Marriage Certificate and Birth Certificate -- I-130 and I-485

[IL_LABOR]

I am in the process of filing the GC for my parents , It seems Form I-130 needs Marriage Certificate and I-485 needs Birth Certificate. In my parents case, they neither have any birth certificate issued nor have a copy of marriage certificate. Can someone please suggest me what can be the alternative to this ?

Will and affidavit be sufficient for both missing Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificates or if either of them is absolutely required. Form I-130 instructions states that in case if a document is not available, you can also submit secondary evidence like church record , school record , census record, affidavit.



Thank You
IL_Labor

 

[Jackolantern]

Do you have your own birth certificate with their names on it?

Was their marriage ever registered? If it was registered they should be able to get a marriage certificate issued by the relevant authorities in the country where it was registered.

 

[BigJoe5]

I am in the process of filing the GC for my parents , It seems Form I-130 needs Marriage Certificate and I-485 needs Birth Certificate. In my parents case, they neither have any birth certificate issued nor have a copy of marriage certificate. Can someone please suggest me what can be the alternative to this ?

Will and affidavit be sufficient for both missing Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificates or if either of them is absolutely required. Form I-130 instructions states that in case if a document is not available, you can also submit secondary evidence like church record , school record , census record, affidavit.



Thank You
IL_Labor

google for department of state reciprocity table then select their country. USCIS uses the same information.

 

[IL_LABOR]

Do you have your own birth certificate with their names on it?

Was their marriage ever registered? If it was registered they should be able to get a marriage certificate issued by the relevant authorities in the country where it was registered.

1) Yes, I do have my birth certificate , not sure if it has their names, I can check. The form I-485 requires birth certificate copies of , Can you please confirm if I can use my own birth certificate on my parents I-485?

2) No their marriage was not registered. Is marriage certificate absolutely mandatory?

Thanks a lot!

 

[IL_LABOR]

google for department of state reciprocity table then select their country. USCIS uses the same information.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_5455.html?cid=9215

If the marriage has not been officially registered, then two sworn affidavits giving the names, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, and the date and place of marriage, as well as the names of the parents of both parties are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_5455.html?cid=9215

In cases where birth certificates from the authorities are unavailable or contain insufficient information regarding the birth or the parents, a sworn affidavit executed by either the parents, if living, or other close relatives older than the applicant, may be submitted. It should set forth the relationship between the deponent and the applicant, how well the deponent knows the applicant, date and place of the applicant's birth, the names of both parents, and any other related facts. Such an affidavit, when a birth certificate is unavailable, should be accompanied by a document from a competent governmental authority confirming that the certificate does not exist, or no longer exists.

 

[Jackolantern]

1) Yes, I do have my birth certificate , not sure if it has their names, I can check. The form I-485 requires birth certificate copies of , Can you please confirm if I can use my own birth certificate on my parents I-485?

If you have a birth certificate, submitting a copy of your birth certificate is mandatory.

2) No their marriage was not registered. Is marriage certificate absolutely mandatory?

The important thing is proving the parental relationships. Their names being on your birth certificate helps a lot with that.

For mothers the their name on the birth certificate is usually sufficient; there is almost never any doubt about who is the mother. But for fathers they want more evidence, and that's where the marriage certificate becomes important. If your parents were married when you were born, they will presume that the husband of the mother is the father. If they weren't married at that time or you can't prove they were married, they'll want other evidence of your father being your father, like school records showing that you were living with him while growing up (or receiving child support money from him, if you didn't live with him).

Are you sure their marriage wasn't registered? Have they checked with the relevant authorities? Sometimes the religious officials who administered the wedding will register the marriage and the couple doesn't realize it was registered.

 

[Jackolantern]

Are your parents inside or outside the US? In another thread you mentioned your mother having her B2 visa application rejected multiple times, so it would seem that she is outside the US. And if she is outside the US she isn't eligible to file I-485.

If she is inside the US planning to file I-485, she's proven that they were right to reject her B2 visa so many times.