Birth Certificate Record

While you are in the U.S. you will need a birth certificate for many immigration and permanent residency related matters. However, you will need an accurate and universally acceptable version. Read on if you fit in one of the following categories:

• Are you looking to correct wrong information on your birth certificate?
• Have you lost a birth certificate?
• Is your birth certificate in a language other than English?
• Are you looking for a birth certificate replacement?
• Do you want to register the birth of US-born child of Indian parentage as Indian Citizen?
• How to order a birth certificate online (only for U.S. citizens) ?

How to rectify incorrect/missing information in the birth certificate?

If you have a piece of information missing from your birth certificate you will need to do the following:

• Get a notarized affidavit with the correct information from your parents, preferably your mother.
• The affidavit can also be notarized in USA if your parents are here.
• If your parents are no longer alive, you can get the affidavit from any close relative who is older than you. This should accompany a death certificate of your deceased parents.
• In few cases, where the parents are not alive, you may be required to provide 2 separate affidavits from two different persons.

You must include the following details in the affidavit:

• Parent’s full name
• Parent’s date of birth
• Parent’s place of birth
• Parent’s date of marriage
• Applicant’s full name
• Applicant’s date of birth
• Applicant’s place of birth

Lost birth certificate

If you have lost your birth certificate and the record is no longer available from the authorities, then a sworn affidavit by either of the parents is required. If parents are no longer alive, then any close relative (like uncle, or a close family friend) older than you may provide this affidavit. The affidavit must be accompanied with a certificate of Non-availability or No-record-of-birth certificate from the concerned district office/government authority. If the authorities no longer issue the Non- Availability certificate, then you can include this information in the birth certificate. For example, in the birth certificate you can write that the original is lost/stolen or the birth was never registered.
If the affidavit is provided by the relative, it must state the following:

• what is your relationship with the relative,
• how well does the person/dependent knows you,
• Date and place of your birth, names of both the parents, and any other related facts.

Requirements for lost birth certificate in brief:

• Non-Availability Certificate from the Municipality/Government authority of the place where the applicant was born. It should clearly state/confirm that the birth record/certificate no longer exists. A school record stating your name and any available birthday records from the last day attended at school.
• Affidavit.

Note

This affidavit does not have a unique format identified by INS, hence different attorneys may have different layouts.
A sample affidavit (by Applicant’s mother)

AFFIDAVIT
I, (mother’s) last name (maiden name) first name, wife of (spouse) last name first name, being duly sworn, do depose and make the following statements:

1. I was born in place of birth, State, Country on Date of Birth.
2. I am married to (spouse) last name first name on date (-of their marriage-).
3. I am the mother of (your) last name first name and (your father’s) last name first name is his/her father.
4. (Your) last name first name was born on date (of birth in MM/DD/YYYY) at time (of birth am/pm) in City, State, Country.

Signature:
Date:
N O T A R Y

Birth Certificate in a language other than English

If your birth certificate is not printed in English you have to get it translated. This can be done in two ways:

• You can hire a professional translator or a firm providing such services, or,
• You can get it translated by anyone who is fluent in the language and who is not benefiting in any way from the petition can translate it as well.

It must state the below:

“I, (translators name), certify that I am competent to translate from (name of native language) to English and hereby certify that the above information is a true, complete and accurate translation of the attached original document.
Signature of translator.
Date:
[Typed full name, address, & phone number of translator.]

Registration of birth of US-born child of Indian parentage

Indian parents who give birth to the child in the U.S should register the birth with the Indian Consulate close to the place of residence. Usually the application for birth certificate includes a request to register the child and issue a birth certificate to them as Indian Citizens. If you want your child to hold American Citizenship you should not follow this procedure. Usually there is a $20-$50 fee for the process.
Fill the form for the online birth certificate with the following information:

• Child’s name
• Date & place of birth
• Sex (m/f)

Supporting document required:

• Proof of residence
• Photograph of the child
• Original passports of both parents
• Photocopy of first two and last two pages of passports
• Original Birth Certificate(s) of the above child/children along with a photocopy.
• Signed declaration of both parents that they have not opted for any other nationality for the child / children and they want Indian Citizenship for their child.

How to order a birth certificate online (only for U.S. citizens)?

If you are a U.S. citizen follow these steps to get a birth certificate online:

• You can order a birth certificate online or via mail.
• Select your state and click on the birth certificate links within your state.
• If you are ordering the birth certificate online: go to ww.vitalrec.com/ Fill out the application form. Make a payment using your credit card (usually $20). You will get the birth certificate via email.
• If you want to get the certificate via mail, complete the application and fill out a check and send it to the address listed. You will get the birth certificate in 1-2 weeks.