Dear Atty. Lou,
I have a problem with my husband birth certificate. His original birth certificate and date of birth is 1961. He wanted to work at an early age then, so he increased his age by 3 years that was when he was 15 years old. He even had it registered later so he was able to get a birth certificate for 1958.
He was petitioned by my in laws using the 1958 birth certificate and I am waiting for my EB3 visa together with the whole family using also the 1958 birth certificate of my husband. But all late and double registrations of birth were now deleted from the record of the National Statistics Office. What shall I do now?
Thanks,
Mrs R
Dear Mrs. R,
For purposes of the immigration petition, the US citizen parents should be able to petition their children to migrate with them if they meet all eligibility requirements. For children petition by US citizens, it is required that the parent-child relationship is established. This means that the definition of “child” must be proven according to the regulations.
One of the accepted evidence of relationship is the official document called the birth certificate. This birth certificate identifies the child’s real name, birthday, birthplace and the name of the parents. In your particular case, your husband’s valid and official birth certificate is the birth certificate that has his 1962 date of birth. The fact that the 1958 erroneous birth certificate was used to support the Petition filed on his behalf may cause serious problem in his visa application. This document contains a misrepresentation as far as his date of birth is concerned. It does not mean that he will be refused the visa. It is important to establish his real identity. He should be able to explain the discrepancy through objective evidence and testimonials by disinterested persons.
The misrepresentation on his 1958 birth certificate was made not for purposes of perpetrating a fraud to obtain an immigration benefit. Hence it is important to explain that the date of birth was changed to obtain gainful employment in the past. Included in the documents to support the explanation is a certified copy of his real 1962 birth certificate. This will set the record straight as far as his real birthdate is concerned. The child parent relationship for purposes of the petition must be fully established.
Your letter did not indicate when he was petitioned and so it is not clear what his priority date is for purposes of visa processing. Since his visa petition was already approved, all these explanations may be made to the National Visa Center and to the consular officer at the time of his visa interview.
I hope this information is helpful. Good luck.
Atty. Lou
(Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq is a partner at the Tancinco Law Offices, a Professional Law Corp. Her office is located at One Hallidie Plaza, Ste 818, San Francisco CA 94102 and may be reached at 415.397.0808; email at law@tancinco.com or check their website at tancinco.weareph.com/old. The content provided in this column is solely for informational purpose only and do not create a lawyer-client relationship. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. This column does not disclose any confidential or classified information acquired in her capacity as legal counsel. Consult with an attorney before deciding on a course of action. You can submit questions to law@tancinco.com)
