Father has Birth year only on birth certificate

[vanille]

Hello all,

Hoping someone would have an answer to my issue. I am filing I-130s for my mum and dad. My dad's birth certificate only contains a birth year. This is not unusual practice in my country as a lot babies born around the 1940s were registered months or even years after their birth, and it was just common practice to put the year as the birth date. So, my dad does not have a birth day and month. In light of this, what do I put as a birth day and month on the I-130? The form is not letting me put just a year. Would there be a problem if I use 00/00/year or 01/01/year and then explain this later on during the interview? My dad has obtained Visitor visas several times at the US embassy in my country and this was never a problem.

Thanks for any help.

Vanille

[knowledgeable]

... which must be in the passport too. So put that birth date. United States needs a full birth date.

You need the passport and an affidavit confirming the birth date.

Good luck.

[vanille]

Thanks for your reply, Knowledgeable. I am not sure I understand your suggestion though. The passport (foreign), the birth certificate and every legal paper my dad ever had only has his birth year as well. He's never had a day and a month in his papers. He doesn't even know his birth day and month.

I am tempted to put 01/01 and the correct year and explain later when we get to the interview... Do you see an issue with that? I fear if I put just the year, it might create issues.

[knowledgeable]

... that a country, any country would issue a passport without the full DOB.

Well, there should be just one, one document that shows the DOB.

If not, does he have any approximation of what his DOB might be.

If nothing else, then you need to speak with a local attorney in your home country and get a court document that will indicate the the person does not have any known record or knowledge of his DOB and that the nearest approximation is such and such [Month/Date/Year] and you hearby will use this date as the DOB.

Use that date, get it changed in the passport and you're all set.

If this is too much of a trouble for you, then you need to at least get an affidavit that shows there's no known DOB and use the 01/01 on the electronic form.

Hope it works for you. United States' system is too specific and lot of things don't work without the full DOB.

Take care.

Best regards.

[peace]

BC of an I-130 beneficiary is an extremely important document required to establish his/her identity at the time of interview. BC is not mandatory for a visitor visa though. The law provides for submission of affidavits in lieu of incomplete/faulty/unavailable bcs.

Before you even start to complete an I-130 form, I suggest you talk to a good attorney about what is the procedure for unknown birth dates
If you complete the form with an incomplete birth date , it may create problems later.

[vanille]

Thank you both for the advice. I just made an appointment with a lawyer. Hopefully, he'll be able to give me more direction. If not, I'll go with the affidavit route.

It's kinda weird, but a lot of people in my country of birth (in Africa) born around the 40s or before just have the year listed on their BC. They were not very diligent in recording birth info at that time. So, it's very common for people of that age group to be in this situation. It's not much of an issue out there, but can become a headache in the US.

Appreciate all the help!

Vanille

[knowledgeable]

... to you. Hope it works out the best for you.

If and when you do resolve the issue, please do post the findings herein, so that others from your country or with similar issue can benefit.

Take care.