darljl

My husband has to send his police certificate, birth certificate and our marriage license to NVC for the I-130 with the DS-240 form and the AOS. I have searched the forum and get conflicting answers. Do we send certified copies, just copies, or does it have to the the originals? My husband is in Egypt, so I know they all have to be translated, but I also know they want the certificates in the native language. Thank you.

jeffreyhy

darljl,

DS-240?

AOS?

Send photocopies unless the instruction from the NVC specifically says original for any particular item.

Regards, JEff

darljl

Sorry - I made a typo...it is DS-230 not 240 and AOS is the Affidavit of Support. Thanks for pointing out my error and thanks for the advice.

jeffreyhy

darljl,

Ahhhhh.....

AOS is most commonly used for adjustment of status. One more reason why I prefer to use the form number designations, or at least the proper names.

Anyway, ....

Regards, JEff

Mrtravelkay

darljl wrote:

    > My husband has to send his police certificate, birth certificate and our
    > marriage license to NVC for the I-130 with the DS-240 form and the AOS.
    > I have searched the forum and get conflicting answers. Do we send
    > certified copies, just copies, or does it have to the the originals? My
    > husband is in Egypt, so I know they all have to be translated, but I
    > also know they want the certificates in the native language. Thank you.

First. The originals are generally maintained by the government (don't
know about Egypt) and you would be able to get certified copies.
You should get certified copies and bring them to the interview. Send
photocopies.

Hebapotamus42

Darljl,

I just spoke with the NVC this morning and asked them that very question. I was told they will not accept photocopies of anything except the passport. For everything else, they want either originals or certified copies.

Noorah101

Interesting note on getting certified copies of a birth certificate from Iran. Sadegh says the government won't issue a certified copy of a birth certificate. The one and only reason they'll issue any kind of copy of it, is if you have lost yours, and you have to somehow prove it's lost.

I'm hoping Ankara won't hold us to the requirement of having to provide an original AND a certified copy at the interview. I'm hoping that's for Turkish nationals only, where it's probably much easier to obtain such records.

Rene

Katie

darljl,

Follow the directions from the NVC. The letter that my husband received from the NVC instructed him to send "originals or certified copies from the issuing authority." Out attorney sent photocopies, and the NVC returned all the docs with instructions to send "originals or certified copies from the issuing authority."

As far as I can tell, a certified copy from the issuing authority is NOT the same thing as a certified photocopy. Original birth certificates and divorce decrees, for example, are kept by the agency or court that issued them. When you need a copy, the agency or court gives you a document that essentially says that it is true copy of what is in their file. Often, we refer to these copies that we obtain directly from the issuing agency as an "original," but it is not, it is a "certified copy from the issuing agency."

For my husband, we eventually submitted the actual copies that we received from the various agencies, not photocopies. These documents were returned to him at his interview.

Hope this helps.
Katie