Date of Birth Issue for Green Card

[rln8316]

Thank you to all writers of all previous post. Information shared is invaluable. I had the following questions and would really appreciate if someone can help me here:
1. If I am applying for change in DOB after 9 years of passport issuance are there any additional questions as to why the correction was not done earlier? What would be a good answer to that question?

2. Last alphabet of name as DOB and passport are slightly different, DOB uses 'Y' and all other documents including passport used 'I'. I can see VFS Global USA provides an option that such cases might not be considered as name change:

https://visa.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/india/united-states-of-america/passport-services/pdf/name-change-affidavit.pdf

Has anyone used this situation and knows if it works in actual?

3. Does VFS usually guides at appropriate time if approval from passport chancellor is required or should I approach them pre hand? I have NY Indian Consulate nearest to my residence
rln8316
raghu_visa kiranjosephklm
sdds0522

1) If i remember correctly, the questionnaire provided from Passport chancellor will have that question. In my case, the mismatch is by 1 month. so i mentioned that it was due to a miscommunication or confusion during school admission. That questionnaire supplied by the chancellor is a word document which he eventually approves.

2. Last alphabet of name as DOB and passport are slightly different, DOB uses 'Y' and all other documents including passport used 'I'. I can see VFS Global USA provides an option that such cases might not be considered as name change:
I am not aware of this. In my state- (Kerala), you can get a copy called "One and the same" from Municipality. It is digital copy signed by the Authority with the State stamp which will tell that both person are same with old and new name. That can be used for the purposes of I485 and claim that your name can be written/pronounced in the same way. I got one such because my mother's Initials was typed differently in my birth certificate.

3. Does VFS usually guides at appropriate time if approval from passport chancellor is required or should I approach them pre hand? I have NY Indian Consulate nearest to my residence

This is a tricky situation. I dont know if they have changed that or not. It is not explicitly mentioned in the application when i applied last year. Even though VFS will ask for the approval, they will not guide you how / who to reach. I had to "Tweet" Indian Consulate, email all the address available mentioned on their website and call all the numbers to reach some one. This is the trickiest part of the whole process.
I can tell you any change in personal particulars requires approval though it is a plain word document with 4- 5 questions which he/ she will approve no matter what you write.

[checker]

jc1234 I am also in process of updating DOB in passport and sent the package to VFS. How did you reach out to them/consulate for starting the approval process? any guidance would be very helpful.

Also, my attorney told me to get my marriage certificate changed as well and it seems there is no defined process for doing so (atleast for my state Punjab). Was it suggested by anyone’s attorney or did anyone face any issues during the GC interview or before. Thank you!

[rln8316]

jc1234 I am also in process of updating DOB in passport and sent the package to VFS. How did you reach out to them/consulate for starting the approval process? any guidance would be very helpful.

Also, my attorney told me to get my marriage certificate changed as well and it seems there is no defined process for doing so (atleast for my state Punjab). Was it suggested by anyone’s attorney or did anyone face any issues during the GC interview or before. Thank you!

I am also in process of updating DOB in passport and sent the package to VFS. How did you reach out to them/consulate for starting the approval process? any guidance would be very helpful.
- You can contact VFS to get update about the process. In my case (mostly for everyone), VFS sent an email after 2 weeks that i would need approval from Passport Counselor. This was not mentioned anywhere in their checklist. So i had to email and Tweet Consulate to get that information.

lso, my attorney told me to get my marriage certificate changed as well and it seems there is no defined process for doing so (atleast for my state Punjab). Was it suggested by anyone’s attorney or did anyone face any issues during the GC interview or before. Thank you![/QUOTE]

No, I did not change my DOB on my marriage certificate. Not sure if i can do now.

[checker]

I am also in process of updating DOB in passport and sent the package to VFS. How did you reach out to them/consulate for starting the approval process? any guidance would be very helpful.
- You can contact VFS to get update about the process. In my case (mostly for everyone), VFS sent an email after 2 weeks that i would need approval from Passport Counselor. This was not mentioned anywhere in their checklist. So i had to email and Tweet Consulate to get that information.

lso, my attorney told me to get my marriage certificate changed as well and it seems there is no defined process for doing so (atleast for my state Punjab). Was it suggested by anyone’s attorney or did anyone face any issues during the GC interview or before. Thank you!

No, I did not change my DOB on my marriage certificate. Not sure if i can do now.

[/QUOTE]

Thank you rln8316 for your quick response. I can see that VFS has forwarded the package to embassy yesterday, still not received by embassy yet - may be due Jan 26th holiday. What do you suggest - should I wait for the VFS email or start checking with consulate after they receive the package.(tweeting/ raise request via pramit for NY consulate)?

regarding marriage certificate - did attorney/USCIS ask any questions for mismatch?


Also, would you mind sharing the questions asked by consular officer so that i am ready with responses when i reach that stage? thank you again!

[rln8316]

No, I did not change my DOB on my marriage certificate. Not sure if i can do now.

Thank you rln8316 for your quick response. I can see that VFS has forwarded the package to embassy yesterday, still not received by embassy yet - may be due Jan 26th holiday. What do you suggest - should I wait for the VFS email or start checking with consulate after they receive the package.(tweeting/ raise request via pramit for NY consulate)?

regarding marriage certificate - did attorney/USCIS ask any questions for mismatch?


Also, would you mind sharing the questions asked by consular officer so that i am ready with responses when i reach that stage? thank you again![/QUOTE]

When i submitted my application last year (around this time), It easily took 3 months to get a new passport.. Right from VFS to Embassy and back in my hand. If it has reached Embassy, it should take about 2-3 weeks for processing.

Regarding marriage certificate- Attorney did not ask any question.. I am yet to hear back from USCIS.
I m wondering how relevant is DOB in a marriage certificate. I think that Marriage certificate is to prove that the dependent in our application is legal. Maybe both names and marriage date should be relevant.

Also, would you mind sharing the questions asked by consular officer so that i am ready with responses when i reach that stage? thank you again! - He sent me a plain word template without any logo of GOI or Ministry of External affairs.. It is a generic template to be used for updating DOB and place of birth. On a high level, these were the questions-
what kind of change we are requesting for?
why we are requesting for a change?
Why this was not corrected earlier?
Did we ever try to change this before and were rejected by Passport officer?
If different Place of birth --> are both places within x kms in distance...

[checker]

Thanks a lot. I agree on your logic for marriage certificate and dob however can’t argue with company attorney. Will check with them again if it’s really needed.

your help is much appreciated.

[rln8316]

Thanks a lot. I agree on your logic for marriage certificate and dob however can’t argue with company attorney. Will check with them again if it’s really needed.

your help is much appreciated.

Inorder to change the DOB in a marriage certificate, you need to change your DOB in any of your government issued document - Passport, Aadhar, PAN, DL etc. Once this is corrected, then you can "attempt" for changing DOB in your marriage certificate. You need to show any of these to prove your identity. So you are in the first step in a big process.
If you have time now, you may check with your muncipality if they have option to change DOB and issue a fresh certificate.

I did not attempt for that because of Covid situation, last year they were skeleton staffed and they were very particular about these requests. Also, i do not have anyone back in my town who can run for all these or pull the "correct strings" to correct extra- ordinary situations.

What i heard from others about I485 submission is that, it is your choice to submit what you have. You can provide them when USCIS issue RFE.
Attorneys sometime adjust not to submit medicals along with I485. S

[checker]

Thank you for your continued guidance, I have got my Aadhar updated with corrected DOB and in process of getting PAN, voter id, 10th certificate updated. Problem with correcting Marriage certificate as of now is that there is no defined process for it. Some in the issuing authority office are saying that its not possible at all while others are saying you have to register the marriage again ????

Changing DOB in Birth certificate is not possible as everything is computerized and available online (may vary state to state). I tried all the possible strings

[jimpan]

I sent my application for re-issue and date of birth correction on Dec-13 and it reached embassy on 14th. I didn't get any updates for a month and sent an email to consulate at houston. They asked a couple of questions - to send a detailed justification/reason why there was a change in DoB from the last issued passport and what was the document submitted for issue of the last passport. I sent them those and got a new passport with correct DOB today.

Thanks everyone for the help!

[checker]

jimpan Congrats on getting the new passport. How long did it take for you to get the passport after you sent the answers to them? From your experience, it looks like its worth reaching out to them proactively v/s waiting for them to reach out.

[jimpan]

checker Thanks. I sent the justification latter last friday and I got the passport today.

I think no harm reaching them proactively. But make sure that your application reached embassy/consulate.

Usual passport turn around time is 3 weeks that is why I tried after a month. I went to Houston consulate website and found the contact email there.

[checker]

jimpan yes, the application has reached embassy. I will give it 1-2 weeks and reach out to check. For NY, I couldn’t find email for person responsible for passport. Have an option to raise request via pramit though.
Thank you for your help.

[rln8316]

Thank you for your continued guidance, I have got my Aadhar updated with corrected DOB and in process of getting PAN, voter id, 10th certificate updated. Problem with correcting Marriage certificate as of now is that there is no defined process for it. Some in the issuing authority office are saying that its not possible at all while others are saying you have to register the marriage again ????

Changing DOB in Birth certificate is not possible as everything is computerized and available online (may vary state to state). I tried all the possible strings

Can you provide me the steps you have taken to change DOB in Aadhar and Pan? Shall we do that from US?
If you have changed Aadhar, you should change in your bank accounts as well? how are you planning for that?

[checker]

For updating aadhar, you need the linked mobile number to receive the OTP. Login to my aadhar on uidai website and request this change. Pls note that Dob change is allowed only once so pls make sure to avoid any errors. You can upload birth certificate as proof for requesting the change. It should get done in 5-7 days. Mine was updated in 2 days.

for updating pan, you need to have the aadhar updated first. Once aadhar is updated, you can fill the correction/ update form on nsdl website and select ekyc option. Again, need linked mobile for otp authentication. Timeline mentioned is 20-25 days. I got mine today in approximately 8 days. You can download epan and use it without waiting for physical card.
One important point for pan is to enter your correct Dob on first page as it is not editable later on.

hope this helps. There are many videos on YouTube with step by step guidance if You get stuck else pls feel free to reply and I would try to answer to best of my knowledge.

regarding updating at bank, yes I will be doing that along with update at epfo and Nps.

[checker]

UPDATE : DOB changed at EPFO and NPS with Indian employer's help. Got it updated in Voter ID as well, its an online process but need to speak to your BLO (block level officer) to get it approved. Will get a new card as per her in couple of months. No need to get it changed with Bank in India as per the personal. banker. In case someone as a newer driving license (issued in last 4-6 years), it can be updated online as well by visiting https://sarathi.parivahan.gov.in/sar...teSelection.do most of the states are covered.

Most importantly-Passport status is in review at embassy/consulate. Will follow up next week as it would be 3rd week since they got it.