Obtaining Certificate of Non-Availability of Birth Certificate along with Secondary Evidence of Birth Results in Approval of Immigrant Visa

Obtaining Certificate of Non-Availability of Birth Certificate along with Secondary Evidence of Birth Results in Approval of Immigrant Visa

We provided immigration representation to a United States citizen petitioning for permanent resident status for her mother who was a citizen of India. The I-130 Petition was approved by USCIS and forwarded to the National Visa Center wherein one of the required documents to submit was the mother’s birth certificate. However, at the time period when the mother was born in India, no formal government birth certificate was issued. In lieu of a birth certificate, we instructed the mother to obtain a certificate of non-availability from the local government in India along with secondary evidence of her birth such as school records, hospital records, and Notarized Affidavits from family members setting forth the particulars of the birth. The National Visa Center accepted the birth related documents and the mother was recently issued an immigrant visa.