RFE for Birth Cert, after Biometrics, While in the US on Travel Visa&#

[lovinghusband520]

Not sure if the topic explains correctly what I want to sum up so we get some members to read this post with any guidance they may have.

 

I have read through a lot of post here, and though some similar nothing exactly the same nor close enough for me not to need to post this topic, again I hope I also placed this in the right section as well.

 

Here's a little background information: My wife and I recently got married in March, I am a US Citizen, and she is Chinese. We had come back from visiting her family in China for the Chinese New years, and on a romantic night, I proposed. We got married the week after while my wife was still on her B1 travel visa. We did not expect to get married like this so of course we looked at all the things we needed to do. If only we would of been thinking about marriage we could of gotten her needed birth cert and had a Notarial Birth Cert made while there before leaving. But since we actually didn't plan this now we are lost on what next. We Applied for the full Immigration process. I-485 I-130 I-765 etc. We prepared everything we had as documents, and even had her family mail us (what we thought was her birth certificate) She was born in 1994 so all she has is a small document from the hospital with her families name, her name, date, stamp and hospital sig. We had this translated and submitted all the forms.

 

Now to the problem. All was accepted and had no issues, we thought this was great news! She just finished her biometric Finger Prints about 3 weeks ago, so once we got a letter in the mail I was super excited it was her EAD or something good! No was I wrong! It was an RFE asking for more evidence of her birth Certificate. It states that they will only accept Long-Form Birth Certs, which to me means I would need to get her the Notarial Certificate Notarial Birth Cert 出生公证书, or chu sheng gong zheng shu.

 

Our dilemma, She is currently here in the US on her Travel Visa which expires in Aug. We applied for this process with all the documents we could get from here and from china directly. We have spoken to her family, they have gone to great length to try and get her a Certificate Notarial Birth Cert , but have been unable to do so. Here's the facts to why. Her mother is no longer with us, rest in peace. Her father was married to her 6 years after my wife was born, my wife was never listed under her father's hukou only her grandmother, Her grandmother is still here with us thank god. They do not have a marriage cert to prove to the Certificate Notarial so they requested a hair sample for DNA, once we sent the hair sampled in express mail, the office then said they would need her to come as well to get proof. Now the biggest problem is how do we get her this or can we do secondary evidence somehow? I do not feel safe for her to leave the country while on her B1 Visa that will expire soon during our immigration process. I would HATE MY SELF if she was denied reentry to the US for any reason while trying to get the documents the USCIS is asking for. I'm really not even sure what can be done but we have 80 days to do it now. Can I get this birth cert any other way? Can her family do anything else without her having to fly back to china? and what are all the risk if doing so?

 

Thanks in Advanced! I will post more details if I find any.

[Randy W]

What information is in her hukou regarding her birth?

 

One (free) option is to write up your story, including as many details and NAMES (include her family members' names and those of contacts at the PSB) as possible as to WHY she CAN'T get the Notarial Certificate of Birth. Include a copy of your wife's hukou with translation of relevant pages.

 

Another option would be to work with a local immigrations attorney in your U.S. city toward either making your write up more official, or to find out if a travel document would be possible to allow her to apply in person. This might be the best choice.

 

Another is to contact the Chodorow Law Offices in China to see if they can help, but it's unclear if they could do any more than you have already tried, although they may have ideas about how the hukou could be used to generate the birth certificate.

 

I believe that an email or WeChat consultation would be free to find out if they can help - see https://lawandborder.com/contact/.

 

 

 

Our firm’s standard fee is USD 950 to 1300 to provide a police certificate for each city (or to provide proof that a certificate is unobtainable).

Our law firm helps clients with difficulty obtaining birth certificates or who need to gather other evidence of their birth.

 

 

I expect that a similar fee and services would apply for the Notarial Certificate of Birth.

[Randy W]

Another possibility is that her B1 will be enough to get her back in the country, if she goes to get the certificate of birth herself. Check with your local lawyer.

Edited July 19, 2019 by Randy W
Edit: No! It looks like the lawyers have already spoken up on VJ. (see edit history)

[fluffyballs]

Another possibility is that her B1 will be enough to get her back in the country, if she goes to get the certificate of birth herself. Check with your local lawyer.

 

This will result in her I-485 getting denied as she doesn't have AP yet.

 

A real tough situation. She may run into issues with CBP upon re-entry if they can see the (theoretically cancelled) I-485, and even if they let her in, she may have possible issues with USCIS regarding intent if they file the I485 a second time on a B1/B2, since it's pretty damn clear what they are up to.

 

I'd do anything possible to get the document from within the US. Exhaust all possible options before having her go get it. Otherwise, you're probably looking at going the CR1 road down the future....

Edited July 19, 2019 by fluffyballs (see edit history)

[lovinghusband520]

 

Another possibility is that her B1 will be enough to get her back in the country, if she goes to get the certificate of birth herself. Check with your local lawyer.

 

This will result in her I-485 getting denied as she doesn't have AP yet.

 

A real tough situation. She may run into issues with CBP upon re-entry if they can see the (theoretically cancelled) I-485, and even if they let her in, she may have possible issues with USCIS regarding intent if they file the I485 a second time on a B1/B2, since it's pretty damn clear what they are up to.

 

I'd do anything possible to get the document from within the US. Exhaust all possible options before having her go get it. Otherwise, you're probably looking at going the CR1 road down the future....

That was the problem We did not apply for Advance Parole since we did not plan to leave the country at all, and we do not want to abandon our application. too costly and timely. Thanks

That was the problem We did not apply for Advance Parole since we did not plan to leave the country at all, and we do not want to abandon our application. too costly and timely. Thanks

 

We will try from here somehow, but again it's tough and 80 days time seems long, but it's not. If anyone else can't give an idea that's great too!

[lovinghusband520]

What information is in her hukou regarding her birth?

 

One (free) option is to write up your story, including as many details and NAMES (include her family members' names and those of contacts at the PSB) as possible as to WHY she CAN'T get the Notarial Certificate of Birth. Include a copy of your wife's hukou with translation of relevant pages.

 

Another option would be to work with a local immigrations attorney in your U.S. city toward either making your write up more official, or to find out if a travel document would be possible to allow her to apply in person. This might be the best choice.

 

Another is to contact the Chodorow Law Offices in China to see if they can help, but it's unclear if they could do any more than you have already tried, although they may have ideas about how the hukou could be used to generate the birth certificate.

 

I believe that an email or WeChat consultation would be free to find out if they can help - see https://lawandborder.com/contact/.

 

 

 

Our firm’s standard fee is USD 950 to 1300 to provide a police certificate for each city (or to provide proof that a certificate is unobtainable).

 

Our law firm helps clients with difficulty obtaining birth certificates or who need to gather other evidence of their birth.

 

 

I expect that a similar fee and services would apply for the Notarial Certificate of Birth.

I think we found a company over wechat that can provide this service, again the problem is making sure it is legit. With all the scams online and possible fake documents. This is something not to make a mistake with especially going through the wrong source.

[fluffyballs]

 

 

Another possibility is that her B1 will be enough to get her back in the country, if she goes to get the certificate of birth herself. Check with your local lawyer.

 

This will result in her I-485 getting denied as she doesn't have AP yet.

 

A real tough situation. She may run into issues with CBP upon re-entry if they can see the (theoretically cancelled) I-485, and even if they let her in, she may have possible issues with USCIS regarding intent if they file the I485 a second time on a B1/B2, since it's pretty damn clear what they are up to.

 

I'd do anything possible to get the document from within the US. Exhaust all possible options before having her go get it. Otherwise, you're probably looking at going the CR1 road down the future....

That was the problem We did not apply for Advance Parole since we did not plan to leave the country at all, and we do not want to abandon our application. too costly and timely. Thanks

That was the problem We did not apply for Advance Parole since we did not plan to leave the country at all, and we do not want to abandon our application. too costly and timely. Thanks

 

We will try from here somehow, but again it's tough and 80 days time seems long, but it's not. If anyone else can't give an idea that's great too!

 

 

If it makes you feel any better, I don't think it would've mattered in this situation. AP takes 6-8 months now, and even if it were faster, I'm not sure they'd process it anyways until all her documentation were complete. For all future readers - there is no additional charge for AP and it's a very short form - apply!! Especially with the I-485 processing times averaging 11-13 months, and up to 18-24 months in the busiest field offices.

 

Sorry for the situation you're in. We also adjusted from a B2 visa but fortunately my mother-in-law was able to get all the documents at the local gov't office. If I we're in you're position I'd speak to a good and very reputable attorney or immigration consultant, ideally in your wife's hometown. The lawyer that multinational firms and rich Chinese people use. At the very least to get their input. Even if it's costly, you're probably going to be getting the real thing and will spend less than having to buy her a plane ticket and pay to refile the application. Now is not the time to be farting around with one-man WeChat operations and shady middlemen. Best of luck, and hopefully someone offers a better solution.

 

One final thing: I'm not sure the 80 day time period on the B2 is really relevant anymore as she has a pending I485 and is authorized to stay in the US until USCIS adjudicates her application. Her B2 is probably as good as gone, now that she has shown intent to permanently stay in the US and may have issues with CBP upon re-entry. Did USCIS give a deadline?

Edited July 19, 2019 by fluffyballs (see edit history)

[lovinghusband520]

Thanks for all the quick and valid points! I'm sure you know how this feels to not be sure what will happen. The USCIS gave us a deadline to turn in the needed birth cert, of 87 days from letter date of arrival. As you mentioned, her B1 is now void due to this process, and if she even thinks about leaving, well say good bye to our application and time spent. thanks for the tip on who might be able to help from her hometown. she's from a small town in Guiyang, but even the smallest of towns have the right people for the situation if sought after. We will keep everyone posted, as this post may and can help other in the future too. Plus who knows maybe someone else will chime in with another pointer.

 

Thanks again for all the quick help in a time like this.

Edited July 19, 2019 by lovinghusband520 (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Keep track of NAMES, dates, and other information (i.e., who says what) in case you need to fall back on simply providing THAT information.

[fluffyballs]

Keep track of NAMES, dates, and other information (i.e., who says what) in case you need to fall back on simply providing THAT information.

Great point, and even better if you can get as much of this in writing as possible.

 

One other (hail mary) option may be to try to call USCIS, plead your case, and ask for emergency advance parole. It's pretty difficult to get, and not sure if they'd even consider it given the missing docs, but at this point it's worth a few phone calls IMO. Call USCIS, speak to a T2 officer, and try to get an Infopass appointment at your local field office.

Edited July 20, 2019 by fluffyballs (see edit history)

[lovinghusband520]

Alright Thanks for all the info and help provided. I was able to have her family figure it out over in China. We got the Notarial Birth Cert and they sent me photo copies so I can submit while waiting for them to arrive to use in the Mail.

 

One quick question, It comes with a translation, do I still need to use another service to translate it before submitting it to them? Thanks in Advanced

[Randy W]

Alright Thanks for all the info and help provided. I was able to have her family figure it out over in China. We got the Notarial Birth Cert and they sent me photo copies so I can submit while waiting for them to arrive to use in the Mail.

 

One quick question, It comes with a translation, do I still need to use another service to translate it before submitting it to them? Thanks in Advanced

 

 

The white book is EXACTLY what you need - nothing else

[fluffyballs]

Alright Thanks for all the info and help provided. I was able to have her family figure it out over in China. We got the Notarial Birth Cert and they sent me photo copies so I can submit while waiting for them to arrive to use in the Mail.

 

One quick question, It comes with a translation, do I still need to use another service to translate it before submitting it to them? Thanks in Advanced

 

Nope, the translation inside the notatorial certificate is sufficient - at least it was for me.

[lovinghusband520]

Thanks again for the quick reply! some of the pages the text looks "wavey" from the way they sent the photo and scanned copies. I think im being paranoid but they should be fine I think just don't want any problems. Should I wait for them in the Mail and make my own scanned copies in a better quality?

[fluffyballs]

Thanks again for the quick reply! some of the pages the text looks "wavey" from the way they sent the photo and scanned copies. I think im being paranoid but they should be fine I think just don't want any problems. Should I wait for them in the Mail and make my own scanned copies in a better quality?

 

I used a free phone app to scan the pages and they looked pretty bad. I didn't have any issues. As long as everything is legible, I'd probably opt for doing what is fastest - in this case - sending in the docs asap. AOS processing times are really long now and I wouldn't want to delay the process even more.

Edited August 5, 2019 by fluffyballs (see edit history)