Hello,

I immigrated to the U.S. with my parents when I was young (4 years
old).  During this process my birthdate was 'recorded' incorrectly (it
was set as approximately 2 years earlier than my actual birth date).

I am not sure why this happened.  I suspect it may have been clerical
error, my parents' lack of English skills at the time, or a
combination of both.

Until now, the error made no difference in my daily life, so I have
left it as is.  However, a current situation makes it such that I
would like to have this corrected (I can elaborate if it matters).

Is there a way for me to have my birthdate corrected legally?

My situation in summary is:

'81 Immigrated, obtained Permanent Resident card.  Incorrect birthdate recorded.
'01 Obtained citizenship.  Birthdate carried over to passport,
citizenship certificate... thus still incorrect.

Please let me know what other information you may require to answer my question.

Thank you.

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 08 Jan 2005 14:50 PST

towersi470,

Indeed, it might help if we knew the 'WHY' of it.. 
Also, in what country, county, and city were you born? 
Do you have a certified copy of your birth certificate?
If not, can you get one?  You'll need to know specifics about your birth.
Are you having a problem with a US governmental agency?  Which one? 
What US and local documents does error this extend to? (look in your wallet)

~~Cynthia

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Clarification of Question by towersi470-ga on 08 Jan 2005 15:45 PST

Thank you for the feedback.

Regarding your points:

1.  I was born in Seoul, South Korea.
2.  As far as the 'why,' I am finding that companies in South Korea
have age restrictions on who can apply for certain positions (still
legal there).  Since I am no longer a Korean citizen, they use my
passport to determine my birtdate... and this error is putting me over
the 'threshold' for many positions that I apply for. :-(

One fairly key point I forgot to mention was that, when I obtained
citizenship in '01, I had to give up my Korean citizenship (as they do
not allow dual citizenship), which 'erases' my entry from the master
geneology records the Korean govenment keeps.  Thus I'm not sure if I
can obtain an original birth certificate.

In a case like this, is there a way to get my birthdate changed on my
passport (or other documentation that I could use to identify myself?)

Thank you again.

Have you any documentation to support the correct date?

As I think probonopublico-ga is suggesting, I'll recommend getting a
certified copy of your birth certificate.  This will certainly be
needed to square away your records with the Social Security
Administration, one place that your age is going to be used.

regards, mathtalk-ga

This will not be your only problem. I had a similar problem (which was
fixed, because it wasn't as serious as yours) and the clerk told me
that it is good that I corrected it, because it has to do with
retirement years.

In any case, your first step might be, to contact social security,
with any certificates proving that you were born two years later
(birth certificate, etc.).