On July 1, 2010, the Vital Statistics Office of the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico started issue new certified copies of birth certificates to
U.S. citizens born in Puerto Rico. This process began due to a change
in Puerto Rico’s birth certificate law and enabled a higher level of
security in the issuance process of birth certificates.
As of September 30, 2010, all certified copies of birth certificates
issued before July 1, 2010 will be invalid, stated USCIS in an official
memo. Please note, however, that this new regulation should not affect
citizenship status of people born in Puerto Rico; it only affects
whether or not a certified copy of a birth certificate is considered
valid.
All forms of certified copies of Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates
will be acceptable on the Form I-9 up to September 30. However, after
that date, only Puerto Rico birth certificates issued on or after July
1 will be acceptable as proof of identity on the I-9 form.
