groovy

Hey everyone,

Here goes one of my questions... (I always have a lot but not many answers)

I have collected all the things we need for the interview and I read carefully the k1faq page which I found extremely helpful...

but today I was reading around and I found someone saying that I need the original birth certificate of the USC (my fiance) for the final interview.

Can anyone confirm from experience if I need it or not ?

Thanks a lot,

groovy

Steff

i heard that somewhere too, but only one time, most pages that i've looked at didnt mention anything about having an original of the USC's birth certificate. so i cant really help ya, but i'd like to know too!

ScarlettHill

Hi I'm doing K1 through London and they haven't asked for a birth certificate for my USC fiancé. He did have to show it when submitting his 129F in the US but I have not been notified that I need it over here. It's not on the London embassy checklist of things you need to collect and bring to the embassy. I mention London specifically because it seems different embassies around the world sometimes have slightly different requirements. As has been said before on this board, always go with the list supplied by a particular embassy rather than word-of-mouth.

An aside about UK birth certificates for anyone who needs to know - You do need your own birth certificate obviously and the same for any dependants going with you. These MUST be the long-form certificate. The short version is not acceptable according to London embassy literature and taking the short-form to your interview will very likely delay the issuance of your visa. This is probably because a long-form establishes your parents citizenship by detailing their names and addresses, whereas the short-form doesn't. You can get an official copy of your long-form birth certificate by applying in writing to the Register Office that covers your place of birth enclosing a fee of £6.50. Libraries have a list but you can also find one easily on the web. The fee may change - it's worth ringing the office and checking before you apply.

Regards
-=-
Scarlett

groovy

Thanks for the answers !

The original USC birth certificate is not on my Embassy´s list but I read somewhere that everything submitted as a photocopy could be, at some point, requested as an original in the final interview...

BTW, what about the bank statements for the affidavit, can they be notarized photocopies ? I think so...

Maybe I am just worrying too much.

regards,
groovy

Caro

I can not answer the question about whether or not you need to have the original birth certificate, but if you are worried, you can always ask your fiance to request a certified copy of his birth certificate to the office of vital records having jurisdiction over where he was born and ask him to send it to you. This way, he gets to keep the original, and you can have a certified copy that would "count as an original" if you needed it during your interview. It doesn't take very long to get the certified copy, and it might turn out to be useful after the wedding. For us, it was quite useful because we had to file paperwork with the INS (I-130) and some more paperwork with the French consulate to have our marriage transcripted on the registers of the consulate and be issued all our French marriage-related papers.

Take care and don't worry too much,
Caroline