I have read on the forum that according to the USCIS agents at Oath Ceremonies, Black and White Photocopies are OK, since they cannot be mistaken for originals. A photocopy Services store (UPS Store for example) often has a Notary Public able to make the BW photocopy and notarize it. The notarized copy is accepted to cross borders where the original Naturalization Certificate would be accepted (for example Mexico and Canada).
The CBP website indicates:
The CBP website indicates:
Travel by Land or Sea - If a U.S. citizen does not have a passport or a certified copy of a birth certificate, the following may be accepted as proof of citizenship: - A U.S. state or federal government-issued birth record (note: hospital-issued birth certificates are not acceptable) or baptismal record. If a U.S. citizen child was recently born, and no copy of the birth certificate is available, bring whatever paperwork the hospital has given you as a record of the birth. If you do not have a certified copy of your birth certificate, one can be requested from the Vital Records office in the State where you were born.
Laminated Birth Certificates are not useful for purposes of establishing citizenship because it is impossible to determine they are certified. A Certificate of Citizenship, or Certificate of Naturalization are also excepted [note: notarized photocopies or notarized fax copies of such certificates are acceptable, but affidavits of citizenship and voter registrations are not).
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