How do I change my N-400's "country of birth" from Taiwan to China?

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Vyacheslav

Registered Users (C)
How do I change my N-400's "place of birth" from Taiwan to China?

How do I change my N-400's "place of birth" from Taiwan to China?

I was born in Taiwan province of China in 1966. I moved to the US
and my greencard shows "country of birth" as Taiwan. Since I firmly
believe(as do the US, Canada, and of course, the People's Republic
of China) that Taiwan is not a country, I would like to have my N-400
application to show that my country of birth as "China"... Taiwan,
as an inalienable, integral part of China, should not be referred to as
"Country" of birth. In fact, my current passport, ussed by the
authority on Taiwan, shows "Republic of China"....... (those who
are born in mainland China have passports issued by the People's
Republic of China)

Or at the very least, have my US passport show "Place of Birth: China"
(after I become naturalized as a US citizen, obviously)

Another reason I'm seeking this change is this: my father was also
born in Taiwan. He came to the US in 1968. He got a greencard
that said "China" because that's what both the US and Taiwanese
governments used. (but in this case, the "China" refers to "Republic
of China"(the one on Taiwan) He eventually became a US citizen.
His US passport says "Place of Birth: China" (eventhough he
was born in southern Taiwan.

So, when I become a US citizen and receive my US passport,
mine will say "Place of Birth: Taiwan"... while my father's
will continue to say "Place of Birth: China" (despite the
fact that both of us were born in Taiwan) Isn't this weird? :)

Apparently the Taiwanese pro-indepence lobby in the US had
persuaged the US Congress to pass a law in the 1990's, which
required that the US govt agencies to use "Taiwan" instead of
"China" for people who were born in Taiwan.(the INS and the US
Dept of State complied with this, of course) So anyone who
applied for US greencard or citizenship after that had their
greencards & passports to day "Taiwan" instead of "China"...

I heard about this forum from a coworker who came from Indian,
but is now a US citizen. He tole me that he'd be pretty mad if
his US passport showed his country of birth as Pakistan instead
of India, and I totally agree with him.
 
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You must be kidding. Are you trying to make a political statement? Because for immigration I think they couldn't care less ;) If they use Taiwan as the country of birth, let them do it. What will happen with Taiwan in the future is anybody's guess, for now, and UN, US, Canada or any other country apart it seems to me that Taiwan behaves pretty much like an independent country.

The example you give of India and Pakistan I would believe you, however, if you are of let's say Hindu religion and were born in Pakistan, and later on grew up in India you might not like it, but it is what it is. If you were born in Taiwan you were born in Taiwan ;)

You kind of got me on your second paragraph when you open saying you were born in Taiwan province of China. I thought for a second there was a province in mainland China by the same name as the island ;)
 
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Are you filing the N-400 to become a US citizen or a Chinese citizen? Maybe you should re-think your loyalties.
 
nscagony said:
Are you filing the N-400 to become a US citizen or a Chinese citizen? Maybe you should re-think your loyalties.
Click to expand...

Once I'm a US citizen, my 100% loyalty will be with the US. (OBVIVIOSLY!
why else would I want to become a US citizen?) :) If the United States
go to war with China, I will even be happy to die fighting for the US.
(if the US Army doesn't think I'm too old at this advanced age)


However, my US passport will always show my original country of birth,
until the day I die.(actually, even beyond that date) :) I just want to
make sure such an imporrant piece of document that I'll be carrying for
the rest of my life has all the correct data! :)
 
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You must be kidding

I have hard time believing what you said. Why would you want to change your country of birth to China since you were born in Taiwan. Taiwan is not a province if you ask anyone other than Chinese from China. Just like Vetican is a city. Would you call Mongolia a state/province of China? It's the fact that you were born there and so did your father. It doesn't matter where you were born, you are naturalizing to becoming a US citizen. Proud of who you are, where you are from, and be loyal to your country.

Vyacheslav said:
How do I change my N-400's "country of birth" from Taiwan to China?

I was born in Taiwan province of China in 1966. I moved to the US
and my greencard shows "country of birth" as Taiwan. Since I firmly
believe(as do the US, Canada, and of course, the People's Republic
of China) that Taiwan is not a country, I would like to have my N-400
application to show that my country of birth as "China"... Taiwan,
as an inalienable, integral part of China, should not be referred to as
"Country" of birth. In fact, my current passport, ussed by the
authority on Taiwan, shows "Republic of China"....... (those who
are born in mainland China have passports issued by the People's
Republic of China)

Or at the very least, have my US passport show "Country of Birth: China"
(after I become naturalized as a US citizen, obviously)

Another reason I'm seeking this change is this: my father was also
born in Taiwan. He came to the US in 1968. He got a greencard
that said "China" because that's what both the US and Taiwanese
governments used. (but in this case, the "China" refers to "Republic
of China"(the one on Taiwan) He eventually became a US citizen.
His US passport says "Country of Birth: China" (eventhough he
was born in southern Taiwan.

So, when I become a US citizen and receive my US passport,
mine will say "Country of Birth: Taiwan"... while my father's
will continue to say "Country of Birth: China" (despite the
fact that both of us were born in Taiwan) Isn't this weird? :)

Apparently the Taiwanese pro-indepence lobby in the US had
persuaged the US Congress to pass a law in the 1990's, which
required that the US govt agencies to use "Taiwan" instead of
"China" for people who were born in Taiwan.(the INS and the US
Dept of State complied with this, of course) So anyone who
applied for US greencard or citizenship after that had their
greencards & passports to day "Taiwan" instead of "China"...

I heard about this forum from a coworker who came from Indian,
but is now a US citizen. He tole me that he'd be pretty mad if
his US passport showed his country of birth as Pakistan instead
of India, and I totally agree with him.
Click to expand...
 
Let's put it another way. Let's say you didn't have a GC but wanted to come to the U.S. with a GC. Let's say that you would like to try your luck with the Diversity Lottery to accomplish this goal. If you were born in China you cannot apply for the lottery, but if you were born in Taiwan you can. Would you be so stubborn as to still claim you were born in China instead of Taiwan? ;)
 
Bobsmyth said:
Once you become US citizen this is a moot point, unless you're trying to make a political statement for Chinese unity or something.
Click to expand...


So, when I become a US citizen and receive my US passport,
mine will say "Country of Birth: Taiwan"... while my father's
will continue to say "Country of Birth: China" (despite the
fact that both of us were born in Taiwan) Isn't this weird? :)

The reverse is true if my father, who was born in Taiwan, wants
to change his country of birth from China to Taiwan. It's not
possible.(at least we couldn't figure out how to go about it)
 
Wonder what the Country of people born in Tibet is ?

To the original poster, please ask the Immigration officer and get the country changed to China. I am sure they will do it for you. Please let us know your success and what happened during interview. Please do not leave the interview without getting that changed, it is very important.
 
Vyacheslav said:
So, when I become a US citizen and receive my US passport,
mine will say "Country of Birth: Taiwan"... while my father's
will continue to say "Country of Birth: China" (despite the
fact that both of us were born in Taiwan) Isn't this weird? :)

The reverse is true if my father, who was born in Taiwan, wants
to change his country of birth from China to Taiwan. It's not
possible.(at least we couldn't figure out how to go about it)
Click to expand...

When was your father born? Was it before Chiang Kai-shek fled to Formosa and establsihed Taiwan?

Also, your comparison of India-Pakistan does not apply here, since Pakistan is recognized as a sovereign country by everyone, including India.
 
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Vyacheslav said:
So, when I become a US citizen and receive my US passport,
mine will say "Country of Birth: Taiwan"... while my father's
will continue to say "Country of Birth: China" (despite the
fact that both of us were born in Taiwan) Isn't this weird? :)

The reverse is true if my father, who was born in Taiwan, wants
to change his country of birth from China to Taiwan. It's not
possible.(at least we couldn't figure out how to go about it)
Click to expand...

In your heart you know where you were born no matter what a piece of paper says.;)
 
Firstly, I agree with you. Formosa is nothing but a renegade province of the People's Republic of China. However this is my opinion and opinion only.

Secondly, the example below is totally different. Both my parents were born in India and migrated to Pakistan as minors. They hold the same three citizenships I hold and their place of birth is correctly stated as India on all three of their passports. They have had no issues with it, nor has the government of Pakistan when issuing them their Pakistani passports. I see no reason why your friend would be upset. He did not pick his country of birth and thus should not have an issue with it.

Vyacheslav said:
I heard about this forum from a coworker who came from Indian, but is now a US citizen. He tole me that he'd be pretty mad if his US passport showed his country of birth as Pakistan instead
of India, and I totally agree with him.
Click to expand...
 
that's very interesting. It is very new to me. I am curious about some countries that are not recognized as soverign countries such as Kosovo, Georgia/Russia's enclaves, etc. Some Kosovo people put their place of birth as "Kosovo" and Serbia didn't complain, didn't they?

Since China is demanding that citizens born in Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan list their place of birth as China on foreign passports, I think it would be much easier to put "Macau/China", "Hong Kong/China", or "Taiwan/China" instead if it makes China feel happy. I don't know foreign govt would accept that.
 
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Hi guys! Stop badgering a newcomer to this community. Be nice to our neighbor from Taiwan/China!!

Vyacheslav! At the interview, please mention to the IO that you were born in the area called Taiwan, but that you would like the naturalization certificate and passport to mention "China" as country of birth.

But remember, the naturalization certificate has a field for "Country of former nationality" and the passport has "Country of Birth".

If Taiwan is the one who issued your current passport and is the 'country of former nationality' for you, then that is what they would state on the naturalization certificate. I would suppose that that would then carry over to your passport as 'country of birth'.

So, which passport do you hold now? 'Taiwan - Republic of China' or 'China- Peoples Republic of China' ? If it is the latter, then you may have a case to make at the interview and get it changed to China.

Don't lose your sleep over this, because there is nothing much you can do to change where you were born, or which passport you are holding now. Good luck, anyway.
 
Thanks, guy! I'm actually very much NOT into politics... but I am a person
who does everything strictly by the book. :D

I was born in Taiwan. My passport is issued by the government in power
in Taiwan, which refers to itself officially as "Republic of China" and the
front of the passport shows "Republic of China." In fact, the word "Taiwan"
cannot be found on anywhere on the passport.

"Republic of China" is a completely different entity than "People's Republic
of China" which is based in mainland China.(the one with Russian in the
north and India to the west). :)

My father was born in Taiwan. He has never even set foot on mainland
China in his life. His US passport says "Country of Birth: China" but that
China actually refers to "Republic of China" which is how the US govt
refers to Taiwan.

A co-worker of mine was from People's Republic of China. He became a
US citizen in 1995. He showed me his US passport and it is listed as
"Country of Birth: China, People's Republic of" (!)

Based on all the current US passports that I've seen in person so far, there
appears to be FIVE different ways "country of birth" is listed for naturalized
US citizens from China and Taiwan:

Country of Birth: China, Rep. of (frieed born in mainland China in 1938)
Country of Birth: China (my father, born in Taiwan)
Country of Birth: Taiwan (friend born in Taiwan in 1969)
Country of Birth: China, People's Republic of (friend born in mainland China in 1942)
Country of Birth: Japan(person born in Taiwan in 1920's, while Taiwan was a Japanese territory

The fith one makes it even more confusing... but it's not related to this
discussion. I met a lady whose father was born in Taiwan in 1920's, while
Taiwan was still a Japanese territory. He immigrated to the US immediately
after WWII. However, he did not become a naturalized citizen until the
late 1970s. His current US passport shows country of birth as "Japan"....

It appears that the wording is based on which governemnt the US
recognizes at the time... more than one interpretation... It all depends
what the US INS called it at the time a person applied for immigration
status.(greencard or naturalization)

I give up... this is getting too confusing for me... :( I researched this
issue so much... with so many results... I can probably start writing a
500-page book about it... :(

I just want to be a citizen of the United States of America! :)
 
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Good luck. It seems for the U.S. passport they list Taiwan as a country option, so they may favor that choice over saying China. At the end of the day, if you don't feel too strongly about one choice or the other I would say choose the one that will lead to fewer problems at the border. As some have said you can communicate your concern to the IO and see what can be done about it. However, for most people in the US China means mainland China and Taiwan is a separate political entity.
 
Vyacheslav said:
Thanks, guy! I'm actually very much NOT into politics... but I am a person who does everything strictly by the book.

I was born in Taiwan. My passport is issued by the government in power
in Taiwan, which refers to itself officially as "Republic of China" and the
front of the passport shows "Republic of China." In fact, the word "Taiwan"
cannot be found on anywhere on the passport.

I just want to be a citizen of the United States of America! :)
Click to expand...

What you wrote was full of political statments and judgements, while you were claiming yourself very much not into politics! You can always ask for help here, but please leave politics to yourself.
 
N400toLawrence said:
I have hard time believing what you said. Why would you want to change your country of birth to China since you were born in Taiwan. Taiwan is not a province if you ask anyone other than Chinese from China. Just like Vetican is a city. Would you call Mongolia a state/province of China? It's the fact that you were born there and so did your father. It doesn't matter where you were born, you are naturalizing to becoming a US citizen. Proud of who you are, where you are from, and be loyal to your country.
Click to expand...



Dear N400toLawrence,

The cover of my current passport officialy shows: (other than the Chinese words)

REPUBLIC OF CHINA

TAIWAN

PASSPORT

Inside, it shows my "place of birth" as "Taipei City" which is exactly where I was born.

I seriously doubt that the US Dept of State allow you to show just the city name, like the ROC passports... :(

I would settle for a US passport that shows "place of birth" as "TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA"..... basically I just want it to be exactly the same as my current ROC passport. :)
 
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