          I would follow rule #1 - Never DO-DO when DO will DO.     Wait for USCIS to update things.

Good advice. Yes, we already completed ROM and she has been using the legal name Anna Belle Olson Johnson(my name) with SS, driver's permit, etc. And yes, we will be changing her passport to her married name. She says she doesn't want the stress of having a messed-up BC when we do ROC so would like to get it right. We will wait and see. 

 

Any idea why the IO would not have our K-1 package?

[Hank_ 9,173]

16 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Good advice. Yes, we already completed ROM and she has been using the legal name Anna Belle Olson Johnson(my name) with SS, driver's permit, etc. And yes, we will be changing her passport to her married name. She says she doesn't want the stress of having a messed-up BC when we do ROC so would like to get it right. We will wait and see. 

 

Any idea why the IO would not have our K-1 package?

BC isn't asked for with ROC.   USCIS will want 24 months of document evidence of you commingling like married folk.    

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-751

[pamawemo 78]

2 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

BC isn't asked for with ROC.   USCIS will want 24 months of document evidence of you commingling like married folk.    

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-751

Ok, great. Thanks, I will tell her that. I hate to chase around on something that may not need chasing. Still wondering about the K-1 package. Where the heck is it if our field office doesn't have it and why do they need it? Where the heck does all this paperwork go??? Sheesh

[Hank_ 9,173]

8 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Ok, great. Thanks, I will tell her that. I hate to chase around on something that may not need chasing. Still wondering about the K-1 package. Where the heck is it if our field office doesn't have it and why do they need it? Where the heck does all this paperwork go??? Sheesh

 

The K-1 package is filed away, somewhere.     Maybe in warehouse 13   

[pamawemo 78]

2 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

 

The K-1 package is filed away, somewhere.     Maybe in warehouse 13   

Haha. I just thought it was weird that the IO said she was waiting for our K-1 package. As it were, my wife had a complete copy of it in her many, many document page protectors but was too rattled to think about it. She was thrown off her game and couldn't get out our address correctly at first. She said this interview was way more stressful than her K-1 experience. Hopefully, our FO is just slow because we were on Monday and our status will change in the next couple of days.

[Hank_ 9,173]

13 hours ago, pamawemo said:

Haha. I just thought it was weird that the IO said she was waiting for our K-1 package. As it were, my wife had a complete copy of it in her many, many document page protectors but was too rattled to think about it. She was thrown off her game and couldn't get out our address correctly at first. She said this interview was way more stressful than her K-1 experience. Hopefully, our FO is just slow because we were on Monday and our status will change in the next couple of days.

Do keep us posted