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Birth/adoption certificate for NVC evidence and London embassy interview

Birth/adoption certificate for NVC evidence and London embassy interview

Old Jan 14th 2017, 7:52 am
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Default Birth/adoption certificate for NVC evidence and London embassy interview

Although I don't yet have an interview date at the embassy and my i130 is still being processed, I have been looking into the evidence that needs to be submitted to the NVC and taken with me to the interview.

The pre-interview checklist on the travel state website says I need my 'original birth certificate or certified copy and a photocopy'.

This was initially a little worrying for me as I was adopted when I was just a few months old and as far as I was aware I didn't possess an original birth certificate, only adoption papers.

Having spoke to my (adoptive) parents, they showed me that I have a 'certified copy of an entry' certificate that had both their names on it, which apparently is the same thing as a birth certificate. The only difference on mine is that it has the date of the adoption order.

If I send a copy of this off to the NVC, and bring it with me to the interview, along with my adoption papers, would this cause any possible difficulties or confusion?
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Old Jan 14th 2017, 10:38 am
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Default Re: Birth/adoption certificate for NVC evidence and London embassy interview

If you were adopted then you should have an adoption order certificate which shows your adopted name, date of birth, registration district of birth and your adoptive parents. Legally this then supersedes your original birth certificate. You can obtain your original birth certificate from the 'closed register' at the GRO if you were born in England or Wales and know your birth name which would show your birth parent(s). Obviously this can be very sensitive information depending on the adopted person's circumstances so I would doubt the US Embassy will insist on it but you can obtain it if necessary.
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Old Jan 15th 2017, 3:57 pm
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Default Re: Birth/adoption certificate for NVC evidence and London embassy interview

Having spoke to my (adoptive) parents, they showed me that I have a 'certified copy of an entry' certificate that had both their names on it, which apparently is the same thing as a birth certificate
This is an official document and is perfectly acceptable in lieu of a birth certificate.
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Old Jun 22nd 2017, 8:07 am
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Default Re: Birth/adoption certificate for NVC evidence and London embassy interview

I know it's been a while since I posted this, but to update: almost exactly 2 months after we sent all our documents to the NVC, my wife and I received an email stating we had items missing.

One of these items was my joint sponsor's W2 form – no problem as he had it to hand and will send a copy to me to take to the interview.

The other document they asked for was a birth certificate, which confused me, as a photocopy was definitely in the package we sent off.

After getting on the phone to the NVC, I explained my situation about being adopted, and how I sent off the birth certificate with my adopted parents names on, not birth parents.

The man on the other end of the line was very nice and sympathetic, but couldn't understand why it hadn't processed, as on his screen it had the birth certificate as being 'missing', however my adoption papers had been marked down as received and acceptable.

He did say that birth certificates are one of the most common things that get asked to be resubmitted. I think what most likely happened is mine was in a format that didn't look traditional, and therefore was treated as either not 'original' or as another piece of evidence of adoption, rather than birth. But I'm only guessing here.

Anyway, we both agreed the best thing to do was to send off a photocopy of both birth certificates – the 'original' one with my birth parents names on, and the one I sent first time, just to be on the safe side. I also attached a note explaining why I had included two. I have since sent these off and they have been received by the NVC. Unfortunately, it'll most likely end up knocking my interview date back by at least a couple of weeks.

If anyone else is in a similar situation to me (adopted), I would definitely recommend including a copy of your 'original' birth certificate as well, if you can get hold of it.

The good thing to come out of this experience is that this was the first time I had contacted the NVC and I found their customer service to be excellent. I was a little nervous about trying to explain my situation, being adopted etc., but the guy I spoke to was excellent and I have no fears about contacting them again.
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