Please help - RFE on 485 for Birth Certificate

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sunshine_123

Registered Users (C)
We received RFE on my wife's case. Her date of birth is off by one day on her birth certificate. We were aware of this situation when we filed the 485 and therefore we provided the following documents:
- Copy of birth certificate (with the incorrect date) in local language
- Certified translated copy in English.
- Birth certificate issued by the Indian embassy with the correct date. (on the basis of her passport)
- Copy of passport.
- Signed affidavits by both parents indicating the right DOB and the fact that the information in the BC is incorrect.

They have still issued an RFE and provided 30 days for us to respond with additional evidence or a corrected birth certificate. We tried correcting the date in the BC, but were not successful. Anyone else is a similar situation?

The only other document we can now provide is her high school leaving certificate that has her name, her father's name and her correct DOB.

Help is appreciated.
 
Did they acknowledge receiving the evidence you sent before? If not, send it again, with a cover letter summarizing the issue. Sometimes they're very disorganized and don't check what they already have before sending out the RFE.
 
Thanks for your response. No, there was nothing stated. The RFE only states what they want to see. Lawyer says that we have to provide a new certificate. We have only 30 days to respond, so we are trying to do the best we can. Its disappointing.
 
Well, one of the dates is not correct. Every document has one date and the birth certificate has a different date. So, either we correct the birth certificate or we correct all other documents. Not sure which one is easier.
 
Well, one of the dates is not correct. Every document has one date and the birth certificate has a different date. So, either we correct the birth certificate or we correct all other documents. Not sure which one is easier.
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That is incorrect logic. The correct logic is different. Birth certificate is the primary and the only proof of your date of birth. If birth certificate is correct, other documents do not need to be changed, because an error in DOB in other documents is possible. Unless, of course, they suspect fraud involved (like birth certificate is not in fact yours)

If birth certificate is not correct (what happened in your case), it needs to be corrected. So, now, as you already pointed you it was the BC that was incorrect, you do not have much choice. Unless your parents reconsider and tell you your BC is correct, but other documents are not.
 
Also, I'd like to know if you actually tried to get a correct BC from Indian authorities. What was their response?
Do you have that response in writing?
Do you have proof you tried to get corrected BC from them?
What real proof (other documents you have mentioned are absolutely irrelevant) do you have about the correct DOB?
Do you have medical records from the hospital you were born in?
Do you have affidavit from your mom?
Is she alive?
Did anybody visit her in the hospital when she gave birth to you?
Are those people alive?
 
sunshine_123 said:
- Birth certificate issued by the Indian embassy with the correct date. (on the basis of her passport)
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Is this one considered an official birth certificate? If yes, you should not have bothered to submit the other one with the wrong date.

But what do you mean by "on the basis of her passport"? If they merely copied what they saw in the passport, that can't be considered a genuine birth certificate. On the other hand, if they used the information in the passport to look up the official records and then issued the certificate, that's a different matter.
 
It seems to me BC should not be tied to passport. Only citizens could have passport, but BC is available for everybody who was born.
So, I suspect on the basis of her passport means that is not a genuine BC, but rather a record from passport agency in the form of a non-genuine BC, which is not acceptable for US immigration purposes as a BC
 
The BC issued by Indian Embassy is not valid as a BC for the GC purposes (or generally for any legal purposes). The embassy just issues a certificate by copying the date from passport.

The BC given by the Birth Regisars's office is the official one and hence the birth date. If they register the birth date incorrectly, then the records at their office have to be corrected and you should receive your corrected BC from them.

Any way, here is what I think that you can do..

1. You may be having more than 30 days to response the RFE, if you need documents internationally. Please check with the USCIS regarding timeline.

Try to obtain the corrected BC from the Registar's office and let some one sent you a scanned copy / fax of the ne BC and submit that to USCIS.

2. Otherwise, accept the wrong date as correct date, inform the USCIS that the birthdate is in error and the correct birth date is as on the BC and send the copy of your BC. And then, you need to correct every other document (Passport, DL, ....) to reflect the date on the BC asap.
 
Birth Certificates
Available. Prior to l970, the reporting of births was voluntary. Birth certificates of Europeans, Anglo-Indians, Armenian Christians, Jews and Parsis born prior to l970 may be obtained from the State Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. No standard or uniform certificate is issued by the authorities. In addition, acceptable certificates may often be obtained from the municipal and rural registration records, which are maintained under the state laws. Europeans, Anglo-Indians, and Indian Christians are usually able to obtain church baptismal certificates.

Under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of l969, births are required to be registered in almost all of the States and Union Territories of India. Birth certificates are available to any applicant born on or after April l, l970, upon payment of a nominal fee to the appropriate authority.

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.
 
Thank you all. I really appreciate your responses. As I mentioned in my first post, we knew there was an error in the BC and thats why we got affidavits made from parents to support the error. These were either overlooked or not sufficient. Like I mentioned, we had sent all supporting documents -
- Copy of birth certificate (with the incorrect date) in local language
- Certified translated copy in English.
- Birth certificate issued by the Indian embassy with the correct date. (on the basis of her passport)
- Copy of passport.
- Signed affidavits by both parents indicating the right DOB and the fact that the information in the BC is incorrect.

I have read in many forums that the BC issued by Indian embassy has worked in the past.. but we were not counting on that, we just sent it because we had it.

Anyway, bottom line is, her folks in India are trying hard to get the BC corrected. Its taking time to gather all documents that the issuing authorities want as proof, but they are working on it. Hopefully it will get done in time, if not, we will submit proof that we are working on it and its taking time and hopefully they will give us extension. Just keeping my fingers crossed at this time. It has been a long, tough and tiring journey.
 
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